Catherine Ackroyd

The ability to listen, respond and engage is a fundamental skill of a communications professional.

It’s second nature to Catherine and her team at Mapa PR, which helps clients to fulfil their business aspirations through expert services. Catherine has many years of PR and marketing experience – in B2B, public sector, education and consumer. She has also been heavily involved in helping to promote the Humber region through business networks such as the Bondholders and her voluntary role at the former World Trade Centre Hull & Humber. ‘We like to champion businesses,’ says Catherine. And she hopes that her experience and enthusiasm can be utilised to help others who have taken the plunge and opted for self-employment. “I love spending time with many different kinds of people – learning from them, getting to understand their needs and supporting them. This is easily transferable to the world of business.”

Catherine is a keen violinist. She plays with the Hull Philharmonic Orchestra and serves as an executive committee member of the Hull Philharmonic Society, which is the charity in charge of running the orchestra. “Hull has one of the best voluntary symphony orchestras in all of the UK, so let’s shout about it!” she says.

Catherine is also the mother of two boys, Otto and Elliot.

Mapa PR was set up in 1996 after Catherine returned to Hull following a stint in consumer PR for the nursery market in Brighton. She combined her skillsets with those of her father, a well-known journalist, and her former partner who was a magazine designer working on national consumer titles. They quickly became an award winning team, gaining accolades for their work – and they still work together today along with more recent additions to the company’s staff.