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

Lizzie Wastell

Deputy Managing Director

Lizzie has worked in public relations since 2002. As Deputy Managing Director, she is part of the senior management team, making decisions that drive the agency itself. She plays an active part in on-boarding new team members as well as the daily management of the team. Her main responsibility is planning and managing pan-European campaigns for our largest clients. Lizzie is a full member of the UK’s Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

• Favourite film: Anything with Jason Statham
• Favourite food: Sushi
• Favourite song: 4 My People (Basement Jaxx remix)
• Fun fact: I've never seen any of the Star Wars movies

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

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

Marta Barbano

Marta brings over 15 years of experience in traditional and digital communication and marketing to Indaba. She specialises in defining communication strategies, media relations and copywriting. She has extensive event organisation experience thanks to three years as head of communications at the Milan Trade Fair Group, which includes Fiero Milano’s 40 annual events. Marta has a degree in Public Relations from IULM University in Milan, Italy.  She looks after Indaba's Italian clients and directs the social media programmes.

• Favourite film: Blade Runner (1982)
• Favourite food: Crespelle alla valdostana
• Favourite song: Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin)
• Fun fact: I am a Leo-Virgo Cusp,  which means I was born between two zodiac signs

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!

Joanna Kukla

Joanna, a Polish native, graduated from Jagiellonian University of Cracow, Poland, with a degree in International Cultural Studies. She has extensive media experience, including a key marketing role for the Centre for Direct Banking in Cracow, and numerous customer-facing roles. Joanna, who is now based in the UK, looks after Indaba's Polish accounts and works on our clients' social media programmes as well.

• Favourite film: Love Actually
• Favourite food: #teamRamen
• Favourite song: All I want for Christmas is You (Mariah Carey)
• Fun fact: I suffer from Obssesive Christmas Disorder #hohoho

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

Marta Masqué

Marta is a journalist by profession and has a Master’s in International Relations as well as one in Corporate Communication. She has a wealth of experience working with the press in Spain and Portugal throughout her career. In her spare time, Marta tutors Spanish students in the art of business communication, and speaks French as her third language.

• Favourite film: Eight Basque Surnames
• Favourite food: Fideua
• Favourite song: Si et quedes amb mi
• Fun fact: In my free time I try to sleep, because… mum's life

Margarete Merkle

Margarete is an experienced professional communicator, having held multiple senior positions in agencies throughout her career and as such is comfortable working on multi-national and international accounts. Her specialisms include science and technology, and her passion is copywriting, though she also holds qualifications in social media and marketing. Margarete, who is based in Germany, is an Accredited Practitioner of the UK’s Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

• Favourite film: Café Society
• Favourite food: Slow Food
• Favourite song: I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)
• Fun fact: I love to explore new things

Lola Shaddick

CEO (Canine Executive Officer)

Lola takes over as Canine Executive Officer from Spaghie. She shadowed him since she was eight weeks old, so brings immense experience to the role. A true alpha female, if she’s not on high alert watching for squirrels and birds in the garden, she relishes saying hello to clients on Teams and Zoom calls.

• Favourite film: Run Lola Run
• Favourite food: Treats
• Favourite song: Whatever Lola wants (Sarah Vaughan)
• Fun fact: Weighing in at only 5kg, I’m often mistaken for a puppy!

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