Leadership Lessons with Stef Kenyon, Director of External Affairs at the UK Chamber of Shipping

Peter Ferguson, Managing Consultant at Hanson Search, spoke to Stef Kenyon, Director of External Affairs at the UK Chamber of Shipping. They discussed Stef’s leadership journey, why boards need Public Affairs representation, and the future of the industry.

How did you get into Public Affairs and Politics?

I took a slightly unconventional route. I graduated during the first economic crisis, having studied European Studies with French and Russian: subjects that feel less obviously “useful” right now, other than maybe the French, I did a stint in boutique headhunting for quantitative analytics, which really wasn’t my thing, but I learned a lot from it. Hats off to anyone who works in recruitment.

I’d always wanted to work in politics, but I was never party political and didn’t quite know how I was going to get there. My entry point was the British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union: taking MPs and peers on delegations, welcoming parliamentarians from other countries, and learning how parliamentary democracy works in practice. That scratched an itch on international relations and global politics, but it also gave me a grounding in how legislation gets made. I loved it, but over four or five years I became increasingly interested in the communications and public affairs side: how do you articulate what we’re doing to the outside world in a way that’s dynamic and engaging? I remember a not-so-positive media inquiry where everyone else in the office hid under the desk; I took the call and thought there might be something in this for me.

That led me into comms and public affairs roles, and since then I’ve moved across public affairs, campaigns and reputation management and comms. . I’ve always worked in trade associations and cross-party environments, which has given me a slightly different perspective. It’s less about the policy outcome you want to achieve and more about understanding how decisions actually get made– and where you can effectively influence them.

What do you think are the key qualities needed from leaders in public affairs and politics in 2025?

The ability to cut through the noise. There’s so much information, and it changes so rapidly.  At a senior level, my role is to cut through the noise for our members, identifying what truly matters, setting out the implications clearly, and helping leaders make confident decisions in uncertain terrain.

It’s not necessarily about predicting what happens – I’ve definitely thrown my crystal ball against the wall more than once since Brexit and Trump,  it’s about being able to see different routes and outcomes and helping boards and organisations understand how to navigate them, depending on the terrain they’re on.

That said, horizon scanning is critical:   where are we looking, what’s emerging, and what will challenge our industry in two years’ time? If we’re not doing the groundwork now, we won’t be ready to meet it.

For shipping specifically, I think there’s a broader point about an industry that has been consistently resilient, but quietly so, yet  the pertinence of shipping becomes very visible in moments of crisis.

One of the things I feel strongly about is helping the industry understand its own vitality and being able to articulate that to people who wouldn’t naturally grasp all the supply chain implications. If you take the example of the Middle East, yes there are operational impacts for shipping, vessels caught in the Gulf, seafarers whose welfare must remain the priority, but there’s also that helicopter view of what it means for food on shelves, fertiliser costs, building materials. A key focus of my leadership is to help the industry articulate its value more confidently, and to raise its voice.

And then there’s the question of aligning very different timescales. Politics operates day to day. Shipping operates on five-to-ten-year  investment and planning lifecycles with some vessels in operation for twenty years. Being the bridge between those two worlds is an integral part of the role.

How important is Public Affairs representation at Board level from your perspective?

As things become more volatile, it becomes even more essential. Something that brought me back to the Chamber of Shipping was the increased importance placed on how external affairs feeds into everything the organisation does. We have an external affairs committee with board-level representation focussed on risk management, opportunity spotting, and long-term resilience. My role is to ensure support the Board in looking beyond the immediate to understand how external developments will impact long terms strategic decisions.

As a trade association, bringing that sector wide view together around political challenges and reputational risks is a core part of what we do. Whether it’s messaging, narrative, public affairs or media handling, it must be a priority.

How do you see the Public Affairs market evolving over the next five years?

Coming back into frontline public affairs after time on the campaign side, I’ve had the opportunity to question some of my own instincts. I’m deliberately relationship-driven in my approach. Trust, credibility, and consistency  are fundamentals that will always hold. It’s about the relationships you have, being a constructive partner and a critical friend in your engagement with government.

That said, AI is going to significantly change how public affairs teams work. I don’t think it will replace public affairs jobs, but it will change the nature of them. You no longer start a briefing or a press release with a blank page. So the skills professionals need to develop are about developing the nuance, adding perspective, bringing the stakeholder insight and the colour that turns something generated into something genuinely useful. Policy should always be evidence based, but how do you tell those stories to stakeholders in a way that resonates with your stakeholders? That human layer is where the value will increasingly sit; Knowing all of your stakeholders, understanding where you can land messages whilst retaining your core principles, whilst being able to tailor your approach to a much broader range of audiences with consistency and flexibility. That’s the direction of travel.

What advice do you have for someone looking to build a career in public affairs and/or politics?

Value your relationships and start building them early. . I’m now at a stage of life where I can’t always make the evening receptions, and I realise that’s exactly where your network comes from. Build it while you can and maintain it authentically, not in a mercenary way. Because when you need to pick up the phone about something that matters, that’s when those relationships will really come into their own, even if it’s the person who knows the person who knows the person.

I would also say don’t be too fixed on the next progression, the next title, the next promotion. Careers are much ‘squigglier’ than they used to be and the ladder doesn’t really exist anymore. Ask yourself instead what you are learning in this role and what it offers you in terms of network, skill set and growth. By prioritising learning, judgment, and relationships over titles, these qualities compound over time, and they’re what organisations ultimately rely on. I’ve reflected on this a lot having returned to  an organisation I used to work for, and I think the earlier you get into that mindset the better.

Whether you’re hiring top Public Affairs talent or considering your next career move, our team would be delighted to support you.

Peter Ferguson is Managing Consultant in the Public Affairs Practice. Peter advises and supports some of the world’s most renowned communications consultancies, boutique public affairs agencies and global in-house clients.

Hanson Search is a globally recognised, award-winning talent advisory and headhunting consultancy. Our expertise lies in building successful ventures worldwide through our recruitment, interim and executive search in communications, sustainability, public affairs and policy, digital marketing and sales.