The PRCA SME Agency Group will enable business leaders to connect and support one another through a hybrid virtual and physical platform. The group will also provide training and personal development opportunities consisting of guest speakers and panel discussions.

The personal development of SME agency leaders from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities will be a priority for the group, as it seeks to challenge the stereotypes of what a PR agency leader should be. Alongside long-term strategic guidance on topics such as mergers and acquisitions, the group will also focus on mental wellbeing support for SME leaders and employees.

Matt Cartmell, founder and director of Carta Comms, and Anna Geffert, managing director at HERA Communication Strategies, have been named as inaugural co-chairs of the PRCA SME Agency Group.

In a joint statement, Geffert and Cartmell said, “We were inspired to launch this group by all of the hugely supportive informal connections that we’ve made with friends in the industry during the lockdown, ones that have helped us to learn so much. This is our way of crystallising that experience into something formal, and hopefully helping even more SME agency leaders to grow their agencies.”

The group is open to any agency with under 15 members of staff and initially plans to hold regular virtual meetings with occasional physical meetings. Find more information here.