Anstee takes up public affairs role at Cratus Communications
Former leader of Trafford Council, Sean Anstee, has joined expanding local government relations specialist Cratus Communications as Executive Director for Advisory, Public Affairs and PR.
Anstee, who led Trafford Council between 2014-2018, will be responsible for working directly with local authorities and building Cratus’s growing PR practice, run by former Managing Editor of the Trinity Mirror Group, Aidan McGurran, another recent hire. He will initially be based in London before launching Cratus North in Manchester to complement the company’s existing offices in the capital, Southampton and Bristol.
Sean said:
“This is a hugely exciting time to be joining Cratus, and advancing opportunities to help clients across the UK navigate the public sector and embed excellent and productive relationships with key players across local government.”
As part of the move, Sean has decided to stand down after 12 years as a Trafford councillor, four years of which he spent as leader. He stood as the Conservative party candidate for Mayor of Greater Manchester in the 2017 election, and played a critical role in negotiating with the UK Government the trail blazing Greater Manchester Devolution Agreement in 2014. He has also provided improvement advice to Councils across the country and is a former Deputy Chairman of the Local Government Association.
Nick Kilby, chief executive of Cratus Communications said:
“’Our world is local’, in our search for someone who shares our world, with the talent, respect of the political peers and a genuine passion for all things local, few could be more perfect than Sean Anstee.
Sean is a son of Manchester and joins us as we “level up” Cratus by delivering all our services north of Watford Gap. He will lead our growing non-planning communications business activities – our Advisory, Public Affairs and PR businesses. This is an exciting time for Cratus, Sean Anstee joins Gavin Callaghan and Aiden McGurran with more appointments to come.”
