APCO

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, and a relatively new “family office” practice that provides PR expertise to high net worth individuals, their family businesses, and philanthropic activities.

Its UK office, with fee income of around $26 million and a team of 136, accounts for a little more than half of its European operations, and with growth of close to 16% in 2024, with the previous year’s acquisition of Camarco beginning to pay dividends. As well as its core financial, investor and corporate communications capabilities, Camarco’s offer included communications around debt restructuring and litigation, ESG and crisis communications, a perfect complement to APCO’s public affairs expertise.

The firm’s UK clients include Bain Capital (for which it provides capital marketing and corporate reputation support) and Velux (thought leadership and executive profiling) as well as BD, CSL, DP World, customer experience technology company Foundever, Grainger,  MFG, and Netjets. High-impact work included supporting Neptune Energy through its sale to Eni, which included securing shareholder support and regulatory approval with no internal backlash.

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 London operation is led by managing directors Dani Lebor and Tom Short, while the Camarco deal added veteran Louise Dolan as senior director, capital markets. High-profile additions included Lord Edward Young, former principal private secretary to  Queen Elizabeth and King Charles, as chairman of the APCO Family Office, and Mark Simpson, a former advisor to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as director of public affairs. The firm remains committed to diversity and inclusion, with 22% of UK staff from BAME backgrounds and has a robust commitment to volunteerism and pro-bono work (from Macmillan Cancer Support to London Youth).—CD