Meet the Team
Managing Director
Di Burton BA PGCE FCIPR FCIPD MInstD
Di is the managing director of Cicada, which she founded in 1987. She advises at board level on leadership issues and stakeholder management for a range of blue chip organisations. For the past 13 years she has been directing the MA in Public Communication programme for the Government Communication Network at Leeds Trinity University College.
Di is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and an accredited Practitioner. She is also a Consultant Partner and holds an Honorary Fellowship at Leeds Trinity, University of Leeds, and is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
As an industry expert, Di has worked at 10 Downing Street and the Cabinet Office and is a regular speaker at national and international conferences. She judges the National APPRO Awards for Excellence in Police Media Communication as well as the CIPR Excellence Awards.
Di is a member of London's Reform Club, Yorkshire’s Two Percent Club, is listed in Debrett's People of Today and in 2006 was named Business Personality of the Year in the Ackrill Newspaper Group Business Awards. This year she appeared in the PR Week Power Book, the definitive guide to the most influential people in PR, and in the Yorkshire Post's Top 100 Entrepreneurs.
She has attended Harvard Business School and sits on a number of advisory boards.
Three things you may not know about Di are she’s fired live ammo from an AK-47 in Zimbabwe, filmed in the world’s deepest goldmine in South Africa and survived a gruelling week on a Dominican desert island for a reality TV show.
di@cicada-comms.com
To follow Di on Twitter visit www.twitter.com/dicicada
Senior Account Manager
Elizabeth Powell
Liz has a background in publishing and has a talent for writing eye-catching stories. She is particularly adept at drafting a press release at a moment's notice.
Managing a diverse range of PR accounts including Grant Thornton, Halliwells LLP and Lorien Engineering Solutions, Liz enjoys the buzz of working with the media and regularly authors opinion pieces on major issues of the day.
She was a finalist in the Young Communicator category at the 2005 CIPR PRide Awards and oversaw the National Insect Week campaign, which won the Best Not for Profit category at the 2009 PRide Awards.
As Cicada’s resident expert in all things celebrity, a copy of Heat magazine or Grazia can usually be found in Liz’s handbag - in addition to the latest issue of PR Week of course.
Senior Account Manager
Lizzie Hughes
Lizzie handles strategic media relations for number of clients in the public, private and voluntary sectors. Responsible for all new business, Lizzie is involved in both the development and delivery stages of a campaign.
She is possibly the most organised member of the Cicada team and has extensive experience of campaign coordination, creative promotions and copy writing. She handles PR for a number of high profile clients including Carter Jonas, Welcome to Yorkshire and CPP Group Plc.
Outside of the office Lizzie enjoys travelling to far flung exotic places, or taking a trip to the countryside for tea and cakes.
Events Manager
Scilla Baldwin
Scilla has spent ten years in PR and event management, and is renowned for her excellent organisational skills. She has a wealth of experience in organising a broad range of events, from lunches and black tie dinners to conferences and product launches.
For the past year Scilla has managed the highly successful Yorkshire Post Christmas Charity Online Auction to raise funds for The Prince’s Trust.
Scilla enjoys being outdoors in the beautiful Nidderdale countryside with her husband, daughter Alice and their unruly spaniel Moss.
Account Manager
Susannah Berry
Susannah is a journalist and before joining Cicada she was employed as a chief reporter for several years on a local newspaper.
She has a talent for making sense of complex issues and turning them into engaging, eye-catching copy and she enjoys keeping up with the news agenda to promote her clients whenever she can.
Managing a diverse range of PR accounts, including Grant Thornton and Halliwells LLP, Susannah enjoys applying her journalistic skills to the fast-paced world of public relations.
Susannah loves to be in the know so she will always be armed with a copy of a national or regional newspaper wherever she goes. Expect to see her on the local stage too because she loves the performing arts.
susannah@cicada-comms.com
Senior Account Executive
Harriet Cartwright
Harriet has a degree in English from Hull University and has been working in PR for two years. She began her PR career in London, working on major consumer brands including Ben & Jerry’s, Green Baby and Lemsip.
Harriet supports the account managers on a variety of PR accounts and has a particular focus on consumer media relations.
Senior Account Executive
Rachel Barker
Currently undertaking a CIPR Advanced Certificate in Public Relations, Rachel graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in 2007 with a 2:1 honours degree in Journalism. With a passion for writing, Rachel supports the account managers on a diverse range of accounts including Grant Thornton, Carter Jonas and Halliwells LLP.
A keen sports fan, Rachel can often be found on the sidelines at Headingley, supporting (or should that be ogling?) the Leeds Rhinos.
Finance Manager
Vicky Carswell
As Cicada’s finance manager and Di’s PA, Vicky is responsible for the company's finances and Di’s diary.
Vicky is Cicada’s longest serving employee and celebrates 10 years with the company in 2010.
Away from Cicada, Vicky enjoys looking after her children, Tommy and Lucy, and playing Lacrosse for Leeds Penguins.
Account Executive
Nick Moules
Providing a welcome male perspective in the Cicada office for the next six months will be Nick Moules.
Nick, who is due to begin a Masters in Corporate Communications & Public Relations at the University of Leeds in September, will be learning all about the PR industry from the Cicada team before the start of his course.
After graduating with a degree in history from the University of Leicester in 2006, Nick spent three years working in residential lettings before deciding to change careers and focus on PR.
nick@cicada-comms.com
