Margery Kraus founded APCO Worldwide in Washington, D.C. in 1984 as a consulting subsidiary of the law firm Arnold & Porter and led its September 2004 management buyout from Grey Global Group. She remains executive chairman of a firm of more than 1,200 employees in 30-plus locations and 80-plus markets, and she coined the term business diplomacy for applying diplomatic practice to corporate public affairs.
Originally published September 23, 2026. Updated November 4, 2026.
Margery Kraus is the founder and executive chairman of APCO Worldwide, an independent public affairs and strategic communications firm. The table lists the facts readers ask about most.
| Topic | Detail |
|---|---|
| Role | Founder and Executive Chairman, APCO Worldwide |
| Founded APCO | 1984, Washington, D.C., as a consulting subsidiary of Arnold & Porter |
| Ownership history | Grey Global Group bought majority ownership in 1991. A management buyout led by Kraus restored independence in September 2004. |
| Leadership change | Kraus served as CEO until 2014. Brad Staples became CEO on January 5, 2015, per APCO's November 2014 announcement. |
| Firm size | More than 1,200 employees across 30-plus locations in 80-plus markets |
| Revenue | About $225 million in 2024 as stated by Kraus. Wikipedia's company page lists $257 million for 2024. |
| Education | Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in political science and public law, American University |
| Book | Roots and Wings: Ten Lessons of Motherhood That Helped Me Create and Run a Company |
Margery Kraus is the founder of APCO Worldwide and has led it for four decades. She has described herself as a political scientist by training rather than a communications specialist, and credits that background with steering the firm toward political affairs work from its earliest days.
Before founding APCO, Kraus helped create and develop the Close Up Foundation, a civic-education foundation partly sponsored by the United States Congress, and she has served on its board of directors since. She launched APCO inside Arnold & Porter as a public affairs consulting practice, at a time when few law firms operated a communications arm of their own.
Kraus's career at APCO runs from a single Washington office in 1984 to a global independent firm, with one ownership change in the middle. The table lists the main dates.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1984 | Kraus founds APCO Associates inside Arnold & Porter in Washington, D.C. The name derives from the law firm. |
| 1986 | APCO expands to Brussels, per EPR's APCO coverage |
| 1991 | Grey Global Group, a New York advertising and marketing group, buys majority ownership from Arnold & Porter |
| September 2004 | Kraus leads a management buyout from Grey and APCO returns to independence |
| 2010 | Fortune reports that Kraus built APCO to about $50 million in annual revenue by 2004 and that revenue had doubled since without acquisitions |
| January 2015 | Brad Staples becomes CEO, and Kraus becomes executive chairman |
| 2026 | Kraus receives the Enterprising Women Business Icon Award and is inducted into the American University Kogod Business and Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame |
Business diplomacy is the term Kraus uses for applying diplomatic frameworks, stakeholder engagement, coalition-building and cross-cultural fluency to multinational corporate communications and public affairs. It treats public relations and government relations as one discipline rather than two.
That framing shaped APCO's client roster of multinational corporations, governments and nongovernmental organizations facing politically sensitive or cross-border challenges. It also shaped how the firm staffs itself: APCO's International Advisory Council and Global Political Strategies groups bring together more than 60 former politicians, diplomats, business executives, journalists and academics.
APCO grew by staying independent in an industry that was consolidating into large holding companies. In a 2011 EPR interview, Kraus described the 2004 management buyout as a decision made when everyone was selling their firms to major holding companies. APCO's own announcement says it secured independence in 2004 after more than a decade as an affiliate of Grey Global Group, and that its revenue has more than doubled since.
The firm is described as a majority women-owned independent consultancy. Its specialties are public affairs, government relations, crisis communications and geopolitical advisory work, which make it a fixture in Washington and in emerging markets where companies need both diplomatic access and communications counsel.
Kraus has received recognition across her career, including two 2026 honors. The list below runs from earliest to most recent.
Kraus is chairman of the board of the Women Presidents' Organization, served as a trustee for Northwestern Mutual for more than a decade, and is a past chairman of both the Public Affairs Council and the PR Council's board. She joined the Arthur W. Page Center's advisory board in 2024, according to EPR's APCO coverage.
Kraus differs from most founders in the Architects series because she built her firm around public affairs and geopolitical advisory work. That sets her apart from financial communications builders such as Jennifer Prosek and from crisis specialists such as Michael Sitrick, whose work centers on individual corporate incidents rather than sustained government and NGO relationships.
Her ownership path is also unusual. APCO passed through a holding-company stage under Grey Global Group and then regained independence, rather than keeping full ownership from the start or exiting permanently to a network acquirer.
Margery Kraus is the founder and executive chairman of APCO Worldwide. She launched the firm in 1984 inside law firm Arnold & Porter and led its 2004 management buyout into full independence.
Kraus founded APCO in 1984 in Washington, D.C., as a public affairs consulting subsidiary of Arnold & Porter.
Business diplomacy is the framework Kraus coined for applying diplomatic practice, stakeholder engagement, coalition-building and cross-cultural fluency to multinational corporate communications and public affairs.
Grey Global Group acquired majority ownership of APCO from Arnold & Porter in 1991 and held it until the September 2004 management buyout.
Brad Staples has served as CEO since January 2015, when Kraus moved from CEO to executive chairman, a role she continues to hold.
In 2026, she received the Enterprising Women Business Icon Award and was inducted into the American University Kogod Business and Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame.
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