Surinder is a corporate communications professional, with FTSE100 experience across a range of sectors including professional services, energy and oil & gas.
She started out in a PR and Public Affairs agency before moving in-house a few years into her career. She has significant experience across international media relations and internal communications with a proven track record of driving change in large complex global organisations. She has worked on award-winning campaigns including for National Grid at COP26, driving behavioural change and brand awareness.
She is also passionate about diversity in the PR industry and helping people progress in their careers. She helped set up the PR industry’s first BME Reverse Mentoring Scheme with the CIPR and Taylor Bennett Foundation (award winning ahem…thanks BME PR Pros!), which, now in its third year, is delivering change at a senior level within agencies and in-house.
She holds a Masters Degree in Postcolonial Literature from the University of London – this started her journey into questioning culture, identity and how and where we belong.
She’s a single mum to seven year old twins so counts multitasking, juggling and dealing with conflict/tantrums as some of her superpowers.
Describe yourself/your background in 5 words max?
Punjabi, Sikh, mum of twins
How did you get into PR/communications?
I initially wanted to get into journalism and did work experience at Sky News and local newspapers. I had a change of heart at university so carried on studying and after doing my Masters, I went into recruitment in the finance industry. And then Lehmans and the financial crash happened. Plus, a close loss in the family. It made me realise that sales wasn’t my thing and there had to be more to life than making money. So, I thought about the things that I enjoyed studying at university – history, impact of politics, words, news and found my way into a grad scheme at a Public Affairs and PR agency. There I found my love of using the media as a channel to influence policy and regulatory changes affecting businesses.
What do you love about your job?
After more than 15 years in PR and comms, I still get a buzz from delivering great PR coverage. Particularly if it’s a story or an idea I found following a random conversation and then seeing it through to an article in print or on Sky News.
What are you most proud of?
The Reverse Mentoring Scheme with the CIPR and Taylor Bennett Foundation is one of my proudest achievements. I remember floating it as an idea as I thought there were loads of great initiatives in the PR industry but I felt that if senior leaders weren’t bought in or didn’t really understand the challenges, change was going to be much slower. We’re now in the third year and hearing the impact the programme has had and the conversations it has led to is really humbling. Hopefully this is my way of leaving a small mark.
What’s been the hardest lesson to learn?
Life is short – it’s incredibly cliched but we can get so hung up on work, stressing about the small things, fighting for promotions etc when you just don’t know what’s around the corner. I try to remember that and make every moment count – when you’re gone, all that’s left will be the memories so you have to make them good ones. That’s how I justify all my holidays ????
Who are your favourite people in PR and why?
So many people have been champions and have lent an ear throughout my career so this is a tough one. But that long list includes Debbie Zaman, founder and CEO of With, a technology PR agency – she was my first boss and it’s because of her that I’m in PR. Right from day one, I was inspired by her approach to comms, she encouraged me to go and learn and experiment and when I’ve faced challenges in recent years, she’s always been happy to have a coffee and be a coach. I rely so much on people like her and it’s helped me get to where I am today.
What skill do you think every PR/comms person has to nail?
The ability to ask good questions, the most important one being why. Why are we doing this piece of comms or activity and why will our audience/journalist care.
What is your favourite social network and why?
I spend far too much time on LinkedIn – it’s mostly as a source for inspiration as well as the networking element.
What’s your favourite podcast and why?
Slow Mo with bestselling author and former Chief Business Officer of Google X, Mo Gawdat. He speaks to a wide range of guests to explore essentially how we can achieve happiness and a little less stress in our lives. I promise it’s not as hippy as it sounds – I love his insights and always take away one small thing to implement.
Who is your favourite journalist and why?
Sathnam Sanghera – although he’s worked for the Financial Times and The Times, it’s actually his other work that has me hooked. Born to Punjabi parents and growing up in Wolverhampton (where my mum was also raised), I loved his memoir The Boy with the Topknot – so many of his anecdotes of being a first-generation Punjabi immigrant resonated. And then his documentary, The Massacre that Shook the Empire, about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919, in which hundreds of Indians were killed by the British-Indian army. I studied this as part of my Masters and in such a brilliant way, his documentary highlights the brutality of the British empire and questions our idea of British exceptionalism. It forces you to question identity, loyalty and nationalism.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
“Get comfortable being uncomfortable” – growth comes from adversity. We’re all going to face new obstacles, difficulties in life whether at work or personal and unpredictable situations. But you have to face them head-on and you will (hopefully) come out of it stronger.
Biggest PR campaign fail and yay of 2024 so far?
I loved the “England till I died” campaign by the British Heart Foundation ahead of the Euros, commemorating the lives of 12 young football fans who died because of heart disease. The anthem is iconic and sticks in your head and the campaign was all I could think of everytime I heard those words during those few weeks.
Any campaign which changes the name of a London tube station is a no from me. Fold Street station? Burberry Street? Tfl might be raking in the money through these collaborations but they make me cringe.
Finally, on the D’ word… What can the sector do to encourage diversity?
Three things:
1. Adjust how you are searching for and screening candidates – are you relying on an existing network, are you pushing your recruitment agencies, is there bias in the process?
2. Look at your culture – examine the language you use in everyday language (could you be excluding people?), are employees going to be comfortable in calling something out and are all religions and cultures celebrated?
3. Show me the money – have you looked at your pay gaps? For gender and ethnicity? Are there pay discrepancies? If so, why and what are you doing to address it? And are you transparent about it?
Connect with Surinder Kaur Sian on LinkedIn.
Surinder was awarded a place on The Xec. Leadership Scheme for UK-based Black, Asian, Mixed Race, and Ethnic Minority PR and comms pros. She is part of the class of 2025.