By Royal Command… Comms chief given OBE

Today the New Years honours list has been unveiled and it creates great pride in the comms community to see a comms chief recognised. Jackie Brock-Doyle, Director of Communications and Public Affairs for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), has been honoured as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

What are the honours?
Every year people are recommended to The Queen for an award and this year’s list includes 1223 people. 1068 candidates have been selected as British Empire Medal, BEM, (286), Member of the Order of the British Empire, MBE, (535) and OBE (247) level. A total of 78 people involved in the Games were named including Knighthoods for Bradley Wiggins and Ben Ainslie. Paralympic cyclist Sarah Storey becomes a dame, Katherine Grainger, Victoria Pendleton, Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah and David Weir become CBEs, and Andy Murray is an OBE.

Brock-Doyle’s success comes hot on the heels of being named PR professional of the year in the PR Week awards, which she won for “her effective management of the London 2012 comms story; a masterclass in handling comms on the biggest global stage.” It has been widely reported that the whole comms strategy for London 2012 could fit on one  A4 page and I’m pleased that her stellar year has ended on such a high.

She worked as Head of PR & Media during the city’s three year Bid to bring the world’s biggest event to the United Kingdom in 2012 and previously directed communications and media programmes for the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games – described in several media reports as one of the most successful international multi sport events ever staged – and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Jackie has designed and directed marketing, communication, media and sponsorship programmes for some of the world’s biggest brands and events, including Visa International, Coca Cola, Cadbury and Samsung. PR week profiled her last month (picture on this page is credited to that piece) and quoted her as saying: “I enjoy working and like what I do, and whatever I do it has to be a good comms challenge.” The article also revealed that her core role, and that of her comms team, was indicated by the close proximity of Lord Coe’s office “in a space that neatly encapsulates the necessary contrast at the heart of the Games.”

It will be interesting to see what happens next for Brock-Doyle and I am delighted to see a comms professional recognised in this way.

Further reading
To read more about the whole New Year’s Honours list, see the Cabinet Office website 

What was it like working in comms during the Games? Media Manager for the Olympic Delivery Authority, Eden Black, wrote a guest article for my blog that you can read here: Diary of an Olympic Media Manager.

Post author: Rachel Miller

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