Industry insight, analysis and opinion
“We need somebody with strong Labour connections.”
It is a phrase we have heard regularly across public affairs briefs over the past three or four years (understandably). After 14 years of Conservative-led government, agencies and in-house teams recognised the need to strengthen their Labour credentials ahead of a likely change in power.
Read MoreFootball’s transfer market is strange, occasionally brutal and completely unlike normal working life. But it does force clubs to think about talent as something that must be identified, developed, protected and planned for - not merely replaced when it disappears. So, as a thought experiment: what if corporate affairs worked the same way?
Read MoreOne of the clearest shifts in senior agency hiring through 2026 has been the widening expectation around new business.
Within the market, explicit new business targets have historically been associated with larger networks and more commercially mature advisory firms, the FTIs of the world, where revenue ownership and growth expectations are already deeply embedded into senior leadership roles. What has become increasingly clear, however, is that this expectation is no longer confined to those environments.
Read MoreAt the end of April, I spent a week in DC and New York speaking with agency leaders, advisors and corporate affairs executives about how the market is shifting. What struck me most wasn’t the difference in ambition between the US and Europe. It was the difference in operating rhythm. Too many firms still approach transatlantic growth as a geographic exercise - opening offices, hiring teams, building footprint.
Read MoreThe UK political landscape is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate. Support for smaller parties such as Reform is growing, Labour is not entirely unified internally, and the possibility of coalition government is becoming more realistic.
Read MoreWhen you run executive searches in corporate affairs, you meet a lot of impressive people. Strong CVs, big titles, years of experience in agencies, government, and in-house leadership roles. But occasionally, certain patterns appear in interviews that raise questions for hiring organisations. They’re rarely dramatic. More often, they’re subtle signals that something isn’t quite right.
Read MoreUnsuccessful senior searches often find themselves drifting, as assumptions go untested and the hire is recruited into a version of the role that cannot hold in practice. The instinctive pre-emption is to polish a clean briefing document, tightening scope and adding detail in the hope that precision will remove risk.
Read MoreWe’ve put together some thoughts on what Legal Corporate Affairs teams can expect from this year, off the back of conversations with a number of senior leaders across the market. Firstly, thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts (and therapy sessions!).
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