The Team
Philip Gibson
Managing Director
Phil founded Reverberate in 2007 and has worked in the agriculture and food industries for more than 26 years. Phil studied agriculture at Seale-Hayne and has worked for the NFU, ADAS and leading dairy co-operatives. As well as extensive knowledge of the agricultural industry, he is a Chartered Practitioner of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, a Professional Fellow of the Institute of Agricultural Management and has completed both the General Management Programme and the Business Growth Programme at Cranfield University Business School, the latter as a Worshipful Company of Farmers scholar. He is also a licensed CowSignals® Master trainer and a certified Climate Reality Leader.
As well as leading the Reverberate business, Phil spends his time working with clients to develop and implement communication and marketing strategies. In reality, this means that he is just as happy out on a farm as he is stood in a boardroom leading a planning session.
When he's not working, he can be found dreaming about Land Rovers, sailing or walking his border collie with Mel and their children.
Melanie Gibson
Director
Mel co-founded Reverberate having met Phil at Seale-Hayne, where she also studied for a degree in agriculture. Following college, she pursued a career in farming and the agricultural supply trade, working for Mole Valley Farmers and Pfizer before starting Reverberate.
Today, Mel is a partner in her family dairy farming business, which keeps her up to date with the latest technical and practical innovations on farm. She is also a key part of Reverberate’s leadership team, with a particular focus on our people, strategy and internal systems.
Emily Ball
Senior Account Director
Emily has more than 20 years of experience in agricultural communications and brings to the team a combination of effective campaign management, alongside delivery of practical day to day communications activity.
Emily studied at Seale Hayne before a spell in a PR agency and then working for the RABDF. Since then, Emily has spent some 15 years working extensively for AHDB Dairy, both in-house and in freelance roles, as well as for other clients across the agricultural industry. She also spent a year working in the dairy industry in New Zealand and, in 2003, completed her Nuffield Scholarship.
Emily and her husband are partners in a high yielding dairy unit in Staffordshire. Living and working on a dairy farm gives her technical and practical knowledge, as well as a clear understanding of the needs of farmers.
Emily enjoys watching her two boys play rugby, and watching and scoring cricket. She (still!) plays netball for a local team, likes walking and is involved in her local village hall committee.
Lauren Chambers
Senior Account Director
Lauren has held PR and communications roles in a range of industries including manufacturing and utilities. She has more than a decade of experience in agriculture having worked at a dairy co-operative before joining Reverberate.
Lauren's range of experience, along with her marketing degree from Aston University, post graduate diploma from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and participation in the Agricultural Leadership Programme at Cranfield Business School, mean she consistently delivers effective communication strategies for our clients. Lauren is a people person, and thrives on helping to bring well thought-out strategy to life. Equally, you're just as likely to find her in a pair of wellies getting to grips with a farm case study.
When she's not working, Lauren can be found cooking up a culinary treat in the kitchen, enjoying her home county of Cheshire, or planning her next family holiday.
Lauren Goringe
Senior Account Director
Lauren brings together a career in PR with her background in agriculture. Married to a dairy farmer and living in West Dorset, Lauren understands the current needs of the industry. And her degree in Language and Communication coupled with her previous work at Duffield's animal feeds means she knows how to engage with an agricultural audience.
With her post graduate diploma from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, her experience enables her to look after all aspects of a client's PR requirements. So one day you might find her writing technical farm stories and another arranging an extensive exhibition programme. Lauren also specialises in video editing.
Lauren is an active committee member for her local YFC and spends most weekends chasing her ever-increasing flock of chickens off her vegetable patch.
Fiona Carruthers
Account Director
Fiona has more than 20 years’ experience in agricultural PR and marketing. She qualified with a BSc (Hons) in human nutrition and worked clinically in that field, before moving to the Meat and Livestock Commission in the late 1990s, where she worked as a marketing nutritionist. In 2001, she moved to the southern hemisphere, joining Beef + Lamb New Zealand. Her role there saw her leading the nutrition communications activities promoting beef and lamb to consumers, as well as supporting on-farm programmes with Kiwi livestock farmers. She was also the Chair of the International Meat Secretariat Human Nutrition and Health Committee from 2005 until 2010.
Fiona returned to the UK in 2016 and worked as an Account Director in another agri-PR agency before joining Reverberate. Using the combination of her scientific background and expertise in communications, Fiona enjoys making robust science accessible through marketing and PR activity to positively influence stakeholders.
Fiona is often seen running or cycling around west Wiltshire, having developed a passion for off-road running in the mountains of southern New Zealand.
Kendra Hall
Account Director
Kendra grew up in rural Indiana, USA, on a small family horse farm surrounded by corn and soybean fields. She went on to study for a degree in Animal Science (BSc) and a masters in Agricultural Communications (MSc) at Purdue University, where she developed a keen interest in consumer perceptions of livestock production and bridging the gap between farmers and the public. After a 5-year stint living in the Middle East, she moved to the UK in 2018 with her husband and currently lives in the beautiful hills of south Wiltshire.
More recently she undertook a Nuffield Farming Scholarship, traveling around Canada, the United States, Australia and Denmark to study her topic "Building trust in British farming through increased transparency of livestock production". She will publish her findings in 2023.
With her unique background and experience in developing strategy, copywriting, creative design and social media management, Kendra brings a fresh perspective and skill-set to the Reverberate team.
Outside of work, she enjoys a good book, gardening, playing volleyball and exploring the countryside with her husband and two spaniels.
James Marshall
Content Manager
Having lived in rural Somerset for most of his life, James has always had a keen interest in farming and the agricultural industry.
James has written extensively about agricultural issues on a freelance basis, with many of his articles having featured in national magazines, websites and regional newspapers. In 2014, James was the winner of the annual British Guild of Agricultural Journalists Training Award.
With his strong writing skills and interest in agricultural issues, James is a valuable resource to the Reverberate team. James is also a keen photographer and cameraman, and his expert video production and photography skills are proving a hit with clients.
James loves spending time outdoors and when not at work can often be found cycling, walking or running in the countryside of Somerset and Devon. He is also a rugby enthusiast.
Kate Yarwood
Account Manager
Kate has more than a decade of PR and communications experience across the sports, charity and digital sectors. She moved into agriculture in 2017, working for an agri-PR agency where she delivered award-winning campaigns for a range of clients in the farming industry.
Kate brings a wealth of experience in stakeholder relations, public affairs and behaviour change campaigns. She enjoys working closely with clients to problem solve and generate ideas – in the boardroom, on the factory floor or at the farm gate. She focuses on delivering strategic campaigns to make real change – not just noise.
Kate studied English Literature and Creative Writing (BA) at Aberystwyth University and rounded it off with an MA in Creative Writing. It wasn’t all academia however - Kate also met her husband Lee in Aberystwyth, and they now live with their daughter and cat in rural Herefordshire. In her spare time, you’ll find Kate volunteering for her local history society, cooking and painting.
Laura Bowyer
Account Manager
Laura joined Reverberate after five years spent as marketing manager at the Hereford Cattle Society, having played a pivotal role in the society’s rebrand and developing its member communications as well as press relations.
Hailing from a lowland beef and sheep farm in South Wales, Laura’s career to date has been rooted in agricultural communications and journalism, having kicked off her working life with a stint on the livestock desk at Farmers Guardian. While studying at Harper Adams, she also carried out a placement year with Cambridge-based Ware Anthony Rust.
Outside of work, Laura enjoys working on the family farm and catching up with friends. A club leader for her local young farmers club, Laura has also recently joined the local ladies cricket team.
Francesca Harding
Account Executive
Francesca grew up in Gloucestershire and this is where she developed her interest in agriculture and food production. This led Francesca to study Biological Sciences (BSc) specialising in Microbiology at the University of Exeter. Following this she then went on study Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture (MSc) also at the University of Exeter. It was during this time that she became interested in the role of technology and scientific developments in the future of agriculture.
After graduation Francesca went on to work for an agritech start-up specialising in the development of health monitoring devices for dairy cows. As part of this role she gained experience in both a technical and commercial capacity, as well as developing her communication skills. Francesca enjoys communicating scientific research and complex information to a variety of audiences.
During her spare time Francesca enjoys playing sport, particularly netball, as well as listening to music, and spending time with family and friends.
Katie Marks
Finance Director
Katie spent almost 14 years in the Royal Navy, which included operational duties at sea, before switching careers and completing a BA in Business Management with Accounting. Katie Joined Reverberate in 2023 in the new role of Finance and Office Manager, bringing with her a range of experience from her previous role in an accountancy practice.
Originally from Exmouth, and now living in the seaside town of Dawlish, Katie loves to spend her free time walking her two crazy boxer dogs, or renovating her Victorian home, where she lives with her fiancé and children.