For a communicator who has spent most of her career blazing trails in digital for organisations large and small, working for Ketchum’s digital arm is a natural transition.

Abby Guthkelch has spent the past two years revolutionising the way Royal Mail does digital. The massive, at times sluggish, public institution met the digital age reluctantly. Guthkelch brought it into the 21st century by overhauling the website, changing the intranet to meet the demands of a non-office bound workforce and tackling huge projects like the Olympics and Movember.

“I kind of feel like I’m running a mini-agency within Royal Mail,” Guthkelch says, referencing the large-scale projects she has overseen. “There are not many roles out there that have the variety that I’ve had to do at Royal Mail over the past two years.”

Though she spent a year working for a digital agency, most of Guthkelch’s career has been spent on in-house. This adds a somewhat unique skill set to becoming head of digital and social at Ketchum. “I’m very used to helping brands realise their digital potential. The majority of my career I have been doing that client side and driving change from within, so I think it positions me quite well,” she says.

Her time at Royal Mail was a productive one in terms of the type of work she was able to oversee, but the move to Ketchum has come at the right time. At the agency, Guthkelch will work with Stephen Waddington, European digital and social director. “Ketchum in their own right are amazing and Stephen has a fantastic reputation in the digital space. I’m really looking forward to working with him. It’s a perfect combo,” she adds.

Guthkelch has been serving out her notice period at Royal Mail and will join the agency on 7 May, giving herself a bank holiday’s worth of time to make the transition.

“Royal Mail has been a great company to work for and I’ve learned a phenomenal amount under Shane O’Riordan,” she says, adding that the move to Ketchum “was an opportunity that was too good to miss.”

To read more about Guthkelch's career, see her profile in Communicate's September issue.

Curriculum Vitae: Abby Guthkelch

2011-present Head of digital communications & communications planning, Royal Mail Group plc
2010-2011 Account director, RE:Media
2006-2010 Investor & digital communications manager, Land Securities
2005-2006 PA to investment director, Consensus Business Group
2003-2005 PA to FD & company secretary, Low & Bonar PLC
Education: BA (Hons), Politics, UWE