Changes to Purple Board and Executive Team

We recently announced some important changes to our Board and executive team.

National Director Karen Brown, who has been with Purple for more than seven years and is set to retire at the end of this year, has accepted the role of Board Chair with effect from 1 February 2022, when our co-founder and current Chair, Warrick Hazeldine, will step down.

With a growing portfolio of directorships and his private equity advisory service requiring more of his attention, Warrick has decided to step away from the demands of chairing the State’s largest communications firm.

“Now is the right time for me to retire as Chair of Purple. It has been an honour to work with such high-calibre people and quality clients for nearly two decades,” Warrick said.

“I have the greatest confidence that our experienced Board will be ably led by Karen. She has earned the highest regard as a trusted board advisor and her appointment has the unanimous support of our directors.”

From left to right: Annette Ellis, Warrick Hazeldine and Karen Brown

Our Managing Director Annette Ellis paid tribute to Warrick‘s vision and entrepreneurship that has seen the firm grow from two founding partners in 2004 to an award-winning team of 42 today.

“We are deeply grateful to Warrick for almost two-decades of growth, during which time Purple has been trusted to advise on many of the State’s most complex communication briefs and, in recent years, a growing portfolio of international clients,” Annette said.

As a significant shareholder of the firm, Warrick will remain on the Board as a Non-executive Director alongside Jamie Wilkinson, who will transfer from his current Executive Director role to the role of Non-executive Director in the new year.

New appointments and promotions

“Creating a culture that attracts, retains and grows the best talent to service our clients has been a hallmark of our success,” Annette said.

“To this end, I am delighted to announce a number of new appointments and promotions within our leadership team.”

Jo Monery has joined the Corporate Affairs team as Director.

Recently returned to Perth, Jo was the Managing Director, Corporate and Technology at Red Consultancy in London, where she worked with a diverse range of global clients across crisis and strategic communications, marketing and issues management.

Anna Gillett has joined the Stakeholder Engagement team as Director.

Anna has also recently returned to Perth after a decade in Melbourne where she was a Principal Consultant and led the crisis practice at Bastion Reputation Management. Prior to this, she was Head of Corporate Communication and Head of Government and Stakeholder Engagement for Melbourne and Launceston airports, where she led the engagement with significant stakeholders through major construction projects.

Corporate Affairs Director Fran Lawrence has been promoted to a Special Counsel role – overseeing the firm’s sizeable portfolio of property-sector clients that she has been instrumental in developing.

Fran will pass the baton of the Corporate Affairs team into the very capable hands of Director Carina Tan-Van Baren, a qualified lawyer, former journalist and experienced corporate affairs advisor.