The Institute of Public Relations, Ghana (IPR), has appointed, Peter Martey Agbeko, head of Public Relations at the Ghana Standards Authority to serve on its Governing Council, as a member without a portfolio.

The Council is the highest decision-making unit of the Institute, which is the sole professional body for Public Relations practitioners in the country.

IPR primarily exists to provide a professional governing structure for the public relations practice. It is headed by a President and team for a period of two years.

Other practitioners appointed in the same category are, Donald Gwira, Solace Akomeah, Esi Hammond, William Boateng, Kwame Gyan, and Ernest Asare.

They will join the other council members to push the Institute’s agenda.

Mawuko Afadzinu, President of IPR said: “The Governing Board and Institute members are enthusiastic about having these experienced practitioners on board, as we believe that their extensive cross-cutting work experience in the field of communications and management will be very useful in their new role.”

He added: "I am confident that their collective skill sets and experience will add value and enhance our operational efforts”

“They have demonstrated over the years that they will do a great job and we thus look forward to working with them to execute on our mandate.

“Being invited to serve on the Governing Council is a privilege and an honor of a lifetime,” said Agbeko.

“I thank the Institute sincerely for this opportunity to serve and wish to assure everyone that I will work tirelessly to justify the trust placed in me.”

Mr. Agbeko began his career with the Marketing and Social Research Institute (MSRI), which was then part of the Advantage Group in 1989.

He was also the first Director of the Ghana International Press Centre, serving successfully in that position from 1992-1995.

Since 2005, he has been primarily engaged in independent communications consultancy with various organizations.

Over the last decade, he has been engaged as an external PR consultant by C&F Porter Novelli, Nigeria.

Over the same period, he also worked as an external PR consultant for STB McCANN Accra, a full-service agency, an affiliate of the McCann World Group.

In the 2016/2017 academic year, he was an adjunct lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, teaching news & feature writing in the Bachelor of Arts degree Program.

He was a member of the 2017 Ghana Journalists Association Awards Committee and has been retained as a member to date.

He was also a member of the GIJ 60th Anniversary Planning Committee and is a member of the recently constituted GJA Social Affairs Committee.

He is an alumnus of GIJ and Swansea University, UK, where he obtained an MSc (Econ) in Social Development Planning & Management.

Agbeko is an accredited member of the Institute with over two decades of experience in strategic communications.

He is also a member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the leading professional organization serving the communications community in the USA with over 30,000 professional and student members.

IPR, formerly known as the Public Relations Association of Ghana (PRAG), is registered as a professional body under the Professional Bodies Registration Decree, (NRCD 143) of 1973.