Who are the Whitehouse Consultancy team?

The Whitehouse Consultancy requires that every member of its growing team has a thorough grounding in politics and public affairs, and real experience in the field. The team we have built delivers value far in excess of the sum of its parts.

• Christopher Whitehouse - Managing Director
• David Hare - Associate Director
• Camilla Horwood - Senior Consultant
• Kris Verlé - Senior Consultant
• Mette Kahlin - Consultant
• Katie McDowell - Consultant
• Sofie Schoolmeesters - Consultant
• Natasha Kennedy - Consultant
• Zoë Anderson - Media Consultant
• Gary Jones - Parliamentary Monitor/Junior Consultant
• Frances Powrie - Parliamentary Monitor/Junior Consultant
• Alexandra Goody - Parliamentary Monitor/Junior Consultant

Key Whitehouse Executives are accredited lobbyists of the European Parliament

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Christopher Whitehouse - Managing Director

After working for 16 years in the Houses of Parliament for MPs and Peers, Chris Whitehouse launched the company in 1996. Qualified with distinction in business studies and public administration, he has a solid track record of advising companies, trade associations and campaigning groups on strategies and tactics for influencing public policy in Westminster, Whitehall and Brussels. An experienced media performer he also regularly lectures on politics and public affairs.

His service in the House of Commons, particularly working for All-Party Parliamentary Groups and the Chairs of various Select Committees, provides excellent contacts with Government Ministers, Opposition Spokesmen, Special Advisors to Government Ministers and key backbenchers. He has worked closely with Members of the European Parliament, and has developed considerable expertise in handling matters before the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers.

Chris also served as Deputy Leader of a local council. He is currently a Director of the Westminster Media Forum, the Westminster Diet and Health Forum, the Westminster Education Forum, and the Westminster eForum. He is also Clerk to the All-Party Parliamentary Media Group.

An advisor over many years to the British Olympic Association, Chris is currently Chair of the Liaison Organisation for Business Investors in the National Health Service LIFT Scheme; and is a former Chief Executive of the Manufacturing and Construction Industries Alliance.

An active player in national politics, a senior figure in local government and a regular visitor to Brussels he has wide experience at every level of public policy development in the UK and EU.

David Hare - Associate Director

After graduation David took on the role of Westminster Day organiser, the largest political event in the UK, which featured the leaders of both opposition parties and senior government Ministers. He then worked for the Liberal Democrat Home Affairs team, drafting briefings and reports, tabling amendments to government legislation and assisting the party with their policy work.

Subsequently David worked in the voluntary sector, running campaigns, providing comprehensive monitoring services as well as acting as clerk to All Party Parliamentary Groups. He carried out lobbying work at party political conferences, provided advice to experts giving evidence to Select Committees and developed full media and public affairs strategies. With a personal interest in the criminal justice field, he has written a number of articles and papers on youth justice.

Since joining the Whitehouse Consultancy David has continued to specialise on voluntary sector issues and maintains a strong understanding of the sector. David has also led on a host of clients focused on European issues and has built up considerable contacts in all of the political institutions of the EU. In particular David has been heavily involved in lobbying on legislation in the health sector and has extensive knowledge of the European legislative process.

David also works on our primary health care accounts, including the Liaison Organisation for Business Investors in NHS LIFT which brings him into regular contact with senior policy makers, academics and Parliamentarians.

Camilla Horwood - Senior Consultant

Camilla has many years experience in government affairs and stakeholder relations, with particular knowledge of the Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals, Financial Services and Environmental sectors. She has delivered public affairs campaigns in Westminster, Whitehall, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly and Brussels, managing top-level political stakeholder engagement programmes for a wide range of companies, including: medical device suppliers, pharmaceutical companies, private healthcare providers, health insurers, international financial service providers, foreign governments and trade associations. She has also worked with foreign governments on reputation management and attracting foreign direct investment.

Before joining the Whitehouse Consultancy, Camilla was part of the government affairs division of a large international law firm in the City and prior to that, a Senior Account Executive at a public affairs consultancy based in London.

She has also managed relations with the National Health Service and Government for a major international pharmaceutical company.

Camilla holds a joint honours degree in Politics and International Relations from London Guildhall University and has worked in the House of Lords. In 2005, she worked in the team managing stakeholder and media relations for the high-profile publication of 'The Quest for Quality in the NHS' - the first major independent assessment of NHS progress under Labour.

Kris Verlé - Senior Consultant

Having grown up in Brussels, Kris obtained a Masters degree in Comparative Politics and went on to study business management. Fluent in six languages, he has worked for the Liberal Democrats in the United Kingdom parliament for five years.

After having worked in the party Whips Office and press office, he worked as Head of Office for Simon Hughes MP, President of the Liberal Democrats, who was also spokesman on various Shadow Cabinet portfolios, including Home Affairs, local government issues and legal matters. Whilst working on numerous Bills, Kris was on the receiving end of parliamentary lobbying campaigns many times. As a result, he has a proven track record of working successfully with MPs, Government, the EU and other stakeholders on a wide variety of issues and has a unique knowledge of parliamentary procedure and protocol.

He also developed excellent campaigning and communications skills whilst playing a leading role in a number of high profile election campaigns such as the London Mayoral Election in 2004, the General Election in 2005 and the Lib Dem Leadership contest in 2006.

Kris co-wrote The Human and Economic Cost of Epilepsy in England on behalf of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Epilepsy

At Whitehouse Kris is responsible for handling a number of our major client accounts.

Mette Kahlin - Consultant

Having grown up in Sweden and New York, Mette received a Master’s degree in Politics and Economics. Following graduation, Mette worked for a global risk consultancy, analysing war, terrorism and political risks as well as opportunities for companies, Governments and organizations.

Before joining Whitehouse, Mette worked in the House of Lords as well as the House of Commons for the Liberal Democrats. She has considerable experience in parliamentary procedure, drafting legislation, media management as well as identifying and implementing national campaigns. Mette was also actively involved in the Swedish “Yes to the Euro” campaign in 2003.

At Whitehouse Mette’s portfolio include a number of clients ranging from the Financial to Health Sectors.

Katie McDowell - Consultant

Katie has a BSc (Hons) in Economics and Politics and an MSc in International Relations from the University of Bristol. She wrote her dissertation on the interplay of politics and economic markets and retains a strong interest in international policy issues.

Following an internship at leading think-tank, the Social Market Foundation, Katie went on to work at the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), in the National Climate Change Policy Division. There she specialised in emissions trading policy and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

At Whitehouse, Katie works on client accounts covering the voluntary sector, early years and children's policy, professional regulation in the NHS and the primary healthcare market and has an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the Parliamentary process. Katie also manages the Whitehouse internship programme.

Sofie Schoolmeesters - Consultant

Sofie has an MA in Law and MA in International Relations from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium.

Following graduation, Sofie went on to work, in the heart of Brussels, for a consultancy specialising in European Public Affairs. There she led the client relationship with a large UK multiple retailer, specialising in European Food Law, Consumer Protection and Environment Policy.

As well as intelligence gathering for her clients, Sofie's extensive experience of Brussels led her to play a key role in the policy development and training of her client's in-house legal and policy teams.

Having grown up in Belgium and having studied for a time in Australia, Sofie is fluent in Dutch, French and English.

At Whitehouse, Sofie leads on our European monitoring and supports clients seeking to influence European food and nutrition policy.

Natasha Kennedy - Consultant

Natasha has an LLB in Law and an LLM in International and European Human Rights Law from the University of Leeds. Whilst studying for her postgraduate degree, she carried out an internship at Amnesty International UK. After graduation she was a legal researcher for Disability Rights Promotion International (DRPI) and wrote articles and papers on International and European Human Rights Policy.

For more than two years, she worked for a well known children's charity, Whizz-Kidz, lobbying the Government and driving high profile campaigns on children's health, education and issues around disability. Natasha has an excellent understanding of the issues which affect the third sector and how to affect change within Government departments.

At Whitehouse, Natasha works on a number of large healthcare accounts and has an in-depth knowledge and understanding of health policy and stakeholder management.

Zoë Anderson - Media Consultant

Originally from New Zealand, Zoë joined the Whitehouse team following its expansion into offering media services, and has a particular focus on core client LIFT LOBI. Zoë is Accredited Public Relations (APR) certified.

In New Zealand, Zoë worked for the farming lobby group Federated Farmers, where she was part of the "Fight Against Ridiculous Taxes" (FART) campaign team, which defeated government plans to introduce an agricultural emissions research tax. Zoë also worked at the Department of Corrections. Since moving to London, Zoë has worked in several press offices, including almost two years at HM Treasury, working on tax and financial services issues.

Gary Jones - Parliamentary Monitor/Junior Consultant

Gary has a BA in Contemporary History and Politics from the University of Salford, specialising in UK politics. He also spent time at the Anglo-American College in Prague where he studied European history and politics.

Gary worked in the office of Mark Prisk MP, Shadow Minister for Business and Enterprise, handling correspondence, arranging meetings including Shadow Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) events and carrying out detailed research and intelligence work across the portfolio.

He served as an intern at the National Skills Forum researching and producing articles on the skills agenda.

At Whitehouse Gary monitors the main UK political institutions as well as performing a range of intelligence and research focused tasks, specialising in the health and environment portfolios.

Frances Powrie - Parliamentary Monitor/Junior Consultant

Frances has a BA in politics from the University of Nottingham. After graduation, she worked in the National Health Service in an organisation that helped improve the commissioning of health services in Greater Manchester.

Frances then went on to work in the Brussels office of Gary Titley MEP, leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party, where she worked on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, as well as arranging meetings, liaising with constituents, and researching briefings notes on a variety of policy areas.

At Whitehouse, Frances is responsible for Parliamentary monitoring for a number of clients in the areas of food, nutrition and health, particularly those with a European focus. She also provides general support across that area, undertaking research, drafting target lists, attending relevant events, and organising meetings.

Alexandra Goody - Parliamentary Monitor/Junior Consultant

Alexandra has an MA in International Relations from King's College, London and a BA from the University of Cambridge.

She has previously worked in Spain for an international market research company. Following her move back to the UK, Alexandra worked as a research assistant for a foreign policy think tank, the Henry Jackson Society, where she produced written research and analysis on a wide range of international affairs, focusing particularly on European Security. She also led on arranging a number of parliamentary events and policy seminars.

At Whitehouse Alexandra conducts parliamentary monitoring as well as undertaking a range of research and intelligence gathering tasks for clients, specialising in the health and environmental sectors.