The shortlist for the 2026 Corporate Affairs Awards – held in partnership with PR Week – has been unveiled.

While the awards span more than 30 categories across corporate, financial, pharma and healthcare communications, it is the Newcomer of the Year – Public Affairs category that stands out as a bellwether for the next generation of influence professionals.

The three to watch

The shortlisted nominees are:

• Hannah Sneath, senior associate, H/Advisors Cicero
• Zak Wagman, senior account executive, Grayling
• Emily Wheeler, public affairs manager, UK Finance

Between them, the trio represent agency and in-house functions operating at the sharp end of UK policymaking — from regulatory reform and parliamentary scrutiny to industry-wide advocacy.

H/Advisors Cicero and Grayling remain two of the most active consultancies in Westminster and Whitehall engagement, while UK Finance sits at the centre of ongoing debates over financial services regulation, consumer protection and the UK’s post-Brexit competitiveness agenda. The shortlist therefore offers a snapshot of where emerging policy talent is being developed: within data-led consultancies and increasingly technical trade body teams.

The category also reflects the changing profile of early-career public affairs professionals. With government engagement now intersecting with ESG mandates, regulatory complexity, Select Committee activism …