About Shelley Grell

Shelley Grell

Shelley Grell, BA Hons, APR, Director

With 18 years’ experience in the ICT, PR and media industries in the UK and NZ, Shelley realised it was high time New Zealand had a specialist technology PR agency and launched Communicate IT in 1999.

Over the years Shelley has built a strong reputation in the New Zealand hi-tech sector. She has not only helped many innovative ICT companies to promote and commercialise their products and services, she has also managed the New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards in 2002 & 2005, and is an elected committee member of the Canterbury Software Cluster.

Shelley first entered into PR in 1993 when she joined leading London technology specialist agencies GBC as a graduate PR Consultant and later Bogard Communications as Senior Consultant. At these agencies Shelley successfully managed blue-chip corporate accounts including Unisys, Banyan Networks, Oracle, Uniplex and Radius. Key to this success was her affinity for turning technical jargon into an interesting read, as well as excellent media relations – ‘at last a PR person who understands technology!’

Shelley moved with her Kiwi partner to New Zealand in 1996 and joined a general PR firm in Christchurch to manage key client accounts, including Timberlands West Coast.  She was also the Editor of Antarctic magazine which involved working closely with the New Zealand Antarctic Society and Antarctica New Zealand to interview explorers and scientists from all over the world and write articles about some of the many expeditions and research projects conducted on the ice.

Prior to forming Communicate IT she worked as the Marketing Manager of Computer distributor Insite Technology, responsible for all PR, marketing and advertising campaigns for some well known computer brands.

Shelley has an honours degree in Psychology, with minors in English and Music, from Thames Valley University, London and has certificates in Computer Programming and Photography. She is committed to providing quality and ethical PR in line with the standards set by the PR Institute of New Zealand.