Purple Communications

Our People

Purple Communications head office in Perth is supported by affiliates and partners in all major Australian cities. International support is organised on an as-needs basis. In addition, Purple works closely with a range of professionals in complementary areas including graphic design , government lobbying, planning and regulatory approvals to build consulting teams tailored and responsive to clients' objectives.

Key people within the Perth office are:

		Warrick Hazeldine Director As co-founding Director of Purple Communications, Warrick has extensive experience in investor, media and stakeholder relations. He has provided clients in the public and private sector with strategic communications advice for more than ten years. Specialising in corporate consulting and capital market positioning to the resources industry, Warrick has serviced many of Australia ’s leading mid tier and Top 200 companies in the Australasian, Canadian, African, UAE and London markets. He has been at the forefront of recent M&A transactions, actively defending hostile takeover targets, and providing strategic communications advice to a number of clients in successful acquisitions of public companies. Warrick also provides communication advice to clients in the finance, property and government sectors. Through a long standing relationship, he has worked in house at a top-tier accounting firm, providing strategic business development and media relations advice. He has provided local and state government advice in respect to major land redevelopments and infrastructure projects. Warrick has worked as a consultant with leading Western Australian public relations consultancies, has been member of the Old Haleian’s Association and is a proud supporter of the Children's Leukaemia & Cancer Research Foundation through the Pedalling Penguin Appeal.
		Ryan McKinlay Director Ryan McKinlay has ten year’s communication experience, including five years in senior corporate affairs positions. He has previously worked with AWB Limited based in Melbourne, where he was directly involved in media and stakeholder relations, working at the Board and CEO level on a range of acquisitions and issues Ryan also has established media relations and stakeholder advocacy skills, and extensive corporate writing experience for media and investor audiences. Ryan was an awarded journalist and group editor for Rural Press Limited, based in Brisbane and Perth, and retains an extensive media network throughout Australia .
		Caroline Thomson Director Caroline Thomson is an experienced communications consultant, with particular skills in strategy development and implementation. Prior to joining Purple she worked both in-house and as a consultant and has extensive experience in media liaison and both online and off-line publications management. Caroline has been responsible for a number of stakeholder, community and employee relations campaigns across a wide range of industries including education, resources and property. She is a full member of the PRIA and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Mass Communications) in Public Relations and Journalism.
		Annette Ellis Associate Director Annette Ellis is a public relations, corporate communications and strategic stakeholder communications manager, with 15 years experience gained primarily in the global resources and logistics sectors. Annette has worked for some of the world’s biggest resources brands during the course of her career . In recent years, Annette started her own successful communications agency in South Africa, providing strategic communication services to a broad range of clients. Annette has won a number of public affairs awards. She holds qualifications in Public Relations and Organisational Communication and is currently completing an MSc (Marketing). Annette is a past Executive Member of the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa, and has held a number of board positions on community-based, not-for-profit organisations.
		Richard Harris Senior Counsel - Government Relations and Approvals Richard Harris is Purple Communications’ dedicated Senior Counsel - Government Relations and Approvals. He has decades of expertise in WA’s energy and resources sectors at strategic project and policy development level, in both the private sector and Government. He spent more than a decade as a senior project manager for predominately hard-rock mining operations in WA with the Department of Resources Development. Richard has been Policy Advisor to senior economic Ministers at Federal Government level, and was also responsible for the development of WA’s gas market regulatory framework, including establishment of the privately run market manager, REMCO and privatisation of Alinta. Richard also served a term as Chairman of the Strategic Energy and Security Supply Working Group (2001 – 2003) and CEO of the Gas Corporation (2000) in the Alinta sale process. Recent project experience includes sole responsibility for the external affairs and approvals processes in the development of WA’s latest gas‐fired power station at Neerabup for ERM Power, and like responsibilities for the development of Coolimba Power, designed as WA’s first commercial scale, carbon capture and storage power station and Mid West energy supplier. Richard has excellent knowledge of Australia ’s energy and resources industries and related Government policy settings, having served as a Director in the Office of Energy for a number of years and Senior Manager in the department responsible for major projects. He has an in‐depth understanding of the Australian and WA political environs, Government systems and their participants.
		Aileen Murrell Senior Advisor Government Relations Aileen Murrell joined Purple Communications in July 2010 in the capacity of Senior Advisor Government Relations. Aileen brings over 25 years experience to Purple Communications having previously worked in senior roles in the WA government and private sectors. Aileen has expertise across the resources and primary industry sectors in policy development, project management and stakeholder relations. Prior to joining Purple Communications Aileen worked with the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA managing the Environment, Infrastructure and Economics Portfolios. Aileen has also worked in a senior policy role with the WA Parliamentary National Party and as a senior advisor in the WA Government. Aileen holds a degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of New England and a Masters of Science from the Unversity of Western Australia.
		Damien Kelly Senior Consultant Damien Kelly joined Purple in 2009 and brings the capability to provide specialised investor relations services to publicly listed clients. He has broad experience, spanning over 10 years, providing professional services to ASX and AIM listed companies predominantly in the mining and energy sector. He also has established political contacts. Prior to joining Purple, his main focus was the provision of corporate advisory, investor relations and transaction execution services, including a period as founding director of a boutique corporate advisory firm. He has also served as company secretary of ASX listed companies. Damien is a fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia (Finsia) and a fully qualified member of CPA Australia . He has a Bachelor of Commerce, a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment, an MBA and graduated as an army officer from the Royal Military College in Canberra.
		Renee Wilkinson Senior Consultant Renée Wilkinson has more than ten year’s experience developing and implementing communications, community relations and issues management strategies. Renée has held several in-house communications positions for government departments in Western Australia and the United Kingdom and for Health Minister Jim McGinty. Her work on the Boronia Prison development in Bentley earned a Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) Community Relations award in 2005. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Public Relations and Marketing).
		Caspar Fairhall Online Manager Formerly Caspar was Creative Lead and New Media Manager at a mid-sized design studio, and more recently he established a successful independent design practice under his own personal brand. In developing websites and web applications, Caspar’s emphasis is on functionality, both in terms of communicating the desired message and delivering a high quality user experience. His technical skills include proficiency in JavaScript (including jQuery), CSS, HTML (including HTML 5), the PHP programming language and MySQL databases. He also has experience in projects running on the Microsoft .NET platform. Caspar’s training was originally in fine art and his artwork is exhibited both in Australia and abroad. With his unique blend of technical web development expertise and artistic flair, we look forward to giving Purple’s clients an unfair online advantage.
		Erin Mill Associate Consultant Erin joined the Purple team in November 2009 and brings with skills and experience from across a broad range of industries including retail, health, engineering, training and development and IT. Over the past 10 years, Erin has held a variety of positions - from business development and human resources through to marketing communications, and has lived and worked in both the UK and the USA. In her most recent role, Erin was responsible for developing and implementing an ongoing marketing and public relations strategy for a national software organisation. Erin has recently completed a Bachelor of Commerce (Public Relations and Management) with Distinction from Curtin University of Technology .
		Alison O’Brien Finance Manager and Research Assistant Alison joined Purple Communications at its inception in 2004 as Chief Financial Officer to oversee the financial reporting systems of a rapidly growing business. She has more than 25 years accounting experience in a wide variety of fields including law, engineering, manufacturing and particularly working at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club for nearly ten years. In addition to her accounting role Alison has assisted in overseeing many of the milestone events and functions including Opening Days, Prize Nights & Balls to co-ordination of Private Functions and Dinners. Alison has significant experience in creating administrative systems and oversees the day-to-day IT operations within Purple. Her passions include travelling, wine appreciation and caring for her two children and husband.
		Kate Dzienis PR Team Support and Office Manager Kate has been with the Purple team since October 2008. With a specific focus on the coordination of media monitoring and press release distribution, her role as Team Support and Office Manager includes providing strong support for consultants, events management, company database operations, assisting with accounts, maintaining office systems, and updating the Purple website. Kate devotes time outside of work hours as the State Support Group Coordinator for an animal welfare charity based in Hong Kong and Australia, and is currently a Media and Communications Officer for a locally based not-for-profit charity group in Western Australia. Already holding a Bachelor of Communications in Media, Kate has successfully completed a Graduate Diploma in Public Relations from Curtin University of Technology , and is recognised as a full member of PRIA.