Claire has over 30 years’ experience in the public relations industry. She combines her management role with strategic support across a range of corporate, multinational, not-for-profit and public sector clients. She specialises in strategic counsel, reputation management and change management.

Hobbies and Interests: Claire serves on the boards of Friends for Cancer Centre and RBAI. A mum of five, Claire is a dedicated runner, tennis player and book club reader.

Advising at Board level for 20 years, Shane has vast experience within the corporate communications and public affairs arena across the island of Ireland. A trusted arm of clients’ teams, he leads on strategic counsel, reputation and change management for a range of public and private sector clients. He brings in depth knowledge of the corporate, regulatory and policy arena that supports clients in changing perceptions and creating advocates.

Hobbies and Interests: Shane is a keen sports fan, a GAA coach and a golfer who has temporarily hung up the clubs. A family man who is partial to political punditry and organ donation campaigning. Loves nothing more than a good night out and a bit of craic!

Lyn is a hands-on communications expert with a background in brand reputation management and behavioural and transformational change. She is retained by a number of clients for crisis management counsel across private, public, NGO and charity sectors.

Lyn brings experienced insights, sound perspectives and effective solutions to clients. She is a member of the PRII and sits on the Board of Governors at St. Matthew’s PS.

Hobbies and Interests: A keen cook, Lyn enjoys keeping up with food trends and hosting friends and family. She loves open water swimming, reading and going to the theatre.

With over 15 years’ consumer, corporate and internal comms expertise providing insights and building profile, Caroline has her finger on the pulse of what works for her clients and what will achieve them the greatest returns. She researches, develops and produces headline news content and prepares ground for media and client briefings with a unique perspective. Caroline ensures timely insights for senior level management and has in-depth knowledge of social and digital platforms across website, digital marketing and SEO. Caroline works across a variety of clients from Women in Business and O’Reilly Stewart, to Whites Oats and McAleer and Rushe.

Hobbies and Interests: A busy mum of three girls, Caroline takes refuge at her monthly book club and loves nothing more than getting stuck into a good book. With a varied music taste Caroline and her husband try to catch as many concerts as possible and especially enjoy outdoor gigs like Live at Botanic with the Frames being a key highlight of the summer.

Michael’s combined eight years’ experience spans the disciplines of journalism, digital marketing and public relations. He leads on digital strategy and content creation across all platforms, producing and editing visual collateral for an island-wide audience and penning thought leadership columns for vertical magazines across tech, hospitality, bio-sciences and energy sectors. He supports a wide range of projects and is the digital lead on retained clients including Electric Ireland, Women in Business, the Climate Change Advisory Council, and the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland.

Hobbies and Interests: Running and writing are Michael’s two life staples. He tends to take on gruelling tests of endurance and challenge. And that’s just the writing. You’ll likely find him pounding the Belfast pavements on his quest to unlock the Parkrun 500 t-shirt.

A former journalist with almost 15 years’ experience in the communications and PR industry, Seamus has extensive experience advising businesses and organisations across the public and private sector. He currently provides media relations and strategic support to a host of clients including the Climate Change Advisory Council, Diageo, NIE Networks, Sysco Ireland and ACCA. Seamus has extensive media relations and digital expertise and has delivered robust media strategies and integrated campaigns for a range of clients across the regional, local and sectoral media.

Hobbies and Interests: A proud Tyrone man, Seamus is passionate about sport particularly GAA and American football. When not attending games or watching his beloved Miami Dolphins he can be found trying to finish off his self-build or spending time with his young family.

Alison is an experienced PR professional with over 15years experience working in the Communications and PR industry. Over the years she has worked both in agency and in-house roles for some of NI’s best-known arts organisations and festivals. Alison has experience in both corporate and consumer PR with a particular specialty in the arts. At AIKEN Alison specialises in developing and implementing integrated consumer and digital campaigns. Having worked on several major all-island campaigns, Alison uses her extensive knowledge of the media landscape and strong media contacts to develop targeted media strategies which deliver. Clients include White’s Oats, Electric Ireland, the University of Ulster.

Hobbies and Interests: Alison is a fitness fanatic. She has been playing tennis since she was 5years old and still competes competitively. She also enjoys going for hikes and to the gym in her spare time!

Alanna is a Senior Account Executive at AIKEN. With a background in PR and Digital Marketing, she has worked on a number of milestone projects, both in agency and in-house roles, to deliver impactful and integrated campaigns for her clients. Her skills and knowledge span media and influencer relations, stakeholder engagement, content creation, as well as with digital and social media. Alanna supports several accounts including White’s Oats, Sysco, Ulster of University and Diageo.

Hobbies and Interests: Outside of work, Alanna likes to keep busy – having opened a boutique in her hometown with her mum, you’ll find her there on a Saturday. If she isn’t dressing ladies to look and feel their best, she’s probably drinking a flat white with her friends or attending a CrossFit class.

Patrick is an Account Executive at AIKEN where he works with several clients across both private and public sector delivering effective media management, advocacy campaigns and community engagement events. Patrick has a passion for both History and Politics that led him in completing a MA in these subjects at QUB. Patrick also has a keen interest in planning and sustainability policies across the island following his MSc Management at QUB and placement on the Washington Ireland Programme.

Hobbies and Interests: Patrick is an avid sports fan who balances work with his inter-county Gaelic football with Antrim GAA. Patrick takes massive pride in working with AIKEN on the Casement Park project, ensuring that his fellow teammates and GAA players across Antrim and Ulster can turn the dream of playing in Casement Park into a reality. Patrick enjoys spending time with his family and friends, going to music gigs, and if he has any free time from training, travelling!

Hannah recently graduated from Ulster University with first-class honours in Communication, Advertising, and Marketing. During her placement year, she worked as a PR and Communications Assistant with Ulster University's Marketing and Communications team where she played a key role developing the communications for many of the key calendar events such as graduations, award ceremonies, and VIP visits, one of note being the historic presidential visit to the Belfast campus. Hannah is passionate about creative and authentic storytelling to enhance brand reputations. She is constantly learning about new trends and techniques in PR to refine her approach. She is excited to further develop her knowledge and skills working as a Junior Client Executive at AIKEN with a diverse range of clients.

Hobbies and Interests: Outside of work, Hannah enjoys staying connected through social media, especially TikTok. She is passionate about traveling and exploring new places, and has married this with her love of TikTok, creating travel videos whenever she jets off. Music is also a big part of Hannah’s life, and she often attends local gigs for a dance and a good time.

Amy is a recent graduate from University College Dublin, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business and law. Her dual degree fostered a diverse range of interests, including Irish law, policymaking, communications, and business management. She has a strong passion for environmental law and intercultural communication, particularly in their impact on human rights.

Amy combined these interests on the Nobel Scholarship Programme to present on sustainability and the energy sector. Additionally, she has a keen interest in media law. Her academic background provides her with a unique perspective on the intersections between law, business, and communication.

Hobbies and Interests: Amy begins most days with a yoga session, having integrated this practice into her daily routine after completing her yoga teacher training. She is highly active and passionate about wellness. Amy enjoys a variety of activities, including sea swims, running, and Pilates classes. A self-proclaimed expert in matcha lattes and almond croissants, you can often find her with either of these treats while reading in a coffee shop at the weekend.

Carolyn has more than 40 years working in administrative work and more than 15 years supporting on events. Carolyn’s calm demeanour and can-do attitude ensure that clients quickly become confident in her approach. She is the first point of contact that a guests/attendees will have at any event and therefore she sets the tone. Her role includes managing distribution of invites and RSVPs, co-ordinating the draw down budget for events, providing regular updates to the Project Director, and the overall management of the AIKEN office. Whether this is sourcing props for pre-event photo calls or liaising with clients on invoices or queries, Carolyn works hard to ensure that the mechanics of work at AIKEN run smoothly.

Hobbies and Interests: Carolyn loves the outdoor life and in particular her VW campervan. She’s also a keen gardener and likes to grow her own produce. After half a lifetime in the city she is making her escape to the country where you’ll likely find her with a few hens and ducks and a couple of collie dogs.