Muniya Barua made director of corporate affairs at Newington

Public and corporate affairs agency, Newington, has made former CBI (Confederation of British Industry) corporate communications director, Muniya Barua, director of corporate affairs.

Barua takes over the role from Natasha Graham who is leaving the agency in October.

Barua joins Newington – formerly Bellenden – after seven years at UK lobby group, the CBI, where she held the roles of director of corporate communications and head of news.

Barua began her career as a business reporter at the Liverpool Daily Post, and has produced news bulletins for London Today and London Tonight, as well as business and economics news for CNN and the BBC.

In her new position, Barua will lead the corporate affairs team, and sit on the senior management team alongside chief executive Mark Glover and managing directors, Phil Briscoe and Naomi Harris.

Glover said: “In the last decade we have built Newington into the UK’s fifth biggest public affairs consultancy – from starting out with two consultants in South London, we are now a team of 45 spanning the UK and with a growing presence in Brussels.

“I’m delighted Muniya is joining us to lead the growth of our burgeoning corporate affairs offer so that we can provide clients with a truly integrated service at a local, national and European level. She brings a wealth of experience from her time at the CBI where she led its media, digital, sponsorship and marketing arms.”

Barua added: “I’m delighted to be joining Newington as it enters its next exciting stage of growth. It’s a company with great people, strong values and clear ambition.”

Earlier this week, AIM-listed SEC Group announced that it was buying a majority stake in Newington.

Bellenden rebranded as Newington Communications last month, to mark its tenth anniversary year. It also moved to new offices in Great Suffolk Street in the Newington area of Southwark. Its clients include: AQA, British Land, Canary Wharf Group, Dulux and Octopus Investments.