John Palmer - Trustee of the DKH Legacy Trust

John Palmer has been at Sheffield Hallam
University for six years and he runs all aspects of internal and external communications as well as managing the overall image and reputation of the University.
 

He began as a journalist on local and national newspapers, and has subsequently run corporate affairs departments for several high-profile international companies and organisations.


Throughout his career, he has seen the value of sport and has used it to develop strategies for major marketing and positioning campaigns for businesses. 
 
He spent twenty years working for Independent Television companies and was Controller of Corporate Affairs for ITV's largest broadcaster, Carlton UK Television.

Before that he was Controller of Press and PR for Central TV, which he helped launch and establish as one of the country's most respected broadcasters. He was also Chair of the Independent Television Network Public Relations Group and ran ITV Sport's publicity campaigns. This involved promoting ITV's coverage of major international sporting events, including the European Nations Soccer Championships, the Rugby World Cup; Formula One Grand Prix and Athletics.
 
Before joining Sheffield Hallam, he spent five years as Head of Worldwide Communications at digger manufacturer JCB. He was responsible for launching the company's manufacturing business in the USA and growing their Indian subsidiary, where they became the number one seller. In this role he created sports-led brand-building campaigns with the American NFL Superbowl and London Irish Rugby Club.

He has also worked for the world's largest Events and Sports Marketing company, IMG, where he helped to devise and run the campaign to popularise ballroom dancing and ran media campaigns for international sports stars.

In addition, he was a founder of PCA Management, the marketing arm of the Professional Cricketers' Association, which he helped launch in 1996, to raise funds to support cricketers who need skills training, medical or other support either during or at the end of their playing careers.

At Sheffield Hallam, he created opportunities to involve the University with the Beijing Olympic Organising Committee, which resulted in several collaborations. He also initiated the South Yorkshire Lighting the Flame for Sport campaign, which has seen Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster work together to provide international sports teams with training and base camp facilities for the London Olympics.