Paul Montague-Smith joins Grayling as director

Grayling has recruited Paul Montague-Smith as a director in its London public affairs team, with a brief to develop its existing financial services offering.

Montague-Smith is a former Bell Pottinger partner with 26 years’ experience advising businesses on politics, regulation and reputation management.

Prior to joining Bell Pottinger, he was a government relations manager at HSBC. His past clients include HSBC, Citigroup, Friends Life, Bank of Ireland, Provident Financial and Open Banking.

He will report to Jonathan Curtis, Grayling’s UK head of public affairs.

Montague-Smith said: “I’m thrilled to have joined what is a strikingly great team. We’ve already won some interesting mandates in the retail financial services space and I’m excited at the prospect of us building on that.”

Curtis added: “We’re delighted Paul has joined our award-winning team. His deep experience of public affairs and reputation management, particularly in the financial services sector, will significantly strengthen our already strong offer.”