Senior counsel to boards and leadership teams in reputational crisis, with more than three decades in communications leadership across the UK, Europe and Asia. I was Chairman of Weber Shandwick for EMEA and Asia Pacific from 2015 to 2021, having been Chairman Asia Pacific from 2007 and Chairman EMEA from 2004, leading a business of around 1,500 people and $200 million in revenue across 25 markets, and over the same period I was Chairman of Interpublic's Constituency Management Group. Earlier I was Chief Executive EMEA of BSMG Worldwide, and from 2001 to 2004 I founded and ran Orpheus Group, an M&A advisory business. Before that I was Chief Executive and co-owner of Charles Barker plc, then one of London's leading financial and corporate communications firms, which I led through its sale in 1997. I can be consulted on crisis and reputation, including aviation disasters, banking collapses and contested environmental issues, among them Shell and Brent Spar, the restoration of the Bin Mahfouz family's reputation following its investment in BCCI, and Japan Airlines within the OneWorld alliance; litigation and regulatory communications, and reputation recovery at board level; regulatory and market liberalisation campaigns that changed the terms of a market, including securing competitive European route access from Heathrow for a UK airline and the campaign to end the retail gas monopoly in the UK, which resulted in new primary legislation; the structure and economics of the PR and communications industry itself, covering agency business models, pricing, margin and talent dynamics, ownership patterns and the consolidation history of the sector across EMEA and Asia Pacific, which is directly useful for commercial diligence on agency and marketing services assets; mergers and acquisitions in communications on both the buy side and the sell side, from identifying and approaching targets to what buyers actually pay for, valuation expectations, deal structure, negotiation and post-deal integration; and corporate affairs operating models, meaning how boards structure, buy and evaluate communications support and where in-house and agency capability should sit. I now practise independently as Tim Sutton PR, advising boards and senior leaders on reputation, crisis and the communications industry.
In 2020 I received PRovoke Media's Individual Achievement SABRE Award for EMEA.
What colleagues say:
"Tim was for many years a central figure in helping to develop Weber Shandwick's collaborative culture in Europe and Asia. In between leadership stints in Europe, Tim played a significant role in transforming the agency's Asia Pacific business as it grew to become one of the industry's regional market leaders. In addition, Tim was a sought-after corporate affairs adviser for some of our client's most pressing challenges."
Andy Polansky, former Chairman and CEO, Interpublic's Constituency Management Group
"Tim is properly wise. Almost sage. A lot of senior practitioners in PR are clever or smart and as an industry we put a huge emphasis on interpreting trends, understanding the market or reacting to events, but Tim is one of those rare people that can also step back and bring perspective and calm and remain focused on the big picture. It is a rare talent and one of the reasons he is amongst the very best CEO whisperers."
David Brain, former President & CEO, Edelman Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa
Education: Magdalen College, Oxford. MA (Oxon), Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
