Positive Change Group appoints Leighton Barnish as Director of Stakeholder Advisory

Senior hire strengthens the Group’s advisory capabilities across strategic communications, reputation and sustainability

London, UK - 04 September 2026 - Leighton Barnish has joined Positive Change Group as Director of Stakeholder Advisory, a Group-wide role focused on strengthening the senior counsel it provides to clients.

Barnish has more than 25 years’ experience in senior in-house and advisory roles. Most recently, he was Head of Sustainability for EMEA at Sodali & Co, where he also led the practice’s strategic communications function. Before this, he was Head of Sustainability & ESG Advisory at Powerscourt. His clients included Airbus, Mazda, Bellway Homes, Laing O'Rourke and the King's Sustainable Markets Initiative.

His earlier career included in-house roles at AstraZeneca and Syngenta in the UK and Switzerland, followed by senior positions at specialist sustainability consultancies. He previously served as Sustainability Communications Director at Black Sun Global and now returns in a broader role spanning the wider Group.

Working across Positive Change Group clients, Barnish will advise senior leaders on corporate reputation and positioning, external communications, stakeholder strategy and campaigning, with ESG and sustainability as an important initial focus.

The appointment follows Helen Bennett’s arrival as Group CEO in June and is part of Positive Change Group’s continued investment in broadening its C-suite advisory capabilities.

Helen Bennett, Group CEO of Positive Change Group, said:

“Clients are not dealing with neat, single-discipline problems. A decision about AI, sustainability, or business change can quickly affect employees, investors, customers and regulators, with immediate implications for reputation. They need advisers who can see those connections and understand the commercial reality behind the decision.

“Leighton understands that complexity from both sides. He knows what it is like to work inside a major global organisation and what senior leaders need from an adviser when there is no simple answer. I have real confidence in his judgement and in what he will bring to our clients. We’re thrilled to have him on board.”

Leighton Barnish, Director of Stakeholder Advisory at Positive Change Group, said:

“Having worked at Black Sun earlier in my career, I knew the quality of the business and its client relationships. What attracted me back was Positive Change Group’s ambition to make stakeholder engagement part of how businesses make decisions and deliver change, rather than something that happens separately across different teams and audiences.

“The businesses that best navigate change today understand how their decisions will affect different stakeholders and build support before they act. That is exactly the kind of work I wanted to come back to do.”

About Positive Change Group

Positive Change Group is a global stakeholder engagement business. Our specialist agencies work as one, bringing together reporting, culture, communications and sustainability through a connected model that helps organisations close the gap between what they say and what people see, so they can present a clear and consistent story across every stakeholder group.

When that alignment is in place, organisations move faster, make better decisions and build confidence in their direction.

Headquartered in London, with an international network across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and South Africa, Positive Change Group supports over 100 multinational organisations at C-suite and board level.

For more information, visit: www.positivechangegroup.com