Clifford Beal

 

Director

Clifford Beal is the award-winning former Editor of Jane's Defence Weekly, the authoritative international news magazine. He has worked for 22 years as a defence journalist and communications professional in both London and Washington and written extensively on technology, contemporary defence issues and military history.
    He has been short-listed three times for journalism awards and in 2000 was named Editor of the Year by the British Society of Magazine Editors. During his five-year tenure at Jane's Defence Weekly, he led the publication to awards for journalistic and publishing excellence on both sides of the Atlantic. He has commented frequently on defence and foreign affairs matters for print, radio, and television and has written extensively on the world of 'smart weapons' and missile technology.
    In Washington, DC, he served as an editor for the Journal of Defense & Diplomacy, a monthly magazine aimed at decision-makers and the foreign policy community world-wide. In 1986, shortly after the space shuttle Challenger disaster, Beal moved to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics where he devised and implemented a public affairs programme to raise public awareness of the importance of the US space programme.
    Returning to journalism in 1989, after a brief stint as a freelance defence writer, he joined the McGraw-Hill Company on its launch of a new magazine, Defense World, a consumer title. Beal served as Managing Editor of the magazine, sharing time between offices in New York and Washington.
    In 1991, he joined Jane's Information Group as the Aerospace Editor for Jane's International Defense Review. He became editor of that title in 1996, redesigning and relaunching the magazine for its 25th anniversary. In 1998, he was appointed as Editor of the Jane's company flagship, Jane's Defence Weekly, renowned as the 'bible' for the world's militaries and defence industries.
    In addition to writing for Jane's, Beal has written for numerous other periodicals, including Military History Quarterly, New Scientist, The Sunday Times, Toronto Globe & Mail, Dublin Sunday Business Post, BBC Online, Focus, and The International Herald Tribune. He is also the author of Quelch's Gold (Praeger 2007), a non-fiction historical work.

 

Stephanie Ayres

Senior Consultant

Stephanie Ayres began her career in the UK House of Commons where she worked for two senior Labour MPs and for the central party during the 1997 General Election Campaign. After four years working within the political system she moved to one of the UK's most successful government relations consultancies where she used her experience to advise clients in a number of highly regulated sectors including defence and aerospace, privatisation and utility regulation, and government procurement.

    Before setting up her own consultancy in 2007, Stephanie spent five years as the Executive Director of Corporate Affairs and Communications for Raytheon in the UK. Combined with her consultancy experience, this gave her a good understanding of the pressures faced not only by a large global company but also by those responsible for managing reputation in a sensitive sector at a difficult time.

    Stephanie now concentrates on providing targeted advice to defence and aerospace companies operating within the UK and, in particular, on helping these companies to grow their market share. When budgets are tight, it becomes even more important to have the right profile and to match capabilities to requirements. Stephanie's 20 year career in defence procurement in the UK makes her very well qualified to help clients do the best they can to secure bottom line success.

 

Jane McGirk

Senior Consultant
Jane McGirk is a founder and director of McGirk PR Ltd. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and has a Masters Degree in Public Relations from Stirling University in Scotland. She is a Fellow of the Industry and Parliament Trust.

   With more than 20 years of hands-on experience working in the media and public relations, Jane has direct experience of both external and internal communications management. Over the years, Jane has gained valuable experience of working within the defence and aerospace industries and has held senior communications posts at BAE Systems Avionics and Finmeccanica's Selex Galileo. At Selex, Jane was Head of External Communications and for more than five years was responsible for all external public relations, dealing extensively with media and government at strategic, national and local levels. She has a wide network of contacts throughout government, the media, and industry trade bodies.

   Jane is also a qualified journalist, retaining her membership of the NUJ, and has worked in the news media. She presented a current affairs programme, Eikon, on Scottish Television for four years and has worked for the BBC and ITN on reporting assignments. Jane began her journalism career with the Scotsman Publications Group and reported on stories for many of their titles including Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News.