Team
Matthew Wall
Managing Partner
Matthew co-founded Taylor Birchwood in 2024 after over 20 years at Taylor Bennett. He specialises in international searches for senior roles in corporate affairs, communications, government relations, and sustainability. Matthew has worked with Chairs, CEOs, and leaders in corporate affairs, providing insights on best practices and organisational design. A frequent speaker at industry events, he is also a Trustee of the Taylor Bennett Foundation, which he co-founded in 2009 to help ethnically diverse graduates build careers in communications.
Wayne Reynolds
Managing Partner
Wayne founded Birchwood Knight in 2009 before joining forces with Matthew Wall and company to form Taylor Birchwood in 2024. He is actively involved in helping CEOs hire communications leaders who will have real impact on their organisation, and supporting corporate affairs directors to build high-performing teams. Wayne also serves as an independent member of the House of Lords Appointments Commission. In this role he is actively involved in appointing peers to the independent cross benches and vetting party-political nominations for propriety.
Tori Cowley
Chair
Tori’s career in corporate affairs and investor relations has taken her round the world. She was a member of the Executive Committee at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, Asia’s largest stock market group, and held senior roles at Mitie PLC and London Stock Exchange Group. A chartered accountant and former M&A investment banker, Tori is a passionate advocate for the positive impact of strong corporate affairs leadership – and is often considered to be one of the world’s leading corporate affairs practitioners.
Lauren Tarbit
Partner, Head of Middle East
Lauren joined Birchwood Knight in 2011 before helping to launch Taylor Birchwood, and in 2025 opened our Middle East office in Dubai. Here, she leads on search activity, innovation and driving the continuous improvement of our products and services. She developed our pioneering culture and leadership assessment tool, Cultureview, and recently completed a post-graduate course at Cranfield University on Organisational Design and Strategic Transformation to further support our clients in building the best teams. Lauren is also an Advisory Board Member through Be the Business.
Katherine Cox
Associate Partner
Following an early career in financial communications, Katherine has over two decades of experience in corporate affairs and investor relations executive search with Taylor Bennett, now Taylor Birchwood. In addition to listed organisations, she has developed a strong track record in areas such as private equity, sustainable finance, and the broader financial services sector.
Annabel Prideaux
Associate Partner, TB3
Annabel has over 20 years of search experience with public, private, and not-for-profit organisations. She supports the partners, managing international and UK-based searches, and oversees Taylor Birchwood’s work with third sector organisations. She supports candidates to build skills and experience in diverse environments, and champions the movement between non-profits and corporates. Annabel is passionate about education and has been a governor for a primary free school for many years.
Luke Bracken
Director
Luke manages research for our corporate affairs, internal communications and sustainability communications searches, playing a pivotal role in identifying and engaging with top global talent. He is responsible for maintaining strong relationships with established industry professionals, while also discovering and nurturing emerging talent. Luke supports our work with the Taylor Bennett Foundation across their range of programmes.
Ross Picton
Director
Ross leads research on a wide range of corporate affairs briefs at Taylor Birchwood and has a particular interest and specialism in international relations, UK government affairs and digital communications. He moved over to Taylor Birchwood after six years with Taylor Bennett and previously worked in politics and public affairs. Ross is very involved in the Taylor Bennett Foundation, supporting their assessment days and wider programmes.
Sophie Moore
Research Consultant
Sophie oversees the research across our corporate affairs searches, and has spent the last four years seeking out the best multi-sector talent in the UK and worldwide. After spending time in a generalist search firm, Sophie re-joined Taylor Birchwood to partner with communications leaders and identify best in class corporate affairs talent for our clients. Sophie will also continue to push the innovation and development of Taylor Birchwood’s search process, putting in-depth knowledge and agility at its core.
Mary Prescott
Researcher
Mary has been with Taylor Birchwood since the beginning and is responsible for conducting data analysis, managing market intelligence and supporting the team on short and long-term searches. Mary is often one of the first points of contact across the business and has previous experience as a communications coordinator for the Royal Navy Association.
Hannah Royce
Researcher
Hannah joins as a Researcher with a strong background in politics. With over three years of experience working in Parliament, she has supported high-profile policy campaigns across sectors including health, transport, and defence. At Taylor Birchwood, she leverages her insight into public affairs to deliver rigorous research and identify leadership talent that aligns with clients’ strategic and reputational goals.
Sara Hurd
Chief of Staff
Sara is Chief of Staff at Taylor Birchwood, having previously held roles at Taylor Bennett’s offices in Hong Kong and London. Before joining Taylor Bennett in 2001, she set up and managed an executive search firm specialising in placing communications professionals across Asia. Sara began her career in marketing before moving into corporate and financial communications and investor relations.
Sophie Juckett
Finance Manager
Sophie leads on all things financial. She has extensive experience in financial management within recruitment and executive search.
Catherine Blackwood
Executive Assistant
Catherine has over 15 years’ experience working in the oil and gas industry, of which the past decade has been as a personal assistant to senior executives. She adeptly manages the calendars of our senior leadership team.
Join our team
If you’re interested in a career at Taylor Birchwood, we’d love to hear from you. We offer a warm, supportive team environment, competitive benefits, in-depth training and the opportunity to mentor young communications professionals from ethnically diverse backgrounds through the Taylor Bennett Foundation.
Get in touch