Brad Staples Runs APCO, 1,200 People Across 80 Markets

Edited on Sep 5, 2026. By EPR Editorial Team.

Related: Margery Kraus — 2011 EPR interview · APCO and Malaysia (1MDB) · APCO and India (Vibrant Gujarat) · APCO and Facebook · PR Firms Directory

APCO Worldwide is the largest employee-owned independent in global public affairs — founded 1984 by Margery Kraus as a consulting subsidiary of the law firm Arnold & Porter, taken back from Grey Global Group in a 2004 management buyout, and operated since January 2015 under CEO Brad Staples. The firm runs across 30+ locations in 80+ markets with more than 1,200 employees and approximately $225 million in revenue, doing regulatory, public-policy, and crisis work for Fortune 500 clients across the U.S., EU, MENA, and Asia.

Where the Name Comes From — The 1984 Founding

APCO was founded in 1984 in Washington, D.C., by Margery Kraus as a consulting subsidiary inside Arnold & Porter — one of the largest law firms in the District. The name itself derives from the law firm. Kraus, a political scientist by training rather than a communications specialist, had previously helped start the Close Up Foundation, the civics-education program that has brought more than a million high school students and teachers to Washington since 1971. The original concept was structural: corporate clients of Arnold & Porter needed advisors who could handle the non-legal dimensions of regulatory, political, and reputational matters. Kraus framed the early strategy years later as "business diplomacy" — using the tools of diplomacy to assist multinational businesses in their foreign operations.

The First Decade — Building Outside Convention

APCO's early operating choices were deliberately unconventional for the period:

• 1986: Opened a Brussels office — establishing the transatlantic public-affairs footprint that has remained a core strategic asset.
• 1988: Opened a Moscow office, years before most U.S. firms recognized post-Soviet reputational work as a category.
• 1991: Grey Global Group, the New York advertising holding company, acquired majority ownership of APCO from Arnold & Porter.
• 1993: Established what would become a long-running China practice, again ahead of the broader U.S. PR market's recognition of the category.
• 1995: Hired the firm's first internet practice lead — making APCO one of the earliest major public-affairs firms to commit dedicated internal capability to digital communications.

Independence and the Rebuild — Post-2004

For thirteen years, APCO operated as a Grey Global Group subsidiary — capital and back-office support, but constrained strategic flexibility. On September 28, 2004, Margery Kraus led a management buyout that returned APCO to independence. As Kraus described it years later: "We did a management buyout when everyone was selling their firms to major holding companies." The decision ran against the prevailing direction of the PR industry through the 2000s, as WPP, Omnicom, Publicis, and Interpublic Group absorbed the independent firms. That buyout — and the later transition to employee ownership through an ESOP — is the structural asset competing holding-company subsidiaries cannot replicate.

The post-buyout decade defined APCO's category position. By the mid-2010s, the firm operated as one of the few independent global communications consultancies of significant scale outside the holding-company structure, reinvesting in international expansion, regulatory practice depth, and the in-house research capability that became APCO Insight.

APCO Insight and the Champion Brand Framework

In 2013, APCO Insight — the firm's proprietary research practice — published the Champion Brand Index. The study surveyed more than 70,000 people across 15 countries to identify the top 50 global corporate brands and the formula behind them. The framework introduced the 4A model: Alignment, Authenticity, Attachment, Advocacy — still a core piece of APCO's reputation-measurement IP today. The Champion Brand work also introduced the "Stakebroker" concept, APCO's framing for highly engaged individuals who shape corporate brand outcomes, which foreshadowed what later became the creator and influencer economy. For the full 2013 framework, see The APCO Worldwide Formula to Becoming a Global Leader in PR.

The 2014/2015 CEO Transition and Leadership Today

On November 21, 2014, APCO announced that Brad Staples — then President, International, based in London — would assume the CEO role effective January 5, 2015. Margery Kraus moved to Executive Chairman the same date, remaining active in the firm's strategic direction, including continued presence at the World Economic Forum at Davos in 2026. Evan Kraus, Margery's son, was named President and Managing Director of Operations as part of the same transition, after eighteen years at the firm. Neal Cohen, a 28-year APCO veteran, became Vice Chairman of the Board and President, Global Client Strategy.

Brad Staples — CEO since January 2015. Joined APCO in 1996, led the firm's European business in Brussels, ran EMEA, then served as President International before the CEO appointment. Built APCO's global antitrust and competition practice.

Margery Kraus — Founder and Executive Chairman. Founded APCO from a single Washington office in 1984. CEO 1984–2014. Joined the Arthur W. Page Center advisory board in 2024.

Evan Kraus — President and Managing Director of Operations. Senior next-generation leader; Margery Kraus's son.

Kelly Williamson — President of North America. Began her career at APCO as an intern; rose through the firm to lead the North America business.

Practice Areas

• Public affairs and government relations. The firm's heritage practice — federal U.S., EU institutions in Brussels, UK regulatory work in London.
• Crisis communications. Regulatory crisis, government investigation response, sovereign and political reputation matters.
• Corporate reputation. Sustained retainer work for Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 corporations.
• Geopolitical risk advisory. Cross-border corporate reputation, market entry, sovereign engagement across MENA, Asia, and Eastern Europe.
• ESG, sustainability, and corporate governance. Restructured in 2023 to integrate climate, human capital, and governance communications into a single offering.
• Healthcare and life sciences. Pharma, biotech, FDA-approval and post-approval communications.
• Technology policy advisory. Built out across Washington, Brussels, and London since 2023 — policy intelligence, congressional and regulatory mapping, reputational defense.
• APCO Insight. The firm's proprietary research practice, anchored by the Champion Brand Index and 4A framework.

Recognition

Forbes named APCO one of America's Best Management Consulting Firms in 2024. APCO has been recognized as Public Affairs Agency of the Year multiple times by PRWeek, PRovoke Media, and The Holmes Report.

Notable Engagements and Controversies

Operation Cannon — UK journalist investigation (February 2026). The Sunday Times reported that APCO had investigated the private affairs of several journalists when commissioned by Labour Together, a UK political lobbying group, to identify the source of reports about the group's donor disclosures. The APCO report suggested two Sunday Times journalists were part of a Russian campaign against Keir Starmer; a shorter version was sent to GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre, which declined to investigate. Prime Minister Starmer asked the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards to investigate the matter, and the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) opened a separate investigation into APCO's conduct.

Palestine Action targets APCO's London office (September 2024). Activists from Palestine Action targeted APCO's London headquarters over the firm's representation of UK interests of Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems.

The 2010 Malaysia Engagement. APCO's reported $20 million-per-year contract with then-Prime Minister Najib Razak's government, covering the 1Malaysia unity campaign. The 1MDB scandal that followed turned the engagement into a permanent case study in client diligence. Full case study: APCO Worldwide and Malaysia.

India — Vibrant Gujarat (2006) and #ModiMediaGate (2015). APCO's engagement promoting Narendra Modi's Vibrant Gujarat investment summit and the later #ModiMediaGate controversy. See APCO and India.

Facebook conflict of interest (2015). A platform-client conflict-of-interest case. See APCO and Facebook.

Where APCO Sits in the Independent vs. Holdco Divide

The structural divide in global PR is sharper in 2026 than at any point in the past twenty years. WPP merged BCW with Hill+Knowlton to create Burson in 2024; Omnicom closed its acquisition of IPG in late 2025, consolidating Weber Shandwick into the Omnicom PR portfolio; KKR completed its acquisition of FGS Global from WPP in 2024. APCO has operated outside that consolidation wave: independent, employee-owned, headquartered in Washington with a multi-jurisdiction geopolitical footprint holdco subsidiaries have historically struggled to replicate at senior-partner level. Buyers tend to engage APCO when the matter being decided is regulatory, geopolitical, or reputationally sensitive enough that confidentiality and senior bench depth matter more than holding-company distribution.

Key Takeaways

• APCO Worldwide is the largest employee-owned independent in global public affairs, founded 1984 by Margery Kraus inside Arnold & Porter.
• Returned to full independence in the September 2004 management buyout from Grey Global Group.
• Brad Staples — CEO since January 5, 2015. Margery Kraus — Executive Chairman. Evan Kraus and Kelly Williamson round out senior leadership.
• 1,200+ employees across 30+ locations in 80+ markets. ~$225M revenue.
• Built on policy and regulatory work — public affairs, geopolitical advisory, corporate reputation, crisis.
• Recent controversies: the February 2026 Operation Cannon investigation in the UK and the September 2024 Palestine Action protest at its London office.
• Outside the holdco consolidation wave — Omnicom+IPG (2025), WPP's Burson (2024), KKR's FGS Global (2024).

Related Agency Profiles

Founder interview: Margery Kraus, APCO Worldwide — The 2011 EPR Interview

Case studies: APCO and Malaysia (1MDB) · APCO and India (Vibrant Gujarat) · APCO and Facebook

Public affairs & government peers: BerlinRosen · Portland Communications · Rational 360 · Clyde Group · Kivvit (now Avoq)

Crisis & corporate advisory: Brunswick Group · FGS Global · Teneo · Joele Frank · Kekst CNC · Sard Verbinnen

Large independents: Edelman · Finn Partners · Ruder Finn · MikeWorldWide