APCO

UK, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Ukraine

APCO was founded 40 years ago in Washington, DC, and initially made its name as a US public affairs specialist. It has been operating in Europe, starting with offices in London and Brussels, since 1995. Its roots in the public policy arena set the firm apart from anyone else of its size and scale but it has expanded its offering over the years and now offers clients to ability to solve a wide range of their thorniest stakeholder relationship issues spanning corporate reputation and geocommerce.

Its European footprint has steadily expanded beyond Brussels to include offices in Paris and Rome (both of which contributed significantly in 2024), as well as Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich, and Kyiv, an office established in June of last year. The firm generated about $59 million of revenues in Europe last year, more than $32 million of that from its continental operations, where it has a team of almost 200 and where growth was a solid 5.7%, with an EMEA client list than includes the likes of Apple, CSL, Chiesi, Ikea, Kenvue, and Netjets. High-profile work included the BC4EU campaign, which provided blockchain industry with a unified voice in the region, managed the sector’s annual summit, and sought to drive wider adoption of the technology across Europe.

APCO produces some critical thought leadership, with its Geopolitical Radar offer a particular highlight, designed to give clients real-time updates on the global operating environment for business and providing even more value in these tumultuous times. Its Climate Intelligence Report, meanwhile, offers insight into the changing policy environment around climate issues. But 2024 saw a couple of innovations: first, the firm’s burgeoning AI suite, Margy, which tracks regulatory changes across 100 markets and multiple sectors; and second, its Storybook Studio, which amplifies clients’ activities at major global events.
 
The European operation is led by regional president Paolo Compostella, and includes senior director Nicholas Whyte, who heads the Global Solutions business out of Brussels; with new talent in 2024 including senior advisor Jean-Renaud Roy (former head of corporate affairs for Microsoft) in the Paris office, and Sonya Soutus (a veteran of Coca-Cola and the Nature’s Bounty Company) who heads the fledgling operation in Ukraine.—PH