This week, we discuss the horrifying world of the cyber breach. Trust and loyalty are fragile at the best of times, but the risks of causing serious damage to your brand, reputation and business are massively heightened should you face a cyber-attack. There were 2.8 billion malware attacks in the first half of this year, so sadly it is often a question of when you will be hit, not if! A breach really threatens your reputation. It puts your customers at risk damaging confidence and loyalty in your organisation and can prove very costly before you even consider the impact of potential fines. How effectively and clearly you respond often determines its long-term impact. What’s the immediate impact of a cyber breach? Where do criminals find a way in? What can organisations do now to protect themselves? And why does the number of attacks drop in certain months? To discuss these questions are Philippa Berry and Tarquin Folliss. Philippa is the Product Leader for CFC Underwriting, a leading cyber specialist insurance company. She recently won the prestigious “most skilled underwriter of the year” award at the Insurance Insider Cyber Rankings. Tarquin is a former senior diplomat with over 30 years in government service, focused largely on national security policy with a specialism in cyber. He has a particular interest in its human impact. Tarquin has recently taken a new role as Vice Chairman of SASIG.

They are joined by host Apella Partner, James Acheson-Gray; a crisis management specialist and a long-term advisor to senior decision makers on the value of harnessing reputation to enhance commercial objectives.

Reading list:

Kingdom of Lies - Kate Fazaini 

Rise of the Machines - Thomas Rid

The Hacker and the State - Ben Buchanan

We’d love to hear what you think. Get in touch on social media or email [email protected] and you can find out more about Apella Advisors here.

This podcast was produced by The Podcast Coach.

 

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, UK-based consultants were placed in the national spotlight for ties to Russian entities.

The press focused on how consultants in the law and PR for example, had made millions, on the ‘Caviar Express’ through ties to Russian oligarchs. For many years the PR industry has been accused of having a grubbier side, looking to unduly profit by reputation washing those less than savoury characters with large wallets.

An easy target now, but Bell Pottinger was very much of that ilk, operating at the very edge and all too often crossing the line, resulting in its demise. And yet, if people, and firms deserve their day in court, to put across their version of events, then so too do they in the court of public opinion. And just as they need their legal experts, so they need communications advisors. Surely that is the sign of a fair and well-functioning democracy?

The Little Questions podcast is presented by Matt Young and Andrew Brown. 

We’d love to hear what you think. Get in touch on social media or email [email protected]

 

Matt Young is an Apella founder partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

This podcast was produced by The Podcast Coach

Today the Little Questions Podcast has an interview with Mark Kleinman, SKY News’ Business Editor. Mark is a well-known and respected business journalist, a columnist for CityAM and winner of the 2021 British Journalism Awards. He's also picked up the London Press Club Business Journalist of the Year award not once, but twice.

We ask Mark about his role, his amazing ability to get exclusives and his frustrations with some in the PR world.

You can find The Little Questions Podcast on our website or on the usual podcast platforms.

This edition of The Little Questions podcast is hosted by Matt Young. Matt is an Apella partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

 

The relationships between a Corporate Affairs Director and the senior leadership of their organisation are arguably the most important they’ll manage during their time in the role. 

Positioning the CEO or Chair in a positive light is more important today than perhaps ever before. Which means that CADs are responsible not only for keeping business leaders out of trouble, but also advising them on a range of issues that can be reputationally damaging, if handled poorly, from Executive pay and Board diversity, to ESG and business risk. 

But with the average tenure of a chief executive in the UK being less than five years, an experienced CAD is likely to experience more than their fair share of leadership churn over the course of their career. And while changes of leadership can be exciting, they can also be challenging, often requiring a change in strategy, different expectations from stakeholders, and often a change in communication style and tone, too.

So, given that it’ll be a rare CAD that gets through their working life without handling a change at the top, today we’re going to be asking: what does a good transition look like? What can CADs do to get on the front foot before a new CEO or Chair starts in role? What kind of impact does leadership transition have on in-house Corporate Affairs teams? And this week on the Little Questions Podcast we aim to tackle these questions and more as we take a look at leadership change.

We’d love to hear what you think. Get in touch on social media or email [email protected]

This edition of The Little Questions podcast is presented by Apella director, Sam Bevans. Sam has almost 20 years’ experience in campaign strategy and delivery across a diverse range of clients, including AstraZeneca, Capita, Drax Power, Nationwide, UBS, and Volkswagen.

Sam is joined by Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Little Questions regular Matt Young is an Apella founder partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

This week, join Apella Advisors' Jenny Scott and Andrew Brown for a fascinating discussion with Dr Kris De Meyer, director of the UCL Climate Action Unit and neuroscientist at King's College London. On the surface, this is a curious blend of disciplines, yet it is allowing Dr. Kris and his team to explore the whole domain of climate action and specifically how to enable people to change and act for the better. The central thesis of his work is that conventional wisdom of understanding, awareness and concern driving action and change is flawed and that the way we communicate on climate change (and other subjects), needs to change.    We’d love to hear what you think. Get in touch on social media or email [email protected]

This edition of The Little Questions podcast is presented by Andrew Brown and Jenny Scott.

Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Apella founder partner Jenny Scott joins us again on The Little Questions podcast. Jenny has worked as Executive Director of Communications at the Bank of England and co-lead for Bank wide strategy. She was also Advisor to the Governor, and sat on the Bank’s executive committee and risk committee. Formerly Economics and Politics Correspondent for the BBC and Presenter of the Daily Politics, she is now Trustee of Pro Bono Economics.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

With the digital world growing and increasing its domination of our lives, some have for years been calling time on traditional media; Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer once described it as “a dead man walking”.   In 2019 digital ad spending overtook traditional ad spending for the first time, and since then the gap has only widened. This matters because the majority of traditional media is funded by advertising revenue. No money... no media; And logically, no media, no media relations.   When a carefully crafted tweet can garner a hundredfold more eyeballs than an article in The Times, or a Tik Tok video can go halfway round the world before dear Auntie Beeb has got out of her bed. Does media relations and the PR pro with her Rolodex of contacts matter anymore? Or have changes in the media landscape made our outdated skills obsolete?   The Little Questions podcast is presented by Matt Young and Andrew Brown. Joining them to discuss this topic is their Apella Advisors colleague, Janelle Romano.   Janelle Romano is a Director with experience working across corporate, B2B, B2C and internal communications briefs in technology, energy, financial services, learning and skills, transport and professional services. Clients have included American Express, Bank of America, Capita, Chicago Booth School of Business and LinkedIn.   Matt Young is an Apella founder partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.   Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.   Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

If you get to the end of your career and you’ve never worked for a firm that has either acquired or been acquired you will very much be the exception. 

This week, on the Little Questions Podcast we're talking mergers and acquisitions, or M&A as its often shortened to.

M&A can be a great way to improve efficiencies, accelerate growth and create value. But when they fail to produce the desired result, a common factor is poor communication, including a lack of information during the pre-merger period and a lack of post-merger cooperation and coordination.

And that has to be an opportunity for the Corporate Affairs team.

How do you approach and plan for such events? How do you ensure you are the one helping define the story to be told? What about stakeholder prioritisation, especially when those you want to tell first may not be the same as those you have to?  How do you best work with other parts of the firm, and counter parties, and of course the sometimes vast array of expensively assembled advisors – lawyers and bankers especially?  And, in what can be long and complex processes, draining at times, how do you maintain morale and stay sane? 

We’d love to hear what you think. Get in touch on social media or email [email protected]

This edition of The Little Questions podcast is presented by Andrew Brown, Anthony Silverman and Matt Young.

Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Our second guest this time is Apella founder partner Anthony Silverman who specialises in advising global boards and executive teams with complex reputational needs. Recent clients include RBS, UBS, Atlas Merchant Capital, Nomura, Pension Insurance Corporation, FirstRand and Nando’s. He is also a former Senior Managing Director at Teneo in London.

Matt Young is an Apella founder partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast is produced by www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

There was a time, not very long ago, when communications was thought of as a nice, but not that necessary, soft skill. Thankfully times have changed. We now know that strong internal communication improves employee engagement which is critical to commercial success. Conversely, poor internal comms can seriously damage your business. It’s a cascading effect of annoying comms, poor morale, lower productivity, increased absenteeism leading to higher employee turnover, and finally, higher costs and shrinking profits. So what does great internal communications look and feel like? What is the role it must play and how do we think it will develop in the coming years? What about data, can you measure its success? And in our comms hierarchy of needs, wants and desires where today does internal communications sit?

We’d love to hear what you think. Get in touch on social media or email [email protected]

This edition of The Little Questions podcast is presented by Andrew Brown, Jenny Scott and Matt Young.

Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Apella founder partner Jenny Scott joins us again on The Little Questions podcast. Jenny has worked as Executive Director of Communications at the Bank of England and co-lead for Bank wide strategy. She was also Advisor to the Governor, and sat on the Bank’s executive committee and risk committee. Formerly Economics and Politics Correspondent for the BBC and Presenter of the Daily Politics, she is now Trustee of Pro Bono Economics.

Matt Young is an Apella founder partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

The company and agency relationship should be the perfect embodiment of symbiosis. Mutual productivity for the benefit of all. Happy days! For those working either side of the fence, that’s not always the case.

The latest Little Questions Podcast considers all the ups and the downs of the relationship: from grumpy clients providing poorly written briefs to agency leaders who disappear after the first pitch. Apella partners James Acheson-Grey, Anthony Silverman and Matt Young chew the proverbial fat on how to get the best from the corporate / agency relationship.

We’d love to hear what you think. Get in touch on social media or email [email protected]

James Acheson-Gray has acted as a long-term advisor to senior decision makers on the value of harnessing reputation to enhance commercial objectives. James has over 20 years’ experience running successful PR/PA firms and major client programmes in Europe and Asia. He was managing director of APCO Worldwide from 2012-2019 and is a former Board Director of the Queen’s Club.

Our second guest this time is Apella founder partner Anthony Silverman who specialises in advising global boards and executive teams with complex reputational needs. Recent clients include RBS, UBS, Atlas Merchant Capital, Nomura, Pension Insurance Corporation, FirstRand and Nando’s. He is also a former Senior Managing Director at Teneo in London.

Matt Young is an Apella founder partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

On this edition of The Little Questions we’re talking to Alison Brittain, the Chief Executive Officer of Whitbread - a company known for owning brands such as Premier Inn, Bar + Block and Beefeater.  

Prior to joining Whitbread, Alison was Group Director of Lloyds Banking Group’s Retail Division, with responsibility for the Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland retail branch networks, remote / intermediary channels / products and the business banking and UK wealth businesses. Before joining Lloyds Bank, Alison was Executive Director for Retail Distribution and Board Director at Santander UK PLC. She has held senior roles at Barclays Bank, was a Member of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Group and a Non-executive Director of Marks & Spencer Plc. Alison has an MBA from the Judge Business School, Cambridge, was named ‘Business Woman of the Year 2017’ in the Veuve Clicquot awards and awarded a CBE in the 2019 New Year’s honours list.   On this edition of the podcast she talks to Apella Advisors Matt Young and Andrew Brown about the challenges of being a CEO, her successes and learning curves and the vagaries of media training.   We’d love to hear what you think. Get in touch on social media or email [email protected]   The Little Questions podcast is presented by Matt Young and Andrew Brown.   Matt Young is an Apella founder partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.   Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.   Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]   This podcast was produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk