Freshwater appoints new group managing director as it gears up for succession and growth

Freshwater UK plc has appointed a new group managing director to lead its client facing-teams in London, Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh.

Angharad Neagle, who is 37 and currently heads Freshwater’s creative division, will be responsible for all the media group’s communications consultancy services, including PR, public affairs, marketing and stakeholder communications.

She will also oversee its digital, video and design production team, its conferences and training division, Waterfront, and the online networking site, Wales World Wide.

Freshwater’s chief executive Steve Howell said: “This marks the beginning of a new phase in a succession and growth strategy that is seeing our very talented, younger senior managers take on the day-to-day operational leadership of the group.

“Angharad has been responsible for one of our largest divisions since 2009. She’s shown she can deliver profitable growth and keep Freshwater at the forefront of the ever-changing media scene.”

A graduate of Cardiff University in Journalism, Film and Broadcasting, Angharad’s early career included working as a senior press officer for South Wales Police and as communications manager at the Mid and South Wales Safety Camera Partnership.

She joined Merlin PR and Marketing in 2006 and was promoted to account director shortly after Freshwater acquired Merlin in 2008.

In 2009, she was given responsibility for Freshwater Creative, which won a CIPR Excellence Award in 2011 for the UK’s best integrated campaign on the strength of its hard-hitting promotion of the organ donor register for the Welsh Government, Invisible Death Row.

Headquartered in Cardiff, Freshwater has a £4m turnover and 55 staff operating from five offices, eighty per cent of whom are in client-facing divisions.

Angharad will lead a team of eight senior managers, each responsible for a specific team, and will work from both London and Cardiff while also visiting Scotland and Northern Ireland regularly.

She said: “It’s an exciting challenge. The group is emerging from the recession in good shape with a very clear strategy of taking a multi-channel approach to client needs and developing new innovative products.

“I’m looking forward to working with the other senior managers to carry this forward and to make full use of the talents and energy of all our people.”