Our Team

Lisa Shaddick

Managing Director

Lisa has been working in public relations since 1987. She joined Indaba in 1996 and, in a management buy-out, took over ownership of the agency in 2008. She takes a very hands-on role with the clients and is passionate about transparency and evaluation. She is a Fellow of the UK’s Chartered Institute of Public Relations, where she was a board member and chaired the membership committee for three years. She has a degree in Public Relations from SMU in Dallas, Texas.

• Favourite film: Dirty Dancing
• Favourite food: Any Mexican food!
• Favourite song: Ain’t missing you (John Waite, 1984)
• Fun fact: I grew up in the Bahamas

Valérie Askins

French-born Valérie holds a Master’s in Journalism & Communication studies from Bordeaux University, France, and a Diploma in Translation from the London Institute of Linguists. She started her career as a newspaper journalist and has held senior marketing and communications roles with Air France and Cathay Pacific before joining Indaba. Valérie looks after Indaba's French-speaking clients and in her spare time is a qualified translator and French teacher.

• Favourite film: Les Misérables
• Favourite food: Les frites
• Favourite song: Y Viva España
• Fun fact: I spent the summer working as a clown called Zaza in Québec when I was 20

Celine Borsberry

Celine is an experienced communicator who has worked in North America as well as Europe in a variety of B2C and B2B sectors. As comfortable working in her native Dutch as she is in English, Celine uses her extensive press experience, her client management skills and her calm-under-pressure attitude to benefit our clients in the Netherlands and Belgium. Celine is based in the UK and has a Master of Communication Management from the University of Southern California, USA.

• Favourite film: La La Land
• Favourite food: my husband’s homemade pizza
• Favourite song: A Thousand Years
• Fun fact: I once won a mechanical bull riding competition in Australia

Nina Bressler

Nina brings her broad professional experience and problem-solving mind-set to Indaba’s Scandinavian clients. Her work as a Swedish journalist was a natural fit for her curious, positive nature, and that, coupled with her dedication, enthusiasm and hard work makes her a strong addition to the Indaba team. She approaches work with a business focus and highly values quality and professionalism – both core principles of Indaba.

• Favourite film: Lord of the Rings trilogy (I know, that's three, not one!)
• Favourite food: Anything with truffle
• Favourite song: Sometimes (James)
• Fun fact: I'm a happy solo traveller, having visited Italy, France, Spain and Ireland on my own

Sarah Claridge

Sarah has nearly 20 years B2B marcoms and public relations experience, working with start-ups as well as multi-billion dollar global organisations. She studied Mechanical Engineering at university, and has put that knowledge to good use throughout her career, tackling technology, photonics, AI and Industry 4.0 and other similar sectors. She is able to take complex messages and communicate them succinctly and effectively, a skill that she leveraged during her time as Commissioning Editor for Engineering & Technology. Sarah holds the UK's Chartered Institute of Public Relations' Diploma.

• Favourite film: Singing in the Rain
• Favourite food: Cheese or chocolate - can I have two?
• Favourite song: Don't stop me now (Queen)
• Fun fact: I once served George Harrison (of Beatles fame) and remember asking him if he’d like more peas!

Georgia Lewis

Georgia has worked as a journalist since she was still at school. She has worked in Sydney, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and London, covering a wide range of subjects, including automotive, oil and gas, renewable energy, entertainment, lifestyle, business and technology. During her career, she has worked for national newspapers, consumer and B2B publications, and worked extensively with clients such as the World Petroleum Council, the International Gas Union and UN agencies.

• Favourite film: Pulp Fiction
• Favourite food: Can't choose between French or Italian
• Favourite song: Son Of A Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield)
• Fun fact: I was born in the city of Wagga Wagga, which has amused passport control staff all over the world

Riggs Shaddick

CEO (Canine Executive Officer)

Riggs is Indaba's third Canine Executive Officer. He started coming to work at just 12-weeks old and spends his days overseeing all aspects of the business, mostly from the sofa or his dog bed. In the summer he supervises from the garden, while sunbathing and barking at birds and cats. He takes his responsibility seriously, and often checks in with clients on Teams calls.

• Favourite film: Lethal Weapon
• Favourite food: Rigatoni (his namesake)
• Favourite song: Who Let the Dogs Out (Baha Men)
• Fun fact: People always think I'm named after the character in Lethal Weapon, not the pasta

Mark Solesbury

Mark is a highly-experienced social media and digital marketing professional, with experience in automotive, consumer electronics and lifestyle brands. He has worked in-house and on the agency side and is focused on helping brands turn their social media – paid and organic - into an essential and valuable element of the marketing mix. At Indaba, Mark is dedicated to creating and to delivering our clients’ social media strategies across multiple platforms, as well as providing meaningful analytical insights supported by relevant context.

• Favourite film: Anchorman
• Favourite food: Christmas dinner
• Favourite song: Superstition (Stevie Wonder)
• Fun fact: I’m named after my dad's favourite Man Utd player (Mark Hughes) and once met Roy Keane in the Little Chef

Pippa Watts

German, and of South African descent, Pippa started at Indaba in 1995. She supports both the team and the clients with high-level counsel, as well as offering tactical support on pan-European and global campaigns. Pippa has extensive experience across many business and consumer industries operating in senior positions in English, German, French and Spanish. She also speaks Italian.

• Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
• Favourite food: Bread and cheese - couldn't live without it
• Favourite song: What a wonderful world (Louis Armstrong)
• Fun fact: My parents only had a boy's name ready when I was born - Robert - so I stayed unnamed for a week

Steve Lawson

Financial Director

Steve has been the Indaba Financial Director since the beginning. He has his own team of accounts specialists on whom Indaba can rely. He provides strategic and operational support to the team while overseeing the financial control functions. Steve, along with the senior leadership team of Lisa and Lizzie, establishes financial strategies for the profitable long-term growth of Indaba.

• Favourite film: Alien
• Favourite food: Fillet steak
• Favourite song: Perfect (Ed Sheeran)
• Fun fact: I used to be a drummer in a punk band