Leadership Team

Hayley joined Whiteoaks in 2004 as a project manager. Since then she has held several senior posts within the company, before becoming a board director in 2013. She moved from her role as Chief Operating Officer to Chief Executive Officer in 2023.

At the helm, Hayley drives the business towards fulfilling its mission of guaranteeing better results from integrated B2B PR and communications campaigns. She is passionate about Whiteoaks’ deliberately different approach, and uses her strategic and creative consultancy to strengthen the agency’s position in the market and advise clients.

She has extensive experience in creating and managing international campaigns for some of the world’s leading brands, including Autodesk, Clarivate Analytics, OKI, SAS, Pulsant and Telehouse.

As Chief Client Officer, John has the ability to lead his teams so that they can deliver strong results for clients from day one onwards, leveraging both traditional and emerging PR and marketing methods. This approach ensures that John quickly wins the respect and trust of clients.

Having joined Whiteoaks in 2011, John has a reputation for providing high quality, business-focused advice and consultancy to clients. As a member of the board since November 2018, he is responsible for the high-level strategic and creative consultancy across the communications mix on clients’ communications campaigns. John oversees his clients’ ongoing account development, financial planning and reporting as well as new business.

With his team’s support, John is able to create and lead compelling campaigns which meet and exceed clients’ objectives, ensuring they always deliver to deadlines. John has over 15 years’ experience in journalism and public relations, including three years’ experience as editor of Retail Systems.

Adam started with Whiteoaks in January 2019 following 12 years spent working in finance within the recruitment industry. Adam became Whiteoaks’ Board Member in February 2024. Adam has a background in financial management, management accounting and payroll – amongst other disciplines.

James was chief executive officer of Whiteoaks from 2013 until 2023. With overall responsibility for the management of Whiteoaks, he provided high level strategic and consultative guidance to major clients and their senior internal stakeholders. In 2021 he spearheaded the move to transform Whiteoaks International into an employee-owned business. He stepped down as CEO in 2023, moving into the role of non-executive director on the Whiteoaks board, providing counsel and support to the business.

James has been providing communications consultancy to a wide range of clients across the IT, telecoms, B2B and professional services sectors for more than 20 years.

Suzanne joined the business in 2002 and rose quickly through the ranks. She held the position of managing director from 2013 until 2025, taking day-to-day responsibility for the successful management of Whiteoaks. She is one of Whiteoaks’ top strategy consultants, experienced in providing expert advice and guidance to clients across global IT, telecoms and technology sectors. She now acts as a non-executive director.

With a BA Hons in International Marketing Management, Suzanne has offered communications and marketing consultancy to leading technology players around the world, including Autodesk, DTS, OKI, SAS, Technicolor, The Vitec Group, Vodafone and Xero.