Top 20 Reputation Risk & Strategic Communications Advisory 2026

This report forms part of the Ranking News Advisory series, which evaluates specialized advisory firms across global corporate, financial, and regulatory ecosystems.

Reputation risk and strategic communications advisory firms play a critical role in supporting organizations facing complex stakeholder environments, particularly during periods of heightened scrutiny, crisis, or strategic transition. As corporate reputation becomes increasingly linked to market valuation, regulatory standing, and investor confidence, organizations require specialized advisory to navigate high-stakes communications challenges.

Firms in this category focus on managing and shaping narratives in situations where reputational, financial, and regulatory considerations intersect. Their work includes crisis communications, shareholder and investor engagement, activist defense messaging, leadership positioning, and strategic advisory during mergers, restructurings, and regulatory events.

Unlike traditional public relations services, reputation risk advisory is highly situational and strategic, often involving senior leadership and board-level decision-making. Engagements typically arise during critical moments where messaging, timing, and stakeholder perception can materially influence outcomes.

This ranking identifies firms whose advisory platforms demonstrate sustained relevance in managing complex reputation-related challenges for global organizations.

Market Overview

The reputation risk and strategic communications advisory market has evolved significantly as organizations operate in increasingly transparent and interconnected environments. Media coverage, regulatory disclosure, and investor scrutiny have amplified the importance of managing corporate narratives with precision and credibility.

Firms in this category work closely with executive teams, boards, and legal advisors to develop communication strategies that align with broader business objectives. Their services are particularly critical during mergers and acquisitions, shareholder activism situations, regulatory investigations, and corporate crises.

The market is dominated by a group of globally recognized advisory firms alongside a number of specialized boutiques. Larger firms benefit from strong institutional relationships and global reach, while boutiques often differentiate through agility, senior-level attention, and sector-specific expertise.

As reputational considerations continue to influence capital markets and stakeholder trust, demand for strategic communications advisory is expected to remain strong.

Industry Trend — 2026

The reputation advisory landscape in 2026 reflects a growing integration between communications strategy and corporate decision-making. Organizations are increasingly treating reputation as a core strategic asset, requiring proactive management rather than reactive response.

Shareholder activism and investor engagement remain key drivers of demand, with firms advising clients on messaging strategies that influence investor perception and voting outcomes. Regulatory scrutiny and ESG-related expectations have also increased the complexity of stakeholder communication.

Another important trend is the convergence of communications with legal and financial advisory. Firms are expected to coordinate messaging across multiple dimensions, ensuring consistency between public statements, regulatory disclosures, and strategic positioning.

Firms that combine strategic insight with execution capability are best positioned to support clients in this environment.

Methodology — Core Eligibility Criteria

To ensure structural consistency within the category, firms considered for this ranking were evaluated based on the following eligibility conditions:

• Provides strategic communications or reputation advisory services
• Demonstrates experience in high-stakes or complex situations
• Supports corporate leadership and stakeholder engagement
• Engages in crisis, investor, or regulatory communications
• Recognized by clients or stakeholders in reputation advisory

Methodology — Ranking Factors

Firms included in the ranking were evaluated using a combination of qualitative and structural considerations rather than short-term performance metrics. Key factors considered include:

• Institutional scale of advisory platform
• Depth of strategic communications expertise
• Experience in high-profile or complex engagements
• Integration with legal, financial, and corporate strategy
• Global reach and stakeholder access
• Stability and consistency of client relationships
• Reputation among corporate and investor communities

The objective of the ranking is to identify firms whose advisory platforms maintain sustained relevance within the reputation risk and strategic communications ecosystem.

The ranking universe consisted of approximately 50–70 advisory firms globally, from which 20 institutions were selected for inclusion.

Tier classifications reflect relative institutional positioning within the reputation advisory segment and do not represent performance rankings or endorsements.

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Tier I — Leading Reputation Risk & Strategic Communications Advisory Firms

Brunswick Group

• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
• Founded: 1987

Brunswick Group is one of the most established global strategic communications advisory firms, with long-standing strength in corporate reputation, financial communications, investor engagement, crisis communications, public affairs, and special situations. The firm is frequently engaged in matters where stakeholder trust, capital-market perception, regulatory scrutiny, and executive credibility are central to outcomes.

Its strength lies in advising boards, chief executives, and senior management teams during reputation-defining moments. These may include mergers and acquisitions, shareholder activism, litigation, regulatory investigations, leadership transitions, geopolitical exposure, cyber incidents, and public controversies. Brunswick’s ability to combine financial communications with broader corporate positioning makes it highly relevant to this category.

Brunswick was placed in Tier I because it is a category-defining strategic communications adviser. Its reputation-risk work is closely connected to high-stakes corporate events, stakeholder confidence, capital-market communication, and board-level advisory needs.

FGS Global

• Headquarters: New York, United States
• Founded: 2021 combined platform; legacy firms earlier

FGS Global is a global strategic communications and public affairs advisory firm formed through the combination of Finsbury Glover Hering and Sard Verbinnen & Co. The firm brings together several legacy platforms with deep experience in financial communications, corporate reputation, investor relations, public affairs, crisis management, and high-stakes stakeholder engagement.

The firm is particularly relevant in situations where corporate reputation intersects with capital markets, regulation, governance, transactions, and public scrutiny. Its advisory work is often connected to mergers and acquisitions, shareholder activism, regulatory pressure, litigation-sensitive communications, geopolitical issues, and board-level reputation management.

FGS Global was placed in Tier I because it provides global scale, strong special-situations experience, and deep relevance across reputation risk, financial communications, public affairs, and corporate advisory work. Its current platform integrates several major legacy communications brands into a single advisory structure.

Joele Frank

• Headquarters: New York, United States
• Founded: 2000

Joele Frank is a specialist strategic communications advisory firm focused on high-stakes corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions, shareholder activism, crisis communications, corporate governance, restructuring, litigation, investor relations, and executive reputation. The firm is closely associated with situations where communications strategy can directly influence financial and governance outcomes.

Its relevance to reputation risk comes from its focus on moments of corporate pressure. Public companies, boards, private equity firms, and legal advisers often need tightly controlled communications when facing activist campaigns, contested transactions, regulatory scrutiny, media pressure, or investor skepticism. Joele Frank’s capital-markets orientation gives it a strong role in those environments.

Joele Frank was placed in Tier I because it is a focused independent specialist with deep special-situations experience. Its work is closely aligned with reputation-defining corporate events, market-sensitive communications, and board-level stakeholder management.

Kekst CNC

• Headquarters: New York, United States / Munich, Germany legacy base
• Founded: 2018 combined platform; legacy Kekst founded 1970

Kekst CNC is a global strategic communications firm with roots in financial communications, corporate reputation, crisis advisory, transformation communications, investor engagement, and public affairs. The firm operates as part of Publicis Groupe but retains a distinct advisory identity in major corporate and financial centers.

Its relevance lies in advising companies through complex transitions and high-pressure communications challenges. These include restructurings, transactions, leadership changes, litigation-sensitive issues, geopolitical risk, regulatory scrutiny, and reputational crises. Kekst CNC’s heritage gives it a strong position in both U.S. and European corporate communications markets.

Kekst CNC was placed in Tier I because it is a recognized global advisory brand in strategic communications. Its work is directly relevant to reputation risk, financial communications, crisis response, and high-stakes corporate positioning.

Teneo

• Headquarters: New York, United States
• Founded: 2011

Teneo is a global CEO advisory firm with capabilities across strategy and communications, management consulting, financial advisory, restructuring, risk advisory, people advisory, and stakeholder engagement. Its communications platform is particularly relevant for boards and executive teams facing complex corporate, reputational, financial, and political challenges.

The firm’s reputation-risk relevance comes from its senior-client orientation. Teneo often operates where messaging, leadership judgment, stakeholder alignment, and business strategy must be coordinated under pressure. These situations may include corporate crises, restructurings, activist pressure, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory scrutiny, public controversy, and executive transitions.

Teneo was placed in Tier I because it is one of the most visible global platforms in strategic communications and CEO advisory. Its broader advisory model supports reputation management where communications, leadership, stakeholder strategy, and business decision-making must be managed together.

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Tier II — Established Reputation Risk & Strategic Communications Advisory Firms

(Alphabetical order)

APCO Worldwide

• Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
• Founded: 1984

APCO Worldwide is a global advisory and advocacy firm focused on corporate reputation, public affairs, crisis communications, stakeholder engagement, policy communications, and strategic positioning. Its independence and strong public-affairs heritage give it a distinctive role in reputation-sensitive situations where business, government, regulation, and public opinion intersect.

The firm is especially relevant for multinational companies, public institutions, foundations, and regulated-sector clients that need to manage complex stakeholder environments. Its work often involves policy risk, public trust, institutional positioning, cross-border advocacy, and communications strategy in politically sensitive settings.

APCO Worldwide was placed in Tier II because it is highly credible in reputation and policy communications. While less capital-markets-specific than some Tier I firms, its public-affairs depth and global advisory platform make it a strong reputation-risk adviser.

DGA Group

• Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
• Founded: 2021

DGA Group is a global advisory firm formed from Dentons Global Advisors and related advisory businesses. The firm supports clients across strategic communications, public affairs, government relations, business intelligence, disputes, and geopolitical advisory. Its roots in commercial diplomacy and policy-sensitive advisory make it particularly relevant to reputation risk.

The firm is useful where reputation risk is tied to regulation, geopolitics, litigation, public-policy exposure, or sensitive stakeholder environments. It supports clients that need coordinated advice across communications, policy, intelligence, and institutional positioning.

DGA Group was placed in Tier II because it brings a broad stakeholder-advisory profile to reputation risk and strategic communications. Its capabilities are particularly relevant where corporate reputation intersects with public affairs, policy, disputes, or geopolitical complexity.

H/Advisors

• Headquarters: Paris, France / global network
• Founded: 2022 rebrand; legacy network earlier

H/Advisors is Havas’s global strategic communications advisory network, bringing together corporate and financial communications, public affairs, crisis communications, investor relations, mergers and acquisitions, sustainability, and cyber-related communications capabilities. The network combines established local advisory brands with international coordination, allowing it to support clients across complex cross-border communications and stakeholder environments.

The firm is particularly relevant for multinational companies facing reputation risk, capital-market scrutiny, political pressure, regulatory attention, transaction-related communications, or sensitive public-affairs challenges. Its platform structure gives clients access to both local market knowledge and broader international advisory coordination.

H/Advisors was placed in Tier II because of its international advisory network, European roots, and cross-border capabilities across corporate communications, public affairs, reputation, capital-markets communications, and strategic advisory work.

ICR

• Headquarters: New York, United States
• Founded: 1998

ICR is a strategic communications and advisory firm focused on investor relations, public relations, crisis communications, corporate communications, capital markets advisory, branding, digital, and sector-specific communications. Its acquisition of Consilium strengthened its healthcare and life-sciences communications capability, making ICR a more complete platform for specialist communications work.

ICR is especially relevant for public companies, IPO candidates, healthcare companies, consumer businesses, technology firms, and financial sponsors that need integrated investor and stakeholder communications. Its work often sits at the intersection of market perception, corporate positioning, public visibility, and investor confidence.

ICR was placed in Tier II because it is independent, active, and strongly aligned with the communication needs of companies facing market-sensitive reputation risk. Its investor-relations and public-relations capabilities give it a clear role in strategic communications advisory.

Longacre Square Partners

• Headquarters: New York, United States
• Founded: 2021

Longacre Square Partners is a communications and special situations advisory firm focused on capital markets, corporate governance, shareholder activism, mergers and acquisitions, media relations, crisis management, restructuring, bankruptcy, litigation support, financial institutions, and alternative investments. Its profile is especially relevant where reputation risk is directly tied to investor behavior, corporate control, stakeholder scrutiny, and market-sensitive communications.

The firm is particularly well aligned with reputation risk and strategic communications work involving high-stakes corporate events, contested situations, financial-market attention, and complex stakeholder environments. Its focused advisory model allows it to support clients where communications strategy intersects with governance, transactions, legal exposure, and public-market perception.

Longacre Square Partners was placed in Tier II because of its focused special-situations advisory profile, capital-markets communications capability, and relevance to reputation-sensitive corporate and financial advisory mandates.

Montfort Communications

• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
• Founded: 2014

Montfort Communications is a London-based strategic communications advisory firm focused on corporate reputation, crisis management, financial communications, leadership positioning, public affairs, regulatory issues, litigation-related communications, and sensitive stakeholder situations. The firm is particularly relevant for clients that require discretion, senior counsel, and tailored reputation support in complex public, financial, or regulatory environments.

Its advisory work sits close to the core of reputation risk, where corporate positioning, stakeholder trust, media attention, investor perception, and regulatory scrutiny can materially affect institutional outcomes. Montfort’s focused model gives it a clear identity within the strategic communications market, especially for clients requiring experienced counsel in sensitive or high-pressure situations.

Montfort Communications was placed in Tier II because of its focused advisory identity, senior-led reputation profile, and relevance to corporate, financial, regulatory, and crisis-related communications mandates.

Penta Group

• Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
• Founded: 2022 current platform; Hamilton Place Strategies legacy founded 2009

Penta Group is a stakeholder strategy, reputation intelligence, and strategic communications firm built around analytics, research, public affairs, corporate reputation, and stakeholder engagement. Its model reflects the growing importance of data-informed communications in environments where companies must understand investors, employees, policymakers, consumers, and public audiences simultaneously.

The firm is relevant to reputation risk because strategic communications increasingly depend on stakeholder intelligence, message testing, audience analysis, policy awareness, and reputation measurement. Penta’s capabilities help clients connect communications strategy with evidence-based understanding of stakeholder expectations.

Penta Group was placed in Tier II because it brings a modern stakeholder-intelligence angle to reputation risk and strategic communications. Its platform is especially relevant where reputation management requires research, analytics, public affairs, and cross-stakeholder strategy.

Prosek Partners

• Headquarters: New York, United States
• Founded: 1990

Prosek Partners is an independent marketing and communications firm focused on complex B2B businesses, particularly at the intersection of brand, capital, financial services, professional services, investor audiences, and corporate reputation. Its work includes financial communications, thought leadership, transaction support, issues management, brand strategy, and crisis-sensitive communications.

The firm is especially relevant for financial services, asset management, private markets, and professional-services clients that need reputation strategy linked to credibility, expertise, and market confidence. Its sector focus gives it a clear role in communications environments where stakeholder trust and institutional positioning are central.

Prosek Partners was placed in Tier II because it is independent, established, and strongly aligned with reputation-sensitive communications for financial and professional-services organizations.

SEC Newgate

• Headquarters: Milan, Italy
• Founded: 1998

SEC Newgate is a global strategic communications and advocacy group focused on corporate communications, public affairs, financial communications, reputation management, advocacy, research, and stakeholder engagement. Its international network and recent investment backing have helped it develop into a more visible global communications platform.

The firm is relevant where organizations require integrated communications support across reputation, advocacy, policy, investor perception, and stakeholder engagement. Its international structure gives it useful coverage for clients managing reputational issues across multiple markets.

SEC Newgate was placed in Tier II because it provides strong European and international coverage while remaining communications-focused rather than a general management consultancy. Its positioning around insights, advocacy, reputation, and stakeholder engagement makes it relevant to this category.

Sodali & Co

• Headquarters: New York / London / Sydney
• Founded: 2024 current brand; Morrow Sodali legacy earlier

Sodali & Co is the current brand formed from Morrow Sodali after rapid international expansion and the integration of governance, shareholder services, sustainability, and strategic communications capabilities. The firm is relevant where corporate reputation is tied to shareholder engagement, governance disputes, proxy contests, sustainability scrutiny, activism, and capital-market confidence.

Its work sits at the intersection of investor relations, governance advisory, stakeholder communication, and strategic reputation management. Companies facing shareholder activism, contested resolutions, governance challenges, or sustainability-related scrutiny often require coordinated communications and advisory support across investors, boards, and public stakeholders.

Sodali & Co was placed in Tier II because it combines shareholder advisory and strategic communications in a way that directly supports reputation-risk management. Its governance and investor-engagement capabilities give it a distinctive position within the strategic communications landscape.

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Tier III — Specialist Reputation Advisory Firms

(Alphabetical order)

Gasthalter & Co

• Headquarters: New York, United States
• Founded: 2016

Gasthalter & Co is a boutique strategic communications and media relations firm focused on alternative investments, private equity, hedge funds, real estate, venture capital, digital assets, and financial-sector reputation. Its work is especially relevant where investor perception, media scrutiny, institutional credibility, and market confidence are central to business outcomes.

The firm’s alternative-investment focus gives it a distinctive role within reputation risk and strategic communications, particularly for asset managers, investment platforms, and financial-sector clients operating in reputation-sensitive environments. Its specialization in financial communications and media positioning makes it relevant to situations where public narrative, investor trust, and institutional visibility intersect.

Gasthalter & Co was placed in Tier III because of its focused financial-sector communications profile, alternative-investment specialization, and relevance to reputation-sensitive advisory work in capital markets and investment management.

Hanover Communications

• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
• Founded: 1998

Hanover Communications is a strategic communications and public affairs consultancy advising enterprises, institutions, and individuals on reputation, public affairs, crisis communications, policy engagement, stakeholder strategy, and corporate positioning. Its work is relevant in sectors where regulation, public opinion, political context, and corporate reputation are closely connected.

The firm’s UK and Brussels-linked advisory capabilities give it a strong position in communications mandates where policy, reputation, and stakeholder management intersect. This makes Hanover relevant for clients facing complex public, regulatory, or political environments that require coordinated communications and strategic counsel.

Hanover Communications was placed in Tier III because of its public-affairs heritage, stakeholder communications capability, and relevance to reputation risk advisory work involving policy, regulation, and public positioning.

Headland Consultancy

• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
• Founded: 2012

Headland Consultancy is a UK communications consultancy focused on financial communications, corporate communications, public affairs, reputation, campaigning, and crisis support. It advises both established companies and challenger brands on reputation, growth, stakeholder trust, public positioning, and corporate narrative.

The firm is relevant to reputation risk and strategic communications because its work combines corporate reputation, financial communications, public affairs, and campaign-led stakeholder engagement. This gives it a useful role in situations where companies must manage market perception, media attention, policy context, and broader public trust.

Headland Consultancy was placed in Tier III because of its active UK communications profile, integrated corporate and financial communications capability, and relevance to reputation-focused advisory work across business, public affairs, and stakeholder environments.

MHP Group

• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
• Founded: 2010

MHP Group is an integrated communications agency focused on reputation, financial services, capital markets, health, public affairs, corporate communications, and multichannel stakeholder engagement. The firm is particularly relevant in environments where audiences are fragmented and corporate trust depends on coordinated messaging across media, investors, policymakers, customers, and employees.

Its advisory profile spans reputation management, sector communications, public affairs, and stakeholder strategy, giving it a broad role in communications mandates where institutional credibility and public positioning matter. MHP’s UK base and integrated model make it relevant for firms and organizations managing complex reputation, market, policy, or public-facing challenges.

MHP Group was placed in Tier III because of its integrated communications capability, strong UK market presence, and relevance to reputation, public affairs, financial-sector, and stakeholder communications advisory work.

Reevemark

• Headquarters: New York, United States
• Founded: 2018

Reevemark is a strategic communications firm focused on high-stakes matters at the intersection of law, finance, reputation, and public perception. The firm advises clients across reputation-defining situations, including crisis communications, litigation-related communications, shareholder activism, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, bankruptcy, regulatory matters, media relations, and investor communications.

Its advisory profile is particularly relevant where legal, financial, and reputational considerations overlap and where senior communications counsel is needed to manage complex stakeholder environments. Reevemark’s boutique model gives it a focused position in the strategic communications market, especially for clients facing sensitive corporate events, public scrutiny, or market-moving communications challenges.

Reevemark was placed in Tier III because of its specialist strategic communications profile, litigation and crisis communications capability, and relevance to reputation-sensitive advisory work involving law, finance, governance, and corporate reputation.

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Remarks

Reputation risk and strategic communications advisory firms play a critical role in shaping how organizations are perceived by stakeholders, particularly in high-stakes situations. As corporate reputation becomes increasingly linked to financial performance and regulatory outcomes, the importance of strategic communication continues to grow.

The firms included in this ranking demonstrate the ability to manage complex stakeholder environments and deliver effective communication strategies under pressure. Their work supports organizations in navigating crises, transactions, and long-term positioning.

Tier II firms in particular represent a dynamic segment of the market, combining strategic insight with growing institutional presence. These firms are increasingly engaged in complex advisory situations where reputation and communication are central to outcomes.

Tier classification reflects relative institutional positioning within the reputation advisory sector and does not represent endorsement of specific communication strategies.

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Recognition

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