Meet the team
Stan Abbott
Stan Abbott is founder and Managing Consultant at Gravity Consulting, based at our head office in Durham City. A Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, he is dual-skilled as a writer and journalist, and public relations and marketing consultant.
He began his career in provincial newspapers in England, moving from reporting to sub-editing and design, alongside writing on a variety of subjects for national newspapers and magazines. Through the 1980s and early 90s, he ran a publishing and design house, specialising in the production of business-to-business and consumer magazines, and commissioning and publishing a range of books.
As Head of Marketing at Gill Airways, he learned how to stretch limited resources to ensure a relatively small regional airline could punch above its financial weight in competition with the mighty British Airways. His contacts throughout the North East England business and political community are second to none.
An accomplished crisis manager, with specialist knowledge of the particular needs of the airline industry, his efforts at Gill Airways earned him a IPR Cream Award for Crisis Management in 1991. In the course of a varied career he has picked up a number of awards for writing, editing and relaunching publications.
Dan Kirkby
Dan Kirkby has an enviable track record - working at senior level for numerous high profile organisations in broadcasting, entertainment and travel aswell as business and commerce.
Dan, a trained journalist, is one of Britain's most experienced publicists.
He first hit the headlines promoting the pioneering rock and pop programme The Tube before working on Live Aid for the BBC.
His broadcasting connections are impressive - having represented Channel 4, GMTV, ITV Network, BBC Radio 1 and numerous television productions.
His flair for news creation has been put to good use by organisations as diverse as Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group, Lloyds Bank, The Institute Of Asian Professionals, Eurostar, West Ham United Football Club and several major airlines.
Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, awarded Kirkby a major contract to launch their newest theme park, Disney's Animal Kingdom.
Euro NCAP - the new car assessment programme selected Kirkby to launch their major pan European safety drive - with a major media conference and live telecast at the Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid.
The politics graduate continues to play a significant role in ultra contemporary issues, publicising The Asian Power 100 List and Asian Jewel Awards.
Tom Boden - Account Manager
Tom joined Gravity in October 2006 and is involved in several of the company’s key accounts. His predominant involvement is with the Durham 2020 Vision project, and he is also heavily involved with the Atlantic Airways and Eastern Airways accounts.
A graduate in Ecology & Conservation, he nonetheless worked for five years in media sales in central London, in business-to-government publishing, conferences, exhibitions and research. In 2004 Tom decided on a life change and moved north to Durham to work for Northumberland Wildlife Trust in a fundraising and marketing role. During his time in the charity sector he honed his public relations skills and experience.
Barbara Allen
Barbara is our senior designer and has worked with Stan Abbott for almost 20 years, first at Leading Edge Press & Publishing and latterly for Gravity. She previously worked in the specialist trade media in London.
Barbara's expertise and experience extend from designing brochures and books, to annual reports, newspapers and magazines.
Her work has been recognised by the Association of Communicators in Business (for catch magazine, for the Environment Agency) and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (for Eastern Airways' e-Magazine).