People

Abigail Jones has over 25 years experience in corporate communications and public affairs including consulting on corporate communications, positioning and identity; government and stakeholder relations; change management and internal communications. Abigail has worked with European and international blue chip companies, trade associations, think tanks and CEO advocacy groups. She has set up and ran industry coalitions that have engaged with NGOs and institutions such as the European Commission, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the UN. Her assignments have led her to work both with clients and the media around the world, including the majority of countries in the European Union, Switzerland, the United States, Nigeria, Ghana, Turkey and Japan. 

Current and former clients include - ACE (Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment), Akzo Nobel, Cefic, European Roundtable of Industrialists, Heineken, Hewlett Packard, Interbrew (now ABInbev), International Centre for Alcohol Policies, Levi Strauss, Nigerian Breweries, Private Investors for Africa, Sabanci Holdings, SABMiller, Shell, Toyota, Tusiad, and Unilever.

Giles Keane has fifteen years’ experience in EU public affairs consultancy. Prior to joining acumen public affairs as a founding partner, he was a Director at Hill & Knowlton in Brussels. His first role in Brussels was as a trainee in the External Relations Director General of the European Commission. Giles’ strength lies in his ability to combine traditional public affairs with other communications disciplines to provide integrated communications counsel to his clients. He has worked across numerous sectors and policy areas including food & agriculture, environment & energy, healthcare and international trade.

Current and recent clients of Giles since the creation of Acumen include Cargill Europe, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, Heineken, LEO Pharma, PlasticsEurope, Procter & Gamble and Syngenta. Previous clients of relevance include the British Poultry Council and US national renderers association for whom he monitored and advised on EU veterinary legislation, the European Sugar Manufacturers Association, Kellogg’s, and the European Whey Producers Association. Giles is an Irish national and in addition to his native English, he speaks fluent French and Spanish, as well as conversational Italian.

Nikos is an Associate Director working with the company’s healthcare clients. He has 10 years’ combined experience in public policy, EU public affairs, communications and academia.

Having an in-depth knowledge of health policy, specialising, among others, in areas such as IP, pricing and access, vaccines, HTA, AMR and disease awareness, he has advised the company’s healthcare clients on public affairs issues and has led assignments on strategy development, in-depth policy analysis, media relations and communication, stakeholder engagement and outreach.

Prior to joining acumen, Nikos worked for the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV), where he set up and ran the EU Affairs and Media department. He has also worked in academia as a researcher and lecturer on negotiation techniques and policy coordination. He has also worked as an election campaign manager in Greece and as external consultant specialising on EU social policy issues for another consultancy.

Former and current clients at Acumen include Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, MSD, Roche, LEO Pharma, Eli Lilly & Company, the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) and the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG).

Nikos is also the Vice Chair of the Food, Health and Consumers Task Force of the British Chamber of Commerce (EU & Belgium).

He is a native Greek speaker, is fluent in English and an intermediate level French speaker.

George is an Account Director. He joined the Acumen team in April 2016 and since then has worked on a range of clients including Uber, EuroCloud, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Mastercard. 

He previously worked as a Policy Advisor for EUROCITIES, the network of major cities in Europe, where he focused on issues such as citizen digital inclusion, open data and innovation policy. Prior to this he worked for a public affairs consultancy as a policy officer for EDiMA, the European Digital Media Association. Through this work George acquired in depth knowledge on issues such as innovation policy, digital transformation and data issues.

He holds a Master’s degree in Economics from University College Dublin. In addition to his native English George speaks Italian. 

Ana-Maria works on public affairs and communications for clients in the fields of public and global health.  She is involved in policy research and analysis, strategy development and advocacy, but also communication activities such as drafting press releases and blogs, or developing social media strategies for clients around policy milestones or disease awareness campaigns.

Prior to joining acumen, Ana-Maria worked for FleishmanHillard Paris, as well as with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania and the European Institute of Romania, where she helped national experts provide input to the Romanian Government on several key European policy areas. Ana-Maria holds a Master’s degree in European Affairs from Sciences Po Paris, and is fluent in Romanian, French, English, Greek and has a basic understanding of Spanish and Italian.

Maëlle Quintart is the acumen public affairs office manager. She has over 15 years administrative experience in the EU, Trade Association and Consultancy world. Prior to joining acumen public affairs as Office Manager in 2011, Maëlle was New Business and Marketing coordinator at Hill & Knowlton Brussels, where she had started as personal assistant to Elaine Cruikshanks. At Acumen, Maëlle is in charge of the day-to-day running of the office (accounting, HR, travel organisation, website, suppliers, translations…) and provides client support where her skills are needed. Maëlle is a native French speaker and holds a translation degree in English and Spanish.

Brendan Moran is an Account Manager in the healthcare team with over five years of experience in EU affairs. Prior to joining acumen public affairs, Brendan was a Senior Policy Adviser to the CEO at the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU, where he advised the Board and senior leadership on implementing public affairs and communication strategies and was responsible for briefing the CEO on European and international affairs. Before this, Brendan worked in the healthcare team at a Brussels-based public affairs consultancy and in the EU affairs office of a multinational pharmaceutical company. Brendan holds an MA in European Political and Administrative Studies from the College of Europe and a BA in European Studies from King’s College London. Brendan is a British national, and speaks fluent French.

Alex is an Account Manager at acumen public affairs. He joined Acumen in 2016, having previously been an intern in late 2015, a trainee and Consultant until 2018.

Since joining Acumen, Alex has worked on a broad range of projects for clients in the healthcare, transport, industrial and agriculture sectors. Alex has particular expertise on antimicrobial resistance, vaccines and Brexit, and also has a flair for creative work within the Acumen team. Alex has been recognised for his work at Acumen, winning the award for the public affairs industry’s Promising Newcomer at the 2017 EuroPAwards.

Outside of his work at Acumen, Alex is also a member of the Executive Committee of the young public affairs professionals organisation ECPA 2.0, and Alex is actively involved pro-EU movements in UK politics. Alex has previously worked at the central office of a major UK political party, including during a General Election, and has a background working on a variety of creative projects.

Alex holds a BSc in Government from the London School of Economics. He is a native English speaker and is proficient in Spanish.

Iveta Kazlauskaite is a Consultant at Acumen. Iveta was previously a trainee at the company, and prior to that she completed a Blue Book traineeship at the European Commission, where she worked in the Cabinet of Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis for Health and Food Safety.

Iveta holds a Master’s Degree in Development Policy from KDI School in Public Policy and Management, in addition she holds MA in European Studies from KU Leuven and BA in International Relations from Lancaster University. Iveta is a native Lithuanian speaker, fluent in English and proficient in Russian.

Laura Pascual is a Consultant at Acumen. Previously, Laura worked as a Consultant at a Public Affairs company in Madrid, Spain, where she provided support for clients of the pharmaceutical, digital and food sectors. She has also experience in strategic communications consultancy.

Laura holds a BA in International Relations and a BA in Translation and Interpreting by the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas. She is a native Spanish and Catalan speaker, fluent in English and German and has a basic knowledge of French.

Prior to joining Acumen in October 2018, Giorgos developed the outreach of a Washington-based NGO establishing its presence in US Congress, got an insider’s view on EU policymaking during his work at the European Commission, and helped to shape the advocacy strategy of a large multinational company on innovation. His policy experience includes working with trade associations, diplomatic missions, and NGOs in Europe and the United States. At Acumen, he supports clients on mobility, innovation and circular economy.

Giorgos has a Master’s in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies, graduating at the top of his class with a Fulbright Fellowship. He speaks English, French, Greek, and Russian.

Denise joined Acumen in 2018, having previously worked at a consultancy, focusing on advising small- and medium enterprises (SMEs) and gained experience in transport and employment policy during an internship at a small public affairs firm in Brussels. 

At Acumen, she works across various sectors and policy areas including environment, transport and social policy. 

Denise holds a BA in European Studies as well as a MA in European Public Affairs from Maastricht University, the Netherlands. She is a native Dutch speaker, fluent in English and has an intermediate level of German and French. 

Camilla is a Consultant working mainly with global health clients, to build on her institutional and communication experience. Prior to becoming a member of the team in Acumen, Camilla worked at UNFPA’s regional office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, focusing on reproductive health and rights, gathering technical national best practices from across the whole region. She has worked on research and communication projects (media relations, social media and events) for the Danish Embassy in Nepal, Danish Ministry of Environment and Food, and various NGOs including Alzheimer’s Association.

Camilla holds a BA in Market and Management Anthropology and a MA in Global Development from University of Copenhagen. Camilla is a native Danish speaker, fluent in English and intermediate in German.

Scott is a Consultant working on EU health policy and a range of other client portfolios. Prior to joining acumen, Scott spent time working on European affairs at the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) where he focused on insurance, digital policy and the impact of Brexit upon British and EU27 businesses.

Scott holds a BA in Politics from Newcastle University and an MSc in EU Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Originally from Northern Ireland, Scott is a native English speaker who holds both British and Irish citizenship.

Prior to joining Acumen in April 2019, Ekaterina worked as Public Relations and Corporate Communications Specialist at a global PR agency in Moscow supporting clients in healthcare, education, tourism, finance, and high-tech sectors. Previously, she completed two internships developing an international educational project on air and environmental awareness in Marseille and assisting the Communications and Campaigns department of the International Federation of Journalists in Brussels. Apart from that, she has a background in radio hosting, organisation of cultural and humanitarian events, language teaching and interpreting.

Ekaterina holds a Master’s degree in Translation from Lomonosov Moscow State University and a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Aix-Marseille University. She has also obtained a graduate diploma in Law from French University College in Moscow.

Ekaterina speaks English, French, Russian and German, and has a basic understanding of Spanish and Romanian.