Lester Posner is a Managing Director with Teneo’s Strategy and Communications business, based in Dubai.
Lester has more than 20 years of experience in public sector communications, advising Ministers and boards in UK Government departments and agencies on strategic communication approaches to deliver their business objectives. Utilizing this extensive experience, Lester works with Teneo’s corporate and government clients across the Middle East, advising them on their communications, stakeholder relations and public affairs activities.
Prior to joining Teneo, Lester was the Director of Communications for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Britain’s national workplace regulator, where he led a multi-disciplinary team covering media relations, marketing, external affairs, internal communications and digital. Lester advised HSE’s Executive team across its strategic priorities, designing communication interventions to influence businesses and employees to make workplaces safer and healthier, and to protect the wider environment.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lester worked at the Cabinet Office advising on the cross-government communications response, with a focus on national and local engagement to reach all communities. Other roles include leading teams at the Department for Work and Pensions, where he developed behaviour change campaigns to support major reforms to the UK’s pension and benefits system. He was also a chief press officer for Ministers at the former Department for Communities and Local Government.
Lester started his career as a newspaper journalist before joining the Government Communication Service, where he led on capability building programmes to improve communication practices. He holds a master’s degree from the London School of Economics in social and public communications, with a focus on behaviour science, and he co-authored a guide on behavioural change approaches for Government communicators.