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| 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.
Prosek Partners handles New York’s Tilray Brands, craft beer & cannabis operation, as it acquires BrewDog, a leading British independent beer producer in the UK, for $45M.
Brunswick Group handles Zurich Insurance as it agrees to buy UK-based Beazley specialty insurer in a deal valued at $11B.
FGS Global represents Brink’s as it agrees to acquire NCR Atleos, which relies on Collected Strategies, in a $6.6B cash & stock deal to create a leading fintech infrastructure company. (Updated)
A January article in O’Dwyer’s proposes that in 2026, the strongest financial brands will not simply tell compelling stories—they will “signal readiness.”
C Street Advisory Group is working the Chapter 11 filing of Axip Energy Services as it unloads its nearly all of its assets to deal with a heavy debt load.
