Crossing the Atlantic Changes the Rules - via The Leadership Brief
by Miriam Hanna, Director (first published on The Leadership Brief May 2026)
What US and European firms still underestimate about each other.
At 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.
Increasingly, the real challenge is cultural, commercial and political. The assumptions that work in one market often travel badly into another.
Political influence operates differently in the US
One of the clearest observations from DC was how embedded political engagement remains in the US corporate model. Political intelligence is treated as an ongoing commercial function, not something activated only during moments of crisis. What also became clear is that the mood already feels less certain than it did six months ago. While Trump continues to dominate attention, many leaders are already planning for a more fragmented political environment and asking how they build long-term credibility beyond one administration or political cycle.
That creates a challenge for international firms entering the US market. Local firms already possess the networks, instincts and political fluency that overseas players are trying to build.
The US advisory model is head and shoulders above Europe
Another clear theme was how much more integrated the US advisory model has become. Communications, public affairs, crisis, data and business intelligence increasingly operate together rather than in separate lanes. Senior advisors are working closer to CEOs, boards and investors, and clients appear far more willing to pay premium fees for commercially embedded counsel.
The model feels less campaign-led and far more tied to enterprise risk, reputation and decision-making. That shift feels notably faster and more mature than much of the UK market.
The global network model is quietly changing
One of the more interesting conversations across both cities was around international growth. For years, expansion was often measured by footprint - dots on a map, office count, geographic spread.
Now, the focus feels very different.
Leaders are increasingly asking whether international businesses are genuinely integrated operationally and commercially, not simply internationally branded.
A London office no longer automatically represents a European strategy.
And a New York headquarters no longer guarantees global relevance.
Credibility travels nowhere near the level that most firms expect
Perhaps the biggest takeaway overall was this:
Success in one market does not automatically create credibility in another.
US firms often underestimate the complexity and fragmentation of Europe. European firms often underestimate the pace, commercial intensity and integration expectations of the US. In both directions, firms frequently assume expertise travels more easily than it actually does.
It rarely does without local trust, local leadership and a genuinely differentiated perspective.
💬 Why this matters
Transatlantic growth is still enormously attractive. But increasingly, success depends less on geography and more on operating sophistication.
The firms succeeding internationally are not simply exporting the model that worked at home.
They are adapting to different political systems, different commercial expectations and different definitions of influence itself.
💬 We’d love your input:
What differences have you noticed between how leadership and advisory operate across the US and Europe?
Drop a comment or message - I’d love to hear your perspective.
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Thanks for reading.
Miriam
MadlinHanna Consulting is a recruitment consultancy specialising in public affairs, corporate communications and financial PR. Contact us in London on +44 (0) 20 8088 4102 or in Brussels on +32 (0) 2 586 38 98 for more information or a confidential conversation about these services and more.