Margery Kraus founded APCO Worldwide in Washington, D.C. in 1984 as a consulting subsidiary of law firm Arnold & Porter, building it into the largest independent global advisory firm of its kind and the largest majority women-owned consulting firm in the industry, with more than 1,200 employees across 30+ locations in 80+ markets and approximately $225 million in revenue in 2024.
Who is Margery Kraus?
Margery Kraus is the founder and Executive Chairman of APCO Worldwide. She launched the firm in 1984 inside Arnold & Porter as a public affairs consulting practice, at a time when few law firms operated an in-house communications arm, then led its 2004 management buyout that established APCO as a fully independent company owned by its own employees rather than a parent law firm or holding company.
Over four decades she built APCO around what she termed "business diplomacy," the practice of applying diplomatic frameworks, stakeholder engagement, coalition-building, and cross-cultural fluency to multinational corporate communications and public affairs, rather than treating PR and government relations as separate disciplines. That framing shaped APCO's client roster of multinational corporations, governments, and NGOs navigating politically sensitive or cross-border reputational challenges.
Kraus served as CEO until 2014, when she transitioned to Executive Chairman and Brad Staples assumed the CEO role in January 2015. She has continued in an active chairman capacity since the transition, remaining the firm's public face and its most quoted spokesperson on the discipline she coined.
How did APCO Worldwide grow into a majority women-owned global firm?
APCO became an employee-stock-ownership company in 2003, a structure that helped cement its status as the largest majority women-owned consulting firm of its kind. The firm has grown to more than 1,200 employees across 30+ locations in 80+ markets, with approximately $225 million in revenue in 2024, competing at the top of the global public affairs and geopolitical advisory bench.
APCO's public affairs specialty, government relations, crisis communications, and geopolitical advisory work, has made the firm a fixture in Washington and in emerging and frontier markets where Western corporations need both diplomatic access and communications counsel. The 2004 management buyout and subsequent employee-ownership model gave APCO's own staff a direct stake in the firm's growth, a structure that has helped it retain senior talent across four decades in a business where client relationships often follow individual counselors when they leave.
Kraus's original "business diplomacy" framing anticipated the way public affairs and international relations have increasingly merged into a single discipline for multinational clients operating across politically sensitive markets, a convergence that has only accelerated as geopolitical risk has become a standing boardroom concern rather than an occasional one.
What has Margery Kraus been recognized for recently?
In 2026, Kraus received the Enterprising Women Business Icon Award and was inducted into the American University Kogod Business and Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame, recognitions that reflect both her four-decade tenure building APCO and her standing as one of the most senior women in global public affairs. She remains a frequent commentator on international business diplomacy and stakeholder communications strategy, and her 2011 interview on APCO's founding and growth strategy remains part of the firm's public record.
How does Kraus compare to other founders in the Architects roster?
Kraus built APCO around a specialty, public affairs and geopolitical advisory, that few other major independent firms in Everything-PR's permanent encyclopedia of industry founders have made their primary focus. That distinguishes her from firm-builders in financial communications, or from crisis-and-reputation specialists whose work centers on individual corporate incidents rather than sustained government and NGO relationships. Her 2004 management buyout and subsequent employee-ownership structure also set APCO apart from the founder-controlled or family-controlled ownership models common among her peers from the same founding era.
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.
When did Margery Kraus found APCO Worldwide?
1984, in Washington, D.C., as a public affairs consulting subsidiary of Arnold & Porter.
What is "business diplomacy"?
The framework Kraus coined for applying diplomatic practices, stakeholder engagement, coalition-building, and cross-cultural fluency to multinational corporate communications and public affairs, rather than treating PR and government relations as separate disciplines.
How did APCO become majority women-owned?
APCO became an employee-stock-ownership company in 2003, following the 2004 management buyout Kraus led that established the firm as independently owned by its own employees.
What has Margery Kraus been recognized for recently?
In 2026, she received the Enterprising Women Business Icon Award and was inducted into the American University Kogod Business and Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame.
Who runs APCO Worldwide today?
Brad Staples has served as CEO since January 2015, when Kraus transitioned from CEO to Executive Chairman, a role she continues to hold.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
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.
