 |
| Mark McCall |
FTI Consulting's PR unit registered a 3.7 percent hike in Q1 revenues to $60.5M and a 21.7 percent rise in operating income to $9.1M as the strategic communications operation rebounded sharply from its 8.8 percent revenue slide in Q4 2020.
“We are off to a solid start in 2021,” Mark McCall, head of the stratcom unit, told O’Dwyer’s.
The stratcom operation remains focused on its long-term opportunities by investing in the global network and specialty practices, such as ESG, digital/insights, PA, government affairs and crisis, according to McCall.
FTI bolstered its senior PR management ranks during Q1 with the addition of Consumer Brands Assn. executive VP Bryan Zumwalt to head the government affairs group in Washington.
Julian Lambertin, Weber Shandwick executive VP, global strategy and insights, signed on as managing director, head of data & analytics, EMEA. He’s based in Germany.
Kate Brader, a management consultant at Regester Larkin by Deloitte, joined to head FTI’s Crisis+ offering in London.
Total stratcom headcount grew one percent to 778 from year-end 2020.
Overall, FTI’s Q1 revenues jumped 13.5 percent to $686.3M. Net income advanced 13.7 percent to $64.5M.
As capital concentrates among established firms, emerging managers must find new ways to earn investor confidence.
Teneo handles True Food Kitchen as the Scottsdale, AZ-based wellness food restaurant chain that counts Oprah Winfrey as a minority investor files for Chapter 11.
FGS Global and Teneo represent Canada’s billionaire Weston family as its Wittington Investments holding company acquires Boots Group, the 177-year-old UK health & beauty retailer, from Sycamore Partners for $8.9B.
Joele Frank handles C.H. Robinson Worldwide as the freight transportation company acquires RXO Inc. in a stock and cash transaction pegged at $5.8B to create a company with an enterprise value of more than $25B.
Brunswick Group handles France’s Schneider Electric as it acquires Boston’s PTC, maker of engineering software, for $22.6B cash.
