Our People

He is an experienced political consultant and continues to manage relationships with the investment community and wider industry stakeholders.

Over the past 10 years at GK, Louise has advised on communications strategies and private equity deals across highly regulated industries and is an industry leader in providing senior political counsel and insights.

He has a strong network of senior political and government stakeholders in London and overseas together with skills in developing and maintaining complex relationships with parliamentary and government audiences around the world.

His cross-sector expertise has been built in senior public affairs and communications roles in-house and in advisory firms.

With over 15 years’ experience, Lizzie leads GK’s political and regulatory due diligence services, providing senior counsel to investors and management teams on the impact of political change on investment decisions.

Lizzie advises clients on policy risk, pre- and post-transaction strategy and corporate messaging, and has advised some of the world’s largest investors.

Emma started life at GK as an intern but has risen up to lead on our new business targets
and advocacy team on a wide variety of clients, as well as representing us on industry
bodies.

He was Member of Parliament for Winchester from 2010-2024 and served in Government as a Whip, Public Health Minister and chaired the influential Health and Social Care Select Committee.

Steve’s main interests include primary care, public health, NHS leadership and prevention of ill health as well as HIV, health tech and cancer.

He also co-hosts the successful ‘Prevention is the new cure’ podcast and lives in Hampshire. He now works in the private sector as a health advisor and speaker and is a charity trustee.

Phil works with the GK team on all matters health and social care, including providing strategic support to investors during the investment process. While Care Services Minister, his work included development of the National Care Service White Paper, the National Dementia Strategy, the National Mental Health Strategy, and the National Autism Strategy. As an adjunct professor at Imperial College’s Global Health Institute, Phil continues to have strong relationships with leading healthcare stakeholders.

Phil is also a Director of a cross-party health Commission which is focused on Health Devolution. Furthermore, Phil helps GK clients through providing strategic advice and sharing his experiences of policy making within the Labour Party.

As Skills Minister, Rob oversaw a significant boost in apprenticeships with a new UCAS service and launched the Skills for Life campaign to encourage more employers to take on apprentices. He also scrapped the cap on the number of apprentices an SME can employ to maximise opportunities across the country, tripled the Care Leaver Bursary and brought through the legislation to establish the Lifelong Learning Entitlement to revolutionise student finance to suit the needs of students and employers.

As a Minister, MP and Chair of the House of Commons Education Select Committee Rob was also a vocal advocate for prison education, SEND, careers advice and guidance, and actively spoke out against school closures, holding the Government to account over the Covid-19 catch-up programme.

Ian’s experience stretches across many different policy areas, but since 2015 his focus has been on the education sectors. Ian led the implementation of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, including establishing the Office for Students. Ian designed, set up and then led the central coordinating function for DfE’s regional work across the schools sector, SEN and children’s social care. Ian has also worked on skills policy and delivery, for example leading a major review of the Education and Skills Funding Agency in 2021/22. Ian’s extensive experience in governance includes serving as a Fulbright Commissioner and on the OfS Board as the Government’s representative.

John brings additional experience in financial services from his prior career as UK Chairman and Senior Partner at KPMG. John is a strategic advisor at GK.

Over the last 30 years, Tim has worked extensively in the private equity world, including for 3i Plc, Royal Bank Private Equity, LDC and Palatine.

Tim is also a former Chair of the British Venture Capital Association.

Will has advised some of the world’s largest companies on their public affairs and political engagement strategies, and has particular experience in the financial and professional services sector.

He begun his career working in the House of Commons before joining his first consultancy ten years ago.

She provides senior counsel to management teams and investors on future proofing businesses as politics, policy and regulations evolve. She works closely with businesses and investors to navigate the political landscape and complex policy and regulation in high growth emerging sectors.

Thea has over a decade’s experience of providing policy advisory and undertaking political due diligence, both from within and outside of parliament. She has guided politicians and investors throughout several rounds of Brexit negotiations, three general elections and the Covid pandemic.

He advises investors on political, policy and regulatory trends in a range of politically sensitive and highly regulated sectors. Hugo works closely with investors throughout M&A processes on both the buy and sell side of transactions to help them identify, assess and navigate emerging risks and opportunities.

Hugo brings extensive policy experience to GK, having advised Conservative MPs on policy related to home affairs, defence as well as digital, culture, media and sport in his time working in parliament. He has since advised investors on numerous policy areas, including education, children’s social care, SEND, health and social care, energy and housing.

Sonia has experience advising businesses and investors across a range of regulated sectors, including delivering assessments to senior stakeholders on policy feasibility, regulatory constraints and government stakeholder dynamics.

Prior to joining GK, Sonia worked for 6+ years across political consulting roles in Washington, DC, advising both corporate and investor clients on US policy and politics.

Sonia holds a BA in Public Policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a MA in Public Policy from King’s College London.

She has spent the past two and a half years advising clients on political and regulatory developments, helping them navigate the political landscape and engage effectively with policymakers. Lauren leads a range of client accounts, providing strategic public affairs advice and supporting the delivery of political engagement and advocacy campaigns across a variety of sectors.

Prior to joining GK, Lauren worked at a political intelligence company, where she managed clients primarily focused on technology and telecommunications policy.

Lauren holds a BSc in Politics and International Relations from the University of Bath.

Leveraging his experience at a leading Westminster think tank and time as a staffer in Parliament, James conducts deep dive policy research and intelligence gathering to inform commercial insights and political risk analysis for investor clients.

James previously worked at another public affairs consultancy delivering client outcomes and supporting business growth opportunities in the transition to EVs and deployment of EV charging infrastructure amongst others.

Prior to this, James was a Research Fellow at Policy Exchange and Junior Secretary to a then Cabinet Minister. He holds an MA in Political Economy of the Middle East from King’s College London and BA in Politics from Durham University.

Brett advises private equity investors on political, policy and regulatory developments across regulated sectors and supports them throughout the buy and sell process to identify and navigate emerging risks and opportunities.

Brett joined GK in May 2026 after spending two and a half years at the Policy Research Unit in Parliament as an adviser to the shadow education and energy teams.

He holds an LLB degree in Law from the University of Exeter.

Natty joined GK in May 2026 after spending more than two years at a boutique PR and public affairs agency, managing a variety of clients across the education, health and social care, and corporate sectors. He also served as Editor of policy opinion site Comment Central.

Prior to this, Natty spent a short time in the office of a Labour MP and then-shadow minister.

He holds a first-class BA degree in History from the University of Bristol.

Sam joined GK in October 2026 after spending nearly two years at the Policy Research Unit as an adviser to the shadow energy security and Cabinet Office frontbench teams.

He holds a BA in History and Politics from the University of Oxford.

She joined GK Strategy in November 2022 and supports our public affairs and communications work across a range of sectors.

Noureen has previously completed an internship at I have a Voice (IHAV) as a Policy and Public Affairs Assistant. She is also part of the IHAV Youth Ambassador programme and is currently working on the ‘Politics for All’ campaign, a movement  seeking to make political literacy accessible for all young people.

Noureen has a BA in Politics and International Relations from the University of East London.

Jacob joined GK in October 2025 and supports investors and management teams in understanding the risks and opportunities arising from changes in the political, policy and regulatory landscape. He also plays a key role in GK’s work on Emerging Regulatory Markets.

Prior to GK, Jacob completed a BSc in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at King’s College London, and was a research assistant for a lecturer at Kings. He researched state capacity and its relationship to liberalism.

Sadie joined GK in June 2026 after working in an MP’s office and completing an MSc in Public Policy at UCL.

Her work in Parliament focused on online safety, supporting policy development and public opinion research on digital regulation.

She also holds a BA in International Relations and Development from the University of Birmingham.

She works with clients across health, education, and media and digital policy, providing public affairs support, policy analysis, and political monitoring.

Prior to joining GK, Grace spent a year in the Global Banking & Markets division at Goldman Sachs.

She holds a BA in International Relations from the University of Exeter.