Affleck & Co.: Elevating Women and Girls Strategy with Two New Signings

We’re proud to announce Mandu Reid and Anna Kessel MBE as the newest members of the Affleck & Co. Collective, joining us as Lead Consultants for Women and Girls Strategy. 

This move marks a bold next step in our strategic evolution as a business, and a significant step forward in our commitment to gender equity and impact. Together, Mandu and Anna bring vision, energy, and award-winning expertise. They have a proven track record of delivering change on a national scale, and galvanising support to make it happen.

Mandu said:

“I couldn’t be more excited to join the Affleck & Co. Collective. It’s a model that breaks the mould, has collaboration at its heart, and unlocks the combined experience and ingenuity of an outrageously talented group of women. What’s not to love?”

Their addition strengthens our ability to support clients in tackling some of the most urgent challenges and untapped opportunities, in women and girl’s sport – and beyond. 

THE TIME IS NOW.

Our expanded focus on Women and Girls Strategies is needed more than ever. 

Women and girls’ sport is booming, with revenues predicted at $2.35 billion globally. As leaders and brands lean into this space, our Collective is ready to help organisations navigate the terrain. 

Now is the time for experienced leadership, and that’s exactly what Mandu and Anna bring. They’ve spent decades shifting systems — through sport, politics, media, and public life — and they know how to build strategies that lead to meaningful outcomes.

When stakeholders place women and girls at the heart of their work they unlock potential revenue streams and new audiences, moving women’s sport strategy from a bolt-on to embedded in the organisational ethos. And when women and girls are thriving in sport, the whole sports ecosystem benefits.

“Nicky has created a new model for the sports industry - matching skillsets with consultancy projects to supercharge outcomes. I think it’s a really smart approach and I love the emphasis on collaboration. I’m excited to work with this talented group of women,” said Anna Kessel.

Women and girls' strategies can no longer be add-ons or PR tactics — they must be embedded, expertly led, and rooted in experience and equity. But we know even the most ambitious organisations can’t do that alone. They need brave, strategic advice. They need people who understand the barriers, but also see the opportunity.  

That’s what Mandu and Anna bring to our team at Affleck & Co. and to our client partners.

RAISING THE BAR

At Affleck & Co., we’re values-led and creatively disruptive. Mandu and Anna’s addition strengthens our ability to help clients move beyond surface-level commitments to build strategies rooted in equity, experience, and impact. 

“We’re not here to replicate what’s already out there,” said Nicky Affleck, Founder and Collective Lead at Affleck & Co. “We’re building a consultancy that raises the bar – in quality, in who gets a seat at the table, and in what we’re willing to challenge. Mandu and Anna joining us isn’t just a big moment for our business — it’s a signal that the sector is shifting, and we’re ready to lead that shift.”

WE’RE HERE TO REINVENT WHAT’S POSSIBLE.

And Mandu and Anna are no strangers to leading national conversations. Mandu is a strategist, facilitator, and campaigner with a career that spans government, sport, politics, and social change. She was the first person of colour to lead a UK political party and has a knack for helping organisations and leaders unlock potential, navigate change, and build the kind of impact that lasts.

Anna, an award-winning journalist, author, co-founder of Women in Football and former Executive Director for Development at Sky Sports, has spent two decades championing inclusion through storytelling and strategic influence at the highest levels of sport and media.

They are not only trusted voices – they are system thinkers and change-makers. So, whether you’re building a strategy for women and girl’s sport, investing in inclusion, or reimagining what representation looks like – we’re ready to go there with you. 

Join us in welcoming them today. And get in touch if you’re ready to discuss what you could, and should, be doing for women and girls.