Guy Robb's Journey to Sway: A New Chapter in Scotland's PR Landscape

Last month Sway PR announced a huge new venture – a Scottish expansion with a respected Head of B2B PR at the helm.

Guy Robb is a seasoned professional in the technology and PR sectors and has held many senior management positions within global companies over his broad career. Before joining the Sway team, who already have a presence in the North of England, Guy worked for Integris Communications, a leading Scottish Tech PR agency and had found his footing as a sought after freelancer, working with huge household names such as Toshiba.

But he felt that it was time for a change after six years of working on his own. And he believes that Sway is the perfect fit for him, as he will be able to bring his tech expertise to the team.

Guy shared his enthusiasm for the new role and the unique perspective he is able to bring to the team: “It’s really interesting because Sway has a strong background in sport PR and consumer PR, but hasn’t been very strong in technology or B2B PR.”

Guy’s journey to Sway started with a series of discussions with Mark Hayward, Sway’s Managing Director after Guy decided he wanted to start working with a team again.

“It’s very diverse, which I really like, and the main thing is that our clients are very nice. Sway’s a great company with lovely people,” he added.

Guy’s career journey has been an interesting and varied one, with a number of huge projects that he has played a key role in over the years. He said: “I started out a long time ago working in the defence industry, on defence equipment and from there I moved into product management with a high-tech company in the early 90s.

“I worked in the networking area when the internet was just emerging and the company I was working for was making technology to help build networks. So I worked in that area of product management for about 10 years.”

His expertise in product management and his knack for identifying emerging trends led him to the banking world, specifically the smart card sector. “I was involved a lot in the whole UK Chip and PIN programme when that started,” he explained, “Bank cards with chips on them were just emerging rather than just a magnetic strip. I was closely involved with that, working with a company called Ingenico, who were the biggest payment systems company in the world – I was a director there for eight years.

“So I have got a varied industry background – but the common ground for me is that I’m all about the products and defining what a product was going to be. Product management was my core discipline.”

There’s a lot of communication, we talk a lot and share a lot of ideas – it’s really nice to be part of the bigger operation at Sway, it’s a very supportive environment
Guy Robb

Throughout his career, Guy found himself drawn to writing, a skill that seamlessly blended into his professional roles. “A large part of what I’ve always done is writing. When I left Ingenico I did some consulting work for a few years, just with some other engineering companies.

“And then I met a guy who had his own PR company, Integris Communications. I worked with them for about five or six years, which is where I learned my trade in B2B and tech PR. It was brilliant for me, but it was just the two of us and eventually we ended up working on different clients and I started freelancing.”

Despite enjoying being able to be in control of his time, Guy started to miss the feeling of being in a team, sharing: “It can get a bit lonely, so I’m enjoying being back as part of a team. There’s a lot of communication, we talk a lot and share a lot of ideas. It’s really nice to be part of the bigger operation at Sway, it’s a very supportive environment.”

A large part of Guy’s success has been his ability to adapt and constantly learn new things – but his humbleness is probably a part of that as well as he shared: “It’s been a journey of random chance and blind luck.”

Looking ahead, Guy is particularly excited about the surge of interest in PR post-COVID, noting a significant uptick in business and opportunities. He said: “There’s definitely a lot more appetite, particularly in B2B for PR. I’ve been open about exhibitions and conferences, and there’s a real buzz about in the industry, a lot of really good conversations to be had.”

With a career spanning various industries and a deep understanding of product development, Robb is poised to make a significant impact at Sway. His arrival marks an exciting time for the company and the broader PR landscape in Scotland.

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