MD Communications welcome two new Senior International Growth Advisers
We are delighted to welcome Nigel Clark and Gary Assim as the latest members of our International Advisory Board.
Nigel joins as Senior International Growth Adviser and Chair of our International Advisory Board, and Gary joins as a Senior International Growth Adviser and Board member.
Both Gary and Nigel will also join the MD Communications leadership team, alongside our founder and CEO, Melissa Davis, CMO James Hayhurst, and partner Linsay Leslie.
As senior advisers, the pair bring a formidable mix of commercial instinct, international connections and first-hand experience of growing firms in new markets.
Meet our new Board members
Nigel has helped lead and build legal businesses across Australia, Asia and Europe. A lawyer qualified in Australia and the UK, he started his career at Wilde Sapte (now Dentons), before going on to become an equity partner at MinterEllison, co-found Peregrine Law and serve as CEO of Nexa, where he remains a non-executive director. He is also Global Relations Consultant at Hall & Wilcox.
Having held non-executive roles at listed and private companies in seven jurisdictions, including Australia, the UK, Singapore, and the US, Nigel has first-hand insight into how business gets done in different markets and will work with clients to help them decide where to focus and build stronger relationships with overseas firms.
Gary brings extensive experience of law firm leadership, international business development and advising major brands. As an intellectual property partner at Shoosmiths, he built a strong reputation in retail and IP, advising names including Jimmy Choo, Chloé, H&M and Dr Martens. He has been recognised in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame.
As a former Chair of World Services Group, Gary also understands how to turn an international network into relationships that generate business. He helps partners and emerging leaders approach international business development with confidence, purpose and a clear plan for following through.
Melissa Davis, CEO of MD Communications, said:
For anyone worried that AI will replace humans any time soon, Nigel and Gary are proof that experience, judgement and a very good little black book are hard to replicate.
I’ve known them both for over ten years, and it’s going to be massively enjoyable growing the agency and supporting our clients at home and overseas together.
Looking ahead, Melissa added:
What excites me most is what this means for our clients focused on cross-border growth. Both understand the realities of building a legal business: entering new markets, earning trust, developing referral relationships and turning introductions into instructions.
Welcome to the team, Nigel and Gary!
Building our international team
Nigel and Gary join our growing international team, following the appointment of Helen Scott as International PR Director and Hayley Duggan as International Growth and Rankings Director in September.
We look forward to announcing further appointments to the team over the coming weeks as we continue to strengthen our support for firms looking to grow internationally.
If your firm is planning to build its profile and business overseas and you’d like to talk to Nigel, Gary, or the team, get in touch!
