GENEVA—Andrew Gowers (pictured) been appointed global head of corporate affairs for energy trading and logistics company Trafigura.  He will be based in Geneva, Switzerland. Gowers was most recently director of external relations at the Association for Financial Markets in Europe, and is a former editor of the Financial Times with a 25-year track record in international business journalism.  Since leaving the FT he has worked in various senior corporate communications roles including global co-head of communications and brand at Lehman Brothers and global head of media at BP. He will report to Pierre Lorinet, CFO and managing director Asia Pacific for Trafigura, starting in April. 

LONDON—Global sustainability non-profit Forum for the Future has appointed Four Communications to support the Sustainable Shipping Initiative, a coalition of shipping leaders from around the world taking practical steps to tackle some of the sector’s greatest opportunities and challenges. Four’s work will focus on international media relations to highlight the work of the SSI, communicate the successes of the project and share best practice across the industry, culminating in an international press conference to reveal the findings of its work in September 2013.

LONDON—Brands2Life has promoted Robin Grainger, currently director, international, to its board of directors. Grainger will continue to oversee Brands2Life's international agency networks, as well as becoming a director in the agency's business and technology practice. He has spearheaded Brands2Life's international development since 2009 and leads the Oriella PR Network, which spans 16 agencies and some 26 countries, and focuses primarily on B2B and technology brands.

BERN—Kathrin Amacker-Amann, head of corporate communications at Swisscom since autumn 2010, will be leaving the company in 2013 at her own request. Amacker was responsible for internal and external corporate communication, public affairs, brand management, corporate responsibility and sponsoring.

LONDON—BackBay Communications has been retained by Edwards Wildman Palmer, the international law firm, to raise its profile in the private equity and venture capital communities in Europe. According to Ted Cominos, partner and chair of the international private equity practice: “BackBay’s experience in the private equity sector made them an obvious choice for us in communicating our practice’s offering.”

LONDON—Kerry Foods, a leading chilled food supplier that manages brands including brands including Wall’s, Mattesons, Richmond, Cheestrings, Low Low and Dairygold, has brought in Cirkle as its retained agency to support its ambitious growth plans within the chilled food category. Kerry Foods appointed Cirkle after a three-way competitive pitch.  The brief is initially focused on B2B communications to generate incremental growth over the next three years across the UK and Ireland.

READING—Jargon PR, a boutique agency specializing in media relations, has today been named the consumer agency of record for Mortimer Chocolate Company, a UK-based chocolate producer whose products are stocked nationally by Waitrose. As agency of record for Mortimer Chocolate Company, Jargon PR will manage the reputation of the brand in the UK press and will support Mortimer at a variety of trade fairs and events.