About Us

When you want the best

We’re a recruitment company specialising in internal communications, change communications, employee engagement and employee experience.

Our mission is to bring a human approach to recruitment. We build lasting relationships based on trust and respect to provide the best experience to clients and candidates alike. We do this by delivering on our three core values:

People first approach: We’re right at the centre of the internal communications community and widely known for our human approach to recruitment. That means no ghosting, no generic emails and communicating clearly throughout each process.

Delivering excellence: We’re proud of what we’ve achieved and excited to build on it for the future. As the only recruitment company in the UK solely focused on internal communications, we’re the go-to specialist for businesses large and small across the UK and Europe. Whether it’s an urgent interim need or a critical permanent hire, we’ll deliver the quality you need.

Embracing inclusivity: Inclusivity isn’t a box to tick; it’s a responsibility we take on in everything we do. We’ll recognise and challenge bias at every stage of the recruitment process to ensure we’re helping our clients build diverse, high performing teams. We believe inclusive recruitment leads to better outcomes for businesses and people

Making sure every placement is a great experience for everyone involved is what we’re all about – after all, the employee experience starts right here. With years of hands-on experience as communicators ourselves, we understand what it takes to excel in this critical business function. We focus on what we do best: placing mid to senior-level professionals in permanent roles, fixed-term contracts, and interim positions.

Andy

Andy Macleod

Managing Director & Lead Consultant

Matt

Matt Gibbs

Associate Director & Lead Consultant

Placeholder team picture

Maxie Knowles

Finance Manager

Virginia

Virginia Hicks

Founder & Chair

Our clients

Andy Macleod

Managing Director & Lead Consultant

Andy has 25 years’ experience in internal communications, including 15 years as a senior in-house professional and 10 years specialising in communications recruitment. He is a respected leader within the UK communications recruitment industry and has, since 2014, placed hundreds of permanent, FTC and interim communicators across almost every sector. Andy specialises in mid to senior level roles for organisations large and small, across internal, change and corporate communications.

Andy loves supporting organisations with a whole range of challenges, whether it’s an urgent interim requirement or a search for an important new permanent hire. With extensive experience in internal communications, Andy and the team at Comma can also resource any wider challenges you may be facing – for example, auditing your IC function, up-skilling your internal communications team, or training, coaching or mentoring your leaders or line managers to become better communicators.

Andy runs regular round table sessions for senior IC pros and also leads a LinkedIn group to support internal communication professionals and their mental health. He has a keen interest in the wider employee experience, something we know organisations are developing at pace in the post pandemic working environment. Currently based in SW London, Andy enjoys live sport, live music, travel, politics, good food and regular trips to see friends now based all over the world!

Andy

Matt Gibbs

Associate Director & Lead Consultant

Matt began his career in internal and change communications recruitment in 2016 and hasn’t looked back. He’s passionate about the field of internal communications, recognising when executed effectively, it significantly improves company culture and overall business performance. He’s committed to helping businesses navigate their communications challenges by supporting them in building high-performing teams.

Focusing on the UK contract market, both fixed-term contracts (FTCs) and interim day rate positions, he’s successfully placed over 250 communications professionals across businesses of all shapes and sizes, from leading global corporates to small charities. Thriving in the fast-paced, dynamic nature of the contract market, he’s delivered tailored solutions to organisations in need of exceptional communications talent.

Matt lives in Newbury with his young family. When his weekends aren’t taken up with trips to the local soft play or farm park, he’s playing for his local cricket team or aiming to beat his 5km and 10km running PBs!

Matt

Virginia Hicks

Founder & Chair

Virginia was a lead consultant with Comma Partners until 2025 when she moved into a Chairman role providing strategic and mentoring support to the consulting team, Andy Macleod, Managing Director and Matt Gibbs, Associate Director.

Virginia set up the interim communications business as part of Comma Consulting back in 2007 alongside Colette Dorward, a trailblazer in strategic communications. When Colette moved in-house, Virginia founded Comma Partners as an independent business resourcing interims for internal communication, employee engagement and change communication.

Virginia’s career in communications began at the now defunct high street retailer, Radio Rentals where she was Communications Manager for six years which included the retailer’s demerger from Thorn EMI. After a turbulent year in the corporate centre of the newly listed Thorn, Virginia supported a strategic review which resulted in redundancies all round and the demise of the brand as it was absorbed into Nomura. Virginia joined Glaxo Wellcome’s new manufacturing division in 1999 and within a year the company merged with SmithKlineBeecham. Virginia moved to Marks & Spencer in 2001 as head of internal communications where she led the internal communications team through

change, recovery and a CEO change. After becoming a mum, Virginia worked as a communications interim with Unilever and Network Rail until she joined Comma Consulting.

Virginia’s early career was with the International Tennis Federation where she travelled extensively before moving into sponsorship with Alan Pascoe Associates where her clients included Pearl Assurance, Kodak, TSB, Hewlett Packard and Land Rover.

Now living in West Sussex, Virginia has settled into a more rural lifestyle. Virginia is a hands-on mum who enjoys her husband’s excellent cooking, loves fine wine, the theatre and Pilates with lots of time dedicated to her garden, house renovation and the family businesses in rugby ball replica lamps, known as Globall.

Virginia