Alex Aiken was appointed Executive Director of Government Communications for the UK Government in January 2013 and will formally take up the role in April. This is the most senior communications professional in the Civil Service. He will oversee the communications around the Civil Service Reform Programme and the establishment of shared communication hubs, with a responsibility to ensure that all activity represents value for money.
Mr. Aiken served Westminster City Council as the Head of Communications 2000-2008 and Director of Communications & Strategy (2008-2012). In this role, he was responsible for communications, public affairs, research, and policy and played a key role in major corporate projects including the Tri Borough program, and Customer Transformation, and pioneered Westminster’s Civic Community policies. Between 2003 and 2005 he was also the Head of Communications at the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in the first-ever communications partnership agreement between the two local authorities.
The work of the Westminster communications team won over 30 other national awards for communications, public affairs, and evaluation. He was the PRCA’s In-house professional of the year in 2008. He has been the Vice Chairman of the PRCA Council and National Secretary of LG communications. Westminster also ran a successful communications consultancy with a £3m turnover under his leadership.
Before joining Westminster he held senior roles at Conservative Central Office, leading the Party’s Campaigns Unit from 1999-2000 and the Press Office between 1995 and 1999.
Mr. Aiken has trained politicians and officials in newly democratic states around the world in communications techniques and the UK was a key member of the group that developed the ‘Reputation’ project to improve perceptions of local government.
He lives in Pimlico, central London with his wife, who is a city councilor, and two children.