David Hamilton
Standing for
CIPR President-Elect
Better supported. Better respected. Better valued.
Look out for an email from Mi-Voice to cast your vote.
Before voting closes
Tell me what matters to you.
I’ve opened up time for 50 conversations with CIPR members before voting closes. Choose a preferred day and morning or afternoon, and I’ll contact you personally to arrange it.
What I’m standing for
My priorities.
I’m standing for CIPR President-Elect because I want PR professionals to be better supported, better respected and better valued. These are the priorities I would bring to the role.
Bettersupported.
A profession that opens doors, connects its people and looks after them when life or work becomes difficult.
See what I would do ↓ 02Betterrespected.
A profession confident in its expertise and serious about standards.
See what I would do ↓ 03Bettervalued.
A profession whose contribution is understood, recognised and reflected in influence, investment, pay and fees.
See what I would do ↓Why I’m standing
CIPR opened doors for me.
The right support can change a career. People I met through CIPR gave me their time, shared their experience and challenged my thinking. Their support helped me build my confidence and judgement, and see possibilities I might otherwise have missed.
Every member should be able to find the people, advice and opportunities that can shape their career, wherever they live, whatever their sector and whatever stage they have reached.
Better supported
Connect more members to the people, opportunities and help they need.
CIPR’s strength lies in its people: members who share their experience, volunteers who create opportunities and groups that bring practitioners together.
A mentor, introduction, group or volunteering opportunity can shape a career. I want more members to find those connections, wherever they live, whatever their sector and whatever stage they have reached.
This matters particularly for people entering PR and building their early careers. As AI changes junior roles, young practitioners should have access to experienced people who can help them build their judgement, confidence and careers.
What I would champion
- Mentoring, groups, volunteering, professional development and more opportunities to learn directly from other practitioners.
- More help for members to find their way into those communities and more encouragement for experienced practitioners to share what they know.
- Clearer routes to the practical support available through CIPR, its community and Iprovision when life or work becomes difficult.
A profession that opens doors and looks after its people.
Better respected
Build confidence in our profession and strengthen standards.
Respect grows when practitioners deepen their expertise, take on greater responsibility and apply professional communications judgement with confidence.
AI and misinformation raise the stakes. New technology offers opportunities, but it can also automate parts of our work, accelerate false information and put jobs, standards and public trust under pressure.
PR professionals understand people, organisations, reputation and the consequences of getting communication wrong. We need the expertise, critical thinking and confidence to help shape how organisations respond.
What I would champion
- A clearer route from professional development and Chartership into senior leadership, executive, trustee and non-executive roles.
- Practical support that helps members explain their advice with authority and stand behind the professional judgements our work demands.
- A community confident enough to challenge poor practice, defend standards and shape decisions at the highest level.
A profession serious about standards and confident in itself.
Better valued
Give PR greater influence where decisions are made.
Our work sits at the point where leadership decisions meet people, trust, behaviour and reputation.
Our value can be seen when insight changes a decision, when listening leads to a better approach, when trust is protected through a crisis or when communication helps people understand and support change.
As organisations adopt AI and other new technologies, our understanding of people, ethics, relationships and public trust becomes more important.
What I would champion
- PR professionals having a stronger voice in the decisions that shape their organisations.
- Bringing together members, employers, board leaders, agencies and independent practitioners to identify where CIPR can make the greatest practical difference.
- Stronger board-level advocacy and better ways for practitioners to demonstrate their contribution.
Value reflected in influence, investment, pay and fees, not praise alone.
The difference this should make
Four changes members should be able to see.
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01
More members connected with the people, communities and opportunities that can shape their careers.
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02
More practitioners progressing into senior leadership, executive, trustee and non-executive roles.
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03
A profession helping to shape new technology while defending jobs, trust, truth and professional standards.
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04
More practitioners with the confidence and evidence to secure proper recognition for their advice, their work and the difference they make.
Why me
I understand how decisions are made at the top of organisations.
For more than a decade, I have served on executive boards at the BFI, the NSPCC and Scouts, with responsibility for strategy, performance, people, finances, reputation, risk and public engagement.
I know what helps professional advice carry weight, how to build agreement and when difficult questions need to be asked.
I also know CIPR from the inside, as a member, mentor, volunteer and elected representative.
I joined CIPR while working in Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire and understand some of the barriers members can face beyond the capital.
As a Non-executive Board Trustee of Iprovision, I help govern the charity supporting CIPR members and their families when life or work becomes difficult.
I would bring senior leadership experience, long-standing service to CIPR and a clear focus on making the year count for members.
How to cast your vote
Look out for your voting email from Mi-Voice.
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1
Check CIPR has the right email address for you
Log in to MyCIPR to check your account. If you cannot remember your details, follow the instructions there or call +44 (0)20 7631 6900.
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2
Search for Mi-Voice on 16 September
Your individual voting link will arrive by email. Check your spam or junk folder too.
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3
Contact CIPR promptly if it does not arrive
Do not leave it until voting closes. Contact CIPR in time for the issue to be resolved.
Official election statement
Read my candidate statement.
Official election statement
My candidate statement
I am standing because I want PR professionals to feel better supported, better respected and better valued.
CIPR is more than a professional body. At its best, it is a community: one that looks out for its members, raises standards, opens doors, and helps us do better work.
I know because I have benefited from it. I have been mentored by generous people in this profession who gave me their time, advice and challenge. I have tried to give that back through mentoring and volunteering.
In 2028, CIPR turns 80. That should be more than an anniversary. It should be a moment to celebrate the community that built this profession, and ask what kind of profession we want to be for the next 80 years: confident in our value, serious about our standards, and determined to look after our people.
The CIPR already has a strategy. The President’s job is not to replace it with a personal manifesto, but to help make it real for members. I would bring focus, energy and judgement to that work: making CIPR more useful, more visible, and more confident in standing up for the value of PR. As technology changes our work, we need an Institute that looks out for members, protects our standards, and helps us adapt without losing the judgement, ethics and human understanding that make our work matter.
For me, that means five things.
- A profession that is valued properly. PR is too often misunderstood, under-invested in, or repackaged by others as if it belongs somewhere else. We should be more confident about the value communicators bring: to trust, reputation, behaviour and leadership.
- A profession that is serious about standards. Technology, AI and misinformation are changing our work. CIPR should help members navigate that change with clear guidance, ethics and practical tools that respect their judgement.
- A profession that opens doors. We need to strengthen routes into PR, support paid opportunities, champion mentoring, and help more people progress. Talent should not depend on who you know, whether you can afford to work for free, or whether you already understand the profession.
- A profession that looks after its people. People in our industry face real pressure: workload, burnout, redundancy, caring responsibilities, late payment and difficult ethical choices. As a Trustee of Iprovision, I know how important it is that members and their families know where to turn when life or work becomes difficult.
- A profession that feels proud of itself. We should be proud to call ourselves PR professionals. That pride is earned through good work, ethical practice and generosity to each other. CIPR can help us tell a clearer, more confident story about the work we do and why it matters.
I am Executive Director of Engagement, Marketing and Communications at BFI. Before that, I held senior roles at the NSPCC and Scouts, and earlier worked in local government. I have sat on executive teams making decisions about strategy, money, people and reputation.
Practical help, available now
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