FTI Enjoys 19.2% Surge in Q2 PR Revenues

Mark McCall

FTI Consulting reported that its PR operation grew 19.2 percent to $67.8M during the second quarter.

Mark McCall, head of the strategic communications unit, said his group had “a really strong performance coming on the heels of a solid start of the year."

Stratcom revenues advanced 18.6 percent $128.3M during the first half.

McCall told O’Dwyer’s the solid financials resulted from “sticking to our strategy” and focusing on fast-growing segments such as cybersecurity; environmental, social, and corporate governance; business transformation; and highly regulated industries (healthcare and energy).

He noted that in the ESG category, FTI is advising clients in benchmarking, reporting standards, and helping portfolio managers access risks.

McCall summed up FTI’s strategy as “helping clients think about the operational and financial challenges behind their communications programs.”

The unit continues to invest in people as a “revenue-generating headcount” as of June 30 grew to 771 from 761 a year ago.

Capitol Hill veteran and well-connected Democrat Russ Kelley have just joined the government affairs practice within the stratcom group.

Kelley was counsel to the House committee on transportation & infrastructure and worked on the Fixing America’s Surface Transporation Act. He also was communications specialist for Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.

Based in DC, Kelley reports to Bryan Zumwalt, head of government affairs in the Americas, for the stratcom segment

McCall is "cautiously optimistic" about the remainder of 2021, though he noted that the emergence of the Delta variant is a "reminder that we are still not out of the woods" on the COVID-19 pandemic.