Winners 2026

PR and communications 2026

Emma Begley joined Rolls-Royce to head up communications in 2022 from BMW UK, where she had been general manager of product and internal communications since 2019. Begley first joined the BMW Group in 2014, working at the company’s headquarters in Munich, where she was spokesperson for sales chief Ian Robertson. She began her career at the BBC before moving to Germany in 2002 to pursue a freelance career as a journalist and translator. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and French and a post-graduate diploma in broadcast journalism.

PR and communications 2026 nominees

Kate Thompson, Volkswagen Group

Kate Thompson is responsible for overseeing communications at a group level for the Volkswagen Group in the UK, coordinating messaging that applies to all the core group brands including Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, Cupra, Skoda and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. She also sits on the board. She moved to her current role in July 2023 after overseeing both PR and marketing for the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand, covering vans, pick-ups and camper vans. There, she was part of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles management team and reported directly to the brand director. She joined Volkswagen in 1999 after securing a PR role for the passenger car brand, before moving to Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles to oversee press relations in 2015. Thompson switched to PR after starting out in journalism writing for fleet magazines.

Natasha Waddington-Beamont, Hyundai Motor

Natasha Waddington-Beamont has led the PR operations for the Korean firm’s UK arm since 2011, managing a five-strong team and reporting directly to UK managing director Ashley Andrew. She also advises the board on communications policy. Waddington-Beamont joined from Jaguar Land Rover, where she spent seven years in various positions within the company’s public affairs teams, leaving as communications manager for PR resources. She graduated from Cardiff University with a degree in history.

Emma Bergg, Ford

Emma Bergg’s US-based role is to oversee communications for Ford’s new-energy ventures, including electric cars and the company’s new storage energy division. She took on this global role in 2021, initially just focusing on EVs, after being promoted from her previous title of global EV communications manager. Bergg moved to the US in 2018 after leading Ford’s communications for its GT racing programme. She joined Ford in the UK in 2003 as a project manager for powertrains, moving to communications in 2005 and rising to chief press officer for Ford of Britain.

Debbie Hull, Mercedes-Benz UK

Debbie Hull moved to head up communications at Mercedes-Benz UK in 2016, having worked for the German premium brand in the UK since 1994. Recent initiatives include sponsoring football’s Women’s Super League. Prior to her current role, she was brand and lifestyle communications manager, where she was instrumental in changing the brand perception of the company to something cooler and younger by sponsoring events such as London Fashion Week.

Louise Evans Betts, JLR

Louise Evans Betts joined JLR in 2022 to take on the company’s external communications functions, reporting to chief of staff Chris Thorp. The senior role was her first in the automotive industry, having moved from British Airways, where she had been director of external communications and sustainability. Prior to that, she worked at Sainsbury’s, media group Dentsu Aegis Network and ITV, all in senior communication roles. She is also a career coach.

Christina Burnham-Hepe, BMW UK

Christina Burnham-Hepe has overseen corporate communications for BMW in the UK since 2025, after first taking the post provisionally in 2024 following the retirement of her former boss, Graham Biggs. Burnham-Hepe was previously general manager for product and internal communications at the premium brand, a post she was appointed to after moving to the UK from BMW HQ in Munich, where she had been a press officer covering corporate and sales.