This is EPR's mid-era profile of APCO Worldwide — the post-2004 independent rebuild, the 2014/2015 CEO transition from Margery Kraus to Brad Staples, the Champion Brand Index era, and the geographic and practice buildout that took APCO from the buyout to roughly 2018. For the current state of the firm, see Brad Staples Runs APCO, 1,200 People Across 80 Markets.
The September 2004 management buyout from Grey Global Group set APCO up for a sustained period of organic expansion under independent ownership. Margery Kraus continued as CEO. The firm reinvested in international expansion, regulatory practice depth, and the in-house research capability that would later become APCO Insight.
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.
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. The 4A framework remains a core piece of APCO's reputation-measurement IP. 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.
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.
The structure was a deliberate generational handoff. Kraus had built the firm over 30 years; Staples had spent 18 years inside APCO — joining in 1996 to help lead the European business in Brussels, then heading the EMEA region, then serving as President International. Evan Kraus, Margery's son, was named President and Managing Director of Operations as part of the same transition. Neal Cohen, a 28-year APCO veteran, became Vice Chairman of the Board and President, Global Client Strategy.
Staples relocated to London-based leadership while Evan Kraus and Cohen continued from Washington. The dual-headquarter structure has remained in place since.
Practice Buildout Through 2018
Under the Staples-Kraus structure, APCO expanded its practice depth across the areas that have defined the firm's current category position:
Public affairs and government relations. The firm's heritage practice — federal U.S., EU institutions in Brussels, UK regulatory work in London.
Geopolitical risk advisory. Cross-border corporate reputation, market entry, sovereign engagement across MENA, Asia, and Eastern Europe.
Corporate reputation and crisis communications. Sustained retainer work for Fortune 500 corporations.
Healthcare and life sciences. Pharma, biotech, FDA-approval and post-approval communications.
APCO Insight. The proprietary research practice anchored by the Champion Brand Index and 4A framework.
The geographic footprint expanded across this period to support the practice depth — additional Middle East presence, deeper Asia operations across China, India, and ASEAN, the build-out of Brussels into a regional EU hub.
The 2010 Malaysia Engagement
The defining controversial engagement of the post-buyout decade was APCO's 2010 contract with the Malaysian government under then-Prime Minister Najib Razak. The reported $20 million-per-year contract covered amplification of the 1Malaysia unity campaign and broader reputation management. Everything-PR's 2010 reporting on the engagement was direct in its skepticism. The 1MDB scandal that followed — and Najib's subsequent conviction — turned the engagement into a permanent case study in client diligence and the limits of communications strategy.
For the post-2018 era — Forbes recognition, internal platform investments, the continued scaling of the global footprint, and the holdco-consolidation backdrop — see EPR's current canonical profile: Brad Staples Runs APCO, 1,200 People Across 80 Markets.
FAQ
When did Brad Staples become CEO of APCO? Announced November 21, 2014. Effective January 5, 2015. Staples succeeded founder Margery Kraus, who moved to Executive Chairman the same date.
What is the Champion Brand Index? APCO Insight's 2013 study of the top 50 global corporate brands, based on a survey of more than 70,000 people across 15 countries. Introduced the 4A framework: Alignment, Authenticity, Attachment, Advocacy.
What is APCO's heritage practice? Public affairs and government relations, with deep roots in Washington and Brussels. Margery Kraus framed the original concept as "business diplomacy" — using diplomatic frameworks to assist multinational businesses in their foreign operations.
What is APCO today? For the current state of the firm, see EPR's current APCO profile.
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
