The Institute can also confirm that its Council has elected Paul Compton Chart.PR, MCIPR and Naomi MG Smith Chart.PR, FCIPR to the CIPR’s Board of Directors. Both will serve a three-year term from 2027 to 2029.

Anne-Marie is a Senior Lecturer in Public Relations at Newcastle University. A CIPR Fellow, she has sat on the Institute's Board of Directors and contributed to its recent syllabus review. She received the 2025 Sir Stephen Tallents' Medal for her service to the CIPR and her advocacy for professionalism, Chartership and qualifications.

She won the Outstanding Young Communicator Award at the 2014 CIPR North East PRide Awards and went on to win it nationally at the CIPR Excellence Awards in 2017. She has since judged both awards at regional and national level.

Anne-Marie will serve a three-year term on the Institute’s Board of Directors, from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2029. She will act as President-Elect in 2027, President in 2028, and Past-President in 2029.

Statement of the Returning Officer 

Two contested elections took place, for President-elect 2027 (two candidates for one position), and for Board Members 2027-29 (five candidates for two positions). 

At the close of voting at midday on Monday 28 September 2026, the results were as follows: 

President-elect 

• Total number of ballots issued: 9,441
• Total number of votes cast: 824
• Turnout: 8.7% 

The vote was conducted under the Single Transferable Vote system, which produces mathematically the same result as 'First Past the Post’ when two candidates are standing for one position. 

I declare that the elected candidate is Anne-Marie Lacey 

The full table of results and calculations is available on request. 

Board Members 

• Total number of ballots issued: 23
• Total number of individual voters: 14
• Turnout: 60.9%  

The vote was conducted under the Single Transferable Vote system, using ERS97. 

I declare that the following are duly elected: 

• Paul Compton 

• Naomi MG Smith 

The nomination period for all three bodies runs from Wednesday 29 April to Friday 22 May 2026, closing at 17:00 BST. Elections will take place in September 2026, with all terms beginning on 1 January 2027.

President-Elect 2027

The President-Elect serves as first deputy to the President, beginning a three-year term in January 2027: one year as President-Elect, one as President, and one as Vice President.

The President is the most visible leadership role in the Institute, representing the CIPR to government, media, and the wider industry.

Board of Directors

Board members serve a three-year term commencing January 2027 and hold legal responsibility for the governance of the Institute. The role offers substantial non-executive governance experience, with exposure to financial oversight, risk, and long-term strategy, and is a valuable route into wider trustee and director positions.

The Institute’s latest skills assessment identified a need for experience in governance, equity, diversity and inclusion, and digital or cyber security. To stand for election, candidates do not need to be CIPR members, or to have prior experience as a director or trustee.

Council

The Council advises the Board on the Institute's strategic direction. Those elected will serve a two-year term, from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2028.

Serving on Council gives members direct input into policy, professional standards, and strategy, alongside a peer network that spans sectors and career stages. Council meets four times per year for three-hour sessions, with a mix of in-person and online meetings.

• Learn more about CIPR elections
• Find out more about serving as President, a Board Director, or on Council

The English Law Promotion panel was convened as part of the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy and explores how to future-proof the UK legal services sector and reinforce English law’s status as a leading choice for international business amid growing competition from other countries.

The members of the English Law Promotion Panel are:

• Clare Ambrose - London Maritime Arbitrators Association
• Farzana Baduel - President-elect, Chartered Institute of Public Relations
• Richard Bamforth - Founding Chair, London International Disputes Week
• Sir Colin Birss - Chancellor of the High Court
• Christina Blacklaws - Chair, LawtechUK Panel
• Kirsty Brimelow KC - Vice Chair, Bar Council of England and Wales
• Charles Clark - Chair, International Law Committee
• Dame Linda Dobbs DBE - Red Lion Consulting
• Mark Evans - President, Law Society of England and Wales
• John Foster - Chief Policy and Campaigns Officer, Confederation of British Industry
• Dame Elizabeth Gloster DBE - Chair, LegalUK
• Lucy Greenwood - Trustee, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
• Kevin Nash - Director General, London Court of International Arbitration
• James Palmer CBE - Chair, Legal Services, CityUK
• Marcus Peffers - UK and Global Services Chair, M+C Saatchi
• Lord Sales - Justice of the UK Supreme Court
• Mrs Justice Joanna Smith - Chancery Division of the High Court
• Professor Richard Susskind CBE KC (Hon) - Academic and author on future legal services
• Jonathan Wood - Chair, London Chamber of Arbitration and Mediation
• Dr Linda Yueh - Academic and economist 

Three candidates are standing for election as the CIPR's 2026 President-Elect:

• Dan Gerrella
• Graham Goodkind
• Aileen Thompson

The successful candidate will serve as President-Elect in 2026 before taking on the role of CIPR President in 2027. Voting opens today, Friday 3 October and closes on Friday 17 October at 17:00. All eligible CIPR members will receive voting instructions via email from Mi-Voice, the Institute’s electoral services provider.

Elections for the CIPR Board’s 2026-2028 term have also concluded, where 14 candidates stood for three vacancies. The 25 members of the CIPR Council were eligible to vote, with the count conducted using the Single Transferable Vote, as stipulated in the regulations.

The following were duly elected and will serve as Board Members from 2026-2028:

• Noha Al Afifi
• Alex Malouf
• Jennifer Robson

• Hustings took place on Thursday 2nd October via Zoom. Log in to watch the recording.
• Read the candidate statements.

The CIPR President-Elect, a leadership position for the UK public relations profession, will join the CIPR Executive Board and Council as a senior volunteer and assume the role of President on 1 January 2014.

For the first time, any voting member of the CIPR is eligible to stand for this post. Under new rules adopted by the CIPR Council in January 2013, members at the MCIPR, FCIPR and Hon FCIPR grades are eligible, but 10 other voting members must nominate them.

Under CIPR regulations on the conduct of elections, there is a one week period after the results are published when complaints can be received. In the week following the elections, a complaint was made about a decision by the CIPR to allow one candidate’s nomination to be received after the deadline for submissions had passed.

In line with CIPR regulations governing complaints about election processes, a report was commissioned into the conduct of the elections for consideration by CIPR Council at a meeting on 19 November.

The CIPR Council has today considered the report. It has voted that the acceptance of a late nomination has invalidated the result of the election and that the CIPR should take action in line with Article 8 of the Election Regulations. This states that Council can order a fresh election.

The CIPR will today inform both candidates and all CIPR members of the Council’s decision and further information on a fresh election will follow.

The report also contained recommendations for procedural improvements for the conduct of CIPR elections and any required regulatory changes will be considered and voted upon at the next scheduled Council meeting before a new election is called.

The following positions are to be elected in a ballot of all CIPR members:

• President-Elect
• Treasurer
• Seven seats on the CIPR Council

More information on the election, including nomination forms, can be found here.