Sefiani is delighted to announce two new appointments to its market-leading corporate and sustainability communications practices, with Therese Raft appointed Senior Consultant and Kate Skokan appointed Account Director.

Both Therese and Kate join Sefiani from global top-tier professional services firms.

With 17 years’ communications experience including more than a decade in corporate roles, Therese is a returnee to Sefiani after first joining the agency in 2008. She then held communication leadership roles at Arup, the global design and engineering firm; Grant Thornton, an Australian professional services firm; and Accenture, the global digital, cloud and security firm.

Kate Skokan joins Sefiani from Deloitte, bringing almost 10 years’ communications experience in property, investment and professional services overlaid with a sustainability lens. At Deloitte, Kate was Executive Eminence Communications Manager supporting the firm’s business leaders with external thought leadership and internal communications. Previously, at Lendlease Investment Management, Kate was Investor and Communications Advisor for five years, before commencing her career as a social media consultant.

In welcoming Therese and Kate, CEO Robyn Sefiani, who was recently named Australia’s PR Leader of the Year said, “It is gratifying to see two high-calibre communicators make the move from corporate in-house roles to agency roles, which is contrary to the industry trend.

“By highlighting the positive impact communication agency professionals consistently demonstrate through our collective work with corporate clients, brands and causes we care deeply about, and with the vibrant, varied and collegial nature of agency life, I hope we as an industry can encourage more in-house communicators to consider agency roles.

“There is no doubt in my mind that agencies are uniquely placed to offer talented communicators fulfilling roles and fast-tracked career opportunities in a supportive, flexible work environment, with fascinating client briefs, constant knowledge sharing and interesting, intellectually stimulating work.”

On returning to Sefiani, Therese said, “Sefiani was a wonderful place to ‘grow up’. The calibre of clients and advice has always been stellar and the firm has more than kept pace with changing client needs and market demands. I am delighted to be back at such an interesting moment in time and look forward to working with our clients and their leaders to elevate their voice and profile with authenticity and a real point of view.”

Commenting on her appointment Kate said, “As a long-time admirer of Sefiani’s meaningful work, I’m excited to be joining the team and become ‘an agent of change’. With so many organisations at a tipping point in their sustainability journeys, I am looking forward to partnering with a diverse range of clients to enable them to communicate their ESG, corporate and investment stories with transparency, clarity, and impact. I am also looking forward to expanding my skillset through the Sefiani Academy’s professional development program.”

The new appointments follow two other recent hires at Sefiani, including Content Director Taylor Campbell who joined from Westpac where she was on secondment from FinchCo, and Rachel Daniel, Account Executive, who joined from 6AM agency.