Jack Sellers, who worked for Rishi Sunak from October 2022 until leaving Downing Street in July this year, has joined Blakeney, reporting to the consultancy’s founder and chief executive, Gabe Winn.
Sellers is providing strategic media advice to clients on both proactive and crisis comms. His appointment comes amid a time of expansion at the agency, which broke into the top 100 of PRWeek UK’s Top 150 UK PR Consultancies rankings for the first time this year. It has also expanded its network, having partnered with agencies in Brazil, the US, and Brussels since the start of last year.
Winn said: “You might question what the logic is of hiring a former Tory spad after a landslide Labour victory, and it’s simple: Jack is a phenomenal media operator, and an exceptional addition to the Blakeney team. He joins us at a time when an ability to work with the political media, as well as a thorough understanding of the workings of the government machine, are particularly in demand from our clients.”
Sellers started out as a finance assistant at Cardiff-based bank Hodge eight years ago. He left after a year to become a researcher at the Welsh Conservative Party and rose to become head of comms during his three years there.
In 2020 he became special adviser to Simon Hart, the then-Welsh secretary. During his time working for Hart he spent six months in a dual role as a spad to Boris Johnson. Sellers left in July 2022, when Hart resigned as Welsh secretary, and went on to work on Rishi Sunak’s 2022 leadership campaign. He spent a brief spell as head of strategic comms at law firm Pogust Goodhead before becoming a spad to Sunak in October 2022. Sellers was responsible for the government grid and strategy before becoming Sunak’s deputy press secretary in late 2023.
Commenting on his new role, Sellers said: “The Blakeney team has a fantastic reputation. I know firsthand from their clients that they provide an expert service which is unique to the market, delivers results, and drives positive change.”
He added: “The work they do is thorough, personal, and agile, and they specialise in taking on the most complex communications challenges. I’m delighted to be joining the team at such an exciting time for the company”.
Blakeney was founded by ex-Centrica corporate affairs director Gabe Winn in 2016 and in less than a decade has grown to a 27-strong team working for clients ranging from Octopus Energy, Co-op Live owners the Oak View Group, and the World Economic Forum, to ebike and escooter firm Lime and The Guardian.
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