Clarence Mitchell has more than 30 years of communications, senior level engagement and government relations experience gained at the highest levels of the UK media, HMG Civil Service, the Conservative Party and, latterly, public relations.
As a network agency Managing Director, he has provided strategic C-suite counsel to a wide range of governmental, corporate and personal clients, with his particular specialisms in media relations, public affairs, international reputation and crisis management, stakeholder engagement and media training.
His public affairs clients have included the Iraqi Prime Minister, the Government of Iceland, Microsoft, Bank of America, Lloyds Banking Group, Heineken, Hewlett Packard and Costa Cruises.
Within his crisis management portfolio, Clarence provided strategic counsel to Costa’s Chairman and CEO during the Costa Concordia cruise liner disaster in Italy in January 2012. He also chaired a seminar on UK police-media relations post Leveson for the Metropolitan Police Senior Leadership Group, co-presenting with the Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe.
Prior to his move into public relations, as a senior civil servant, he was Director of the Government’s Media Monitoring Unit, based within the Cabinet Office, leading a 30-strong team of Information Officers advising No 10 Downing Street and all of the major Departments of State on how best to respond to the 24/7 news agenda. He was seconded to the Foreign Office in 2007 to assist the McCann family with media handling following the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine in Portugal.
For the Conservative Party, Clarence was Head of Election Media Monitoring, based at Conservative Campaign HQ, during the 2010 UK General Election campaign, before later becoming a Conservative Parliamentary candidate, fighting the Brighton Pavilion seat during the 2015 General Election campaign.
Previously, as a senior journalist, he was an on-air BBC News Correspondent, Royal Correspondent, Political Correspondent and Presenter during a 20-year career with the Corporation, and prior to that a UK national and local newspaper correspondent, including his first reporting role on the Hendon & Finchley Times where he covered his local MP Margaret Thatcher.