About Us
89up was founded with a clear mission: to create a powerful integrated communications agency for the world's most important causes.
We are now the number one agency in Europe for cause communications.
We help the good guys achieve great things.
Who we are
Mike is the founder and CEO of 89up, Europe's first and biggest impact agency for civil society and non-profits. He is also the publisher and owner of Little Atoms, an award-winning magazine distributed globally and a podcast and online magazine enjoyed by a global audience of millions.
Mike has excellent political and media connections, with a strong knowledge of the workings of government and international bodies. His campaign experience delivering cross-party support for a new parliamentary bill; international human rights advocacy work engaging Hollywood celebrities that forced 3 banks to stop selling government bonds to support a dictatorship, leading the press and strategy for an Oscar-winning film, the exposure of lobbyists work for corrupt regimes and supporting the launch of multiple grassroots political movements.
Sarah-Jane Rumford develops and delivers hard-hitting campaigns for leading brands. charities and NGOs. and innovative start-ups. This has seen her building brands, leading consumer behaviour change campaigns, managing vast integrated marketing and content creation campaigns and transforming reputations in times of crisis. An intuitive strategist and sharp creative mind, Sarah-Jane is a powerhouse when it comes to delivering results.
"I know what grabs media and consumer attention, what makes a headline and what will deliver results. I continue to think differently and create fresh campaigns which surprise, excite and inspire. I can turn my hand to any subject, having worked for clients as diverse as the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Department of Health, Coca-Cola, Waitrose, Microsoft, GSK, Nesta and the Toyota Mobility Foundation".
Ruth is Head of People and Operations. She has over 20 years of experience within the energy, finance, music, media and creative industries. Ruth is an extremely personable character who thrives on helping people. Her mission is to create a safe, welcoming and enjoyable working environment for all staff where she can develop and drive people forward across the company.
Jonathan has worked at the creative end of communications for the last 8 years delivering social, content and experiential campaigns for big commercial brands, international NGOs and political campaigns. He previously worked in the music industry creating albums for artists such as U2, Amy Winehouse and Shakira. He is passionate about creating campaigns that people care about, not just notice. He is a skilled campaign strategist with a wealth of digital understanding.
Tom Mauchline specialises in projects that bring digital and public affairs together. He works to create communities, messages, and content, that shift opinions and make lasting change.
Sashy is General Counsel and directs our advocacy unit 89up Thinks, which produces insights on political and legal problems. Recent reports include press regulation, Brexit and EU rights and the compliance of international football governance with human rights. Sashy is also the co-founder of Commons, the not-for-profit law firm, having previously practised at Bindmans LLP, specialising in criminal cases with an international and human rights element.
Valerie is a well-versed PR senior account director, with experience in various sectors such as technology, music, entertainment and sport. Predominantly working with clients in the technology start-up space, she worked on an array of international campaigns including Mozilla's The Glassroom and New Balance's Liverpool FC kit launches as well as securing coverage in the likes of Cosmopolitan, Refinery29, The Guardian, TechCrunch and BBC News. In her spare time, Valerie writes music and events reviews and is passionate about breaking the stigma surrounding mental health in the UK.
Cordelia Kretzchmar is a highly-experienced PR professional with a strong background in media campaigns that move people to action, and change the way we think. As Head of PR for Oxfam, Cordelia helped shape the charity’s Inequality and Climate campaigns as well its campaign for more sustainable consumerism, Second Hand September. A former senior television news correspondent for ITV and the BBC, Cordelia brings a journalist’s perspective to the way clients tell their stories.
Claude Moraes was MEP for London between 1999 and 2020 until the UK formally left the European Union. With his election to the European Parliament in 1999, Moraes became London’s first BAME MEP. During his time in Europe, Moraes was elected as Deputy Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party and was Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE Committee) where he played a key role in shaping GDPR legislation. Following the Edward Snowden revelations about NSA surveillance, Moraes was appointed Rapporteur for the Parliament Inquiry into Mass Surveillance and led the European Parliament Inquiry into Facebook in 2018.
Alice is a skilled project director who works across 89up's entire digital offering. She’s experienced in working with a wide range of organisations, ensuring clear goal setting and smooth project processes for all involved stakeholders.
Stevie is a creative social and content Account Director with an agency background and experience working with world leading brands.
Having graduated from a competitive grad scheme at an Omincom agency in creative strategy, Stevie worked with corporate brands such as Ferrero, Philips, Western Union and AB Foods on their messaging, specialising in accessing high-value b2b audiences. She worked to help define the creative direction of the agency’s outputs by leading creative new-biz sessions and loves creative, actionable solutions to brand challenges.
Padraig Reidy is a writer, editor and campaigner who has worked across a range of media.
Padraig has written for publications from the Sun to the New Statesman, as well as ghostwriting for leading figures in the worlds of media, human rights and advocacy. His career in campaigning started at New Humanist magazine, where he was deputy editor, before moving on to become senior writer at Index on Censorship and then editorial director at 89up, where he oversees all our published output as well as editing Little Atoms, our acclaimed podcast, website and magazine.
“Everything I do is about helping ideas get the attention they deserve - whether that’s a fresh way of thinking about politics, a great scientific advance, a valued principle to be upheld, or an important piece of art. We’re here to celebrate and spotlight the people who do good.”
Saskia Kerkvliet an experienced public relations specialist overseeing integrated campaigns with a razor sharp attention to detail on day-to-day account management. Her specialist focus areas are climate change, economics, financial regulation, human rights and technology, with clients including Sunrise Project, Finance Watch, Make My Money Matter and the Internet Society. She holds an MSc in International Politics from SOAS.
Sue is a multi-disciplinary creative lead, experienced in conceiving and delivering content and campaigns for global broadcasters, brands, and charities. She is passionate about storytelling and creating impactful creative solutions that deliver meaningful engagement.
Caroline is an integrated Senior account manager working across 89up’s offerings. She has previously been both in-house and freelance for NGOs as well as worked in a newsroom and on investigative tv documentaries in national Danish media outlets. As an account lead, she always has an eye for the bigger picture and thinks across disciplines to make sure a campaign has the highest possible impact. She also dives deep into data analysis and is one of our experts on social listening.
Jack has agency experience of over five years working on some of the largest planning applications in London as well as a background in political campaigning.
Luke is a graphic designer and head of design at 89up. Luke has completed design projects in branding, print, web, UX, illustration and animation for organisations ranging from international brands to charities and tech startups including London Design Festival, Age UK, Alcon, Boehringer Ingelheim, GMB Union, NHS, and Red Bull.
“For me visual communication is all about providing people with positive and memorable experiences, the kind that catch their attention and holds it for long enough for you to tell your story.”
He is in the middle of the front-end and back-end. As front-ender, he is expert in the use of HTML, CSS layout and programming with JavaScript. As back-ender, he studies and develops the content structure, programming in PHP and WordPress and Drupal as a CMS/Framework.
“The Internet is a world without frontiers. Websites are the way for the people to get in”
Dylan James is a Aquia certified Drupal developer and has more than 10 years experience delivering large-scale custom websites for government, universities and business. He has also published books on Drupal development.
Sneha, PR Manager at 89up, combines over seven years of global communications expertise with her recent MA in Global Media from King's College London. Her diverse experience encompasses the government, corporate, and consumer sectors, underscored by significant roles at APCO Worldwide and Ogilvy & Mather. At APCO, she managed communications for Abu Dhabi's government technology arm, and at Ogilvy, she was instrumental in leading the World Expo Dubai 2020 campaign. Her skills in strategic planning, media relations, and crisis management, along with her experience in the Middle East and international markets, uniquely position her to drive 89up's PR strategies effectively.
Jade has a solid experience in social media content creation working with not for profit organisations and an MSc from the London School of Economics, she is committed to delivering high quality social media campaigns.
Ellie is a BA English Literature graduate from the University of Leeds with experience in podcasting, student journalism and community radio. She is part of the PR team, assisting in media outreach and communications.
Nicholas specialises in integrating robust research with communications and policy strategy, developing thoughtful insights and effective strategies for clients. With expertise in urban development and critical minerals, he joined 89up from King’s College London and has recently worked on projects for U.S. Agency for International Development. The United Nations Development Programme, and other organisations in the international development/conflict, e-safety and anti-corruption spaces. Nicholas began his career at leading communications agencies in London, Melbourne, and Buenos Aires, working with global and international brands
Nancy is a PR account manager working across a selection of 89up’s accounts. She has previously worked in-agency with a range of public and private sector clients, as well as different charities and NGOs. More recently, she worked at a London Borough Council specialising in community outreach and engagement.
Hannah is an Integrated Senior Account Manager who unites her passion for progressive causes with a strategic approach to achieving their aims. She is a seasoned campaigner specialising in impact-driven PR and digital supporter mobilisation, having worked on a broad range of campaigns in her native Australia spanning trade unions, environment, legal aid, social housing and domestic violence prevention. Prior to joining 89up, Hannah worked for a London PR agency managing clients in the education sector.
Steven works in the AIM team covering EU policy and politics. He previously worked in EU public affairs at a consultancy in London. He holds an MSc in European Public Policy from the London School of Economics and an LLM in European Law from Utrecht University.
Bhups is a WordPress and Drupal Developer working in the Labs team, he has years of experience in web design and full stack development.
Jenna Cox is a motion graphic designer specialising in illustration and animation. She has worked on several campaign projects producing uniquely designed UX and illustration based animations as well as lending a hand across all design fields within the company with experience in web, print and branding work.
Alice is an enthusiastic account manager, leading design and web development projects for impact focused organisations and campaigns across the world. With a background in product design, Alice is experienced in translating ideas into human-centric products and solutions.
James Ward has worked on campaigns for high-street brands, tech start-ups, charities and academic institutions. He is a published author and has written for the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal among many other outlets. He is the founder of the annual Boring Conference and presents the BBC's Boring Talks podcast.
“A crucial ingredient in successful PR is the ability to make unexpected connections and links between unlikely subjects, and to find compelling ways to weave them together through storytelling. I believe that there are always fresh ways to approach subjects with creative thinking and simple, yet original, ideas.”
Kaitlan is a designer with a passion for digital illustration and animation. She also loves delving into traditional stop motion animation.
Julie has a background in European Union Public Policy, with an MSc from the London School of Economics. She has experience working in a Brussels public affairs agency, and now works across the AIM and PR teams in an integrated role, supporting in policy research and communications.
Sambhaviy is a BASc Global Sustainable Development graduate from the University of Warwick. She has had experience working with M&C Saatchi KL and many notable South-East Asian NGOs.
Chloe is currently working in the AIM team whilst she completes her post graduate degree in MSc International Public Policy at Queen Mary University.
Yiannis has worked for international media outlets like Foreign Policy, the Atlantic, the LRB, The Guardian, Al Jazeera English, LITTLE ATOMS and others for over a decade, and has an extensive research and advocacy background on refugee issues and the far-right, with an EU-wide perspective.
Carmen is a BA International Development graduate with experience in journalism and think tanks. She is extremely passionate about crafting compelling narrative for worthwhile causes
Chanelle is our Junior videographer with a background in portrait photography. She loves creating moving image content that connects with people's hearts and minds, exceed clients expectations. Her experience spans across sustainability and creative sectors.
Khalif is a MA International Relations & Management graduate, specialising in the circular economy and conflict analysis, from the University of St Andrews, Scotland. He has had experience with many notable non-profits such as Teach For Malaysia (TFM) and Feeding the Needy (FTN).
Conor has a background in public policy, with an M.Sc from the London School of Economics. He works in the AIM team, supporting public affairs and the European Union.
Lilo is a Junior Social Executive at 89up. They have previously worked in education, teaching languages, while cultivating their passion for social activism. They have volunteered with several LGBT+ charities in both the UK and in Italy, focusing on providing support through media production and communications.
Inès has experience as a freelance journalist, writer and editor, and has worked closely with the third and public sector. She works on the PR team at 89up.
Contact us
66-68 Pentonville Road
London, N19PR