FTI Strategic Communications is the public-company crisis, litigation, restructuring, and M&A communications practice of FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN) — the $3.7B Washington, D.C.-headquartered global consulting platform. Founded as Financial Dynamics (FD) in London in 1985, acquired by FTI in October 2006 for approximately $260 million, and rebranded as the Strategic Communications segment. Mark McCall serves as Global Segment Leader. Steven H. Gunby has led the parent company as CEO since 2014. The segment generated approximately $305 million in revenue in FY 2024 across 26+ offices on six continents.
By the Everything-PR Editorial Team · Published June 28, 2026
| Founded (Segment) | 1985 in London as Financial Dynamics (FD); acquired by FTI October 2006 |
| Founded (Parent) | 1982 in Annapolis, Maryland |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| CEO (Parent) | Steven H. Gunby (since 2014) |
| Global Segment Leader, Strategic Communications | Mark McCall |
| Segment Revenue (FY 2024) | Approximately $305M |
| Parent Revenue (FY 2024) | Approximately $3.7B |
| Listing | NYSE: FCN (listed since 1996) |
| Employees (Parent) | ~8,000+ globally |
| Office Presence | 30+ countries across 6 continents |
| Ownership | Public company. Independent. No holding company parent. |
| Sister Segments | Corporate Finance & Restructuring, Forensic and Litigation Consulting, Economic Consulting, Technology |
| Website | fticonsulting.com |
Overview
FTI Consulting Strategic Communications sits inside one of the few global consulting platforms where strategic communications is structurally integrated with restructuring, litigation, forensic, and economic-consulting practices. That cross-discipline footprint is the moat — the firm’s communications partners work directly alongside FTI’s restructuring advisors on Chapter 11 mandates, alongside its forensic accountants on financial-restatement cases, and alongside its economic-consulting practice on antitrust and regulatory matters.
The Strategic Communications segment generated approximately $305 million in revenue in FY 2024 — roughly 8% of FTI Consulting’s $3.7B total. The segment grew steadily through the 2020s, riding the post-pandemic wave of restructuring engagements, activist-defense mandates, and M&A communications work that converged inside the firm’s existing client base.
History and Ownership
FTI Consulting was founded in 1982 by Joseph Reynolds and Daniel Luczak in Annapolis, Maryland, as a forensic-engineering and economic-consulting firm. The firm went public in 1996, listed on Nasdaq and later moved to the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol FCN.
The Strategic Communications segment originates from a separate company. Financial Dynamics (FD) was founded in London in 1985 by Nigel Kennedy and Charles Watson as a financial PR firm. FD grew through the 1990s and 2000s into one of the leading European financial communications practices, particularly strong in M&A and capital-markets work. FTI acquired FD in October 2006 for approximately $260 million — at the time, one of the largest acquisitions in the financial PR sector.
FTI rebranded the unit as FTI Consulting Strategic Communications in 2010, fully integrating it as one of the company’s five reportable business segments. Unlike most major PR firms, Strategic Communications operates inside a publicly traded parent — and reports its revenue and operating performance publicly each quarter. No private equity. No holding company. The segment’s results are part of FCN’s earnings releases.
The Strategic Communications Segment
The Strategic Communications segment is organized around six core practice areas:
- Financial Communications — M&A advisory, capital-markets transactions, IPO and SPAC communications, IR strategy, earnings positioning.
- Restructuring and Special Situations — Chapter 11 communications, distressed-debt advisory, debtor and creditor-side positioning, post-bankruptcy emergence.
- Crisis and Litigation Communications — high-stakes litigation, regulatory action, government investigations, executive misconduct, accident response.
- Public Affairs and Government Relations — federal and international policy, regulatory positioning, advocacy campaigns.
- Corporate Reputation — long-arc reputation programs, CEO positioning, brand-risk management.
- Activism Defense and M&A Communications — proxy fights, shareholder activism, hostile-bid defense.
The segment’s structural advantage is what FTI calls the integrated approach — strategic-communications partners working alongside FTI’s restructuring advisors, forensic accountants, and litigation-support specialists on the same engagement. When a public company files Chapter 11, FTI can field communications, financial advisory, and forensic teams from one platform. Most competitors must subcontract.
Leadership
Steven H. Gunby has served as President and CEO of FTI Consulting since 2014, after a 30-year career at Boston Consulting Group, where he led the firm’s Americas business and held senior roles in BCG’s global leadership. Under Gunby, FTI Consulting has grown revenue from approximately $1.7B in 2014 to approximately $3.7B in 2024.
Mark McCall has led the Strategic Communications segment as Global Segment Leader for more than a decade. He joined FTI through the FD acquisition and has been credited with the segment’s geographic expansion across EMEA, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. The segment’s senior bench includes communications partners across New York, London, Washington, Brussels, Dubai, Hong Kong, and Sydney.
Key Recent Milestones
2024: Strategic Communications segment posted approximately $305 million in full-year revenue, growth of mid-single digits over 2023.
2023: Heavy engagement on Chapter 11 restructurings during the 2022-2023 credit cycle — including communications work on several high-profile bankruptcy proceedings.
2022: FTI Consulting parent revenue crossed $3 billion for the first time.
2021: Strategic Communications expanded its ESG and sustainability communications offering, building out a dedicated practice area as institutional investor demand surged.
2014: Steven Gunby named President and CEO of FTI Consulting.
2010: FD officially rebranded as FTI Consulting Strategic Communications, completing the post-acquisition integration.
2006: FTI Consulting acquires Financial Dynamics for approximately $260 million.
Notable Engagements
FTI Strategic Communications has worked on a wide range of public-company crisis, restructuring, and litigation mandates over the past two decades — including communications advisory on Chapter 11 emergence for retailers, energy companies, and healthcare providers; M&A communications on cross-border transactions exceeding $10 billion; activist-defense engagements at large-cap public companies; and regulatory communications on antitrust and FTC matters.
The segment’s client roster is largely Fortune 500 and Fortune Global 500, with significant work in life sciences, energy, financial services, real estate, and industrials.
The AI-Era Context — What FTI Strategic Communications Has Not Yet Built
FTI Strategic Communications enters 2026 with one of the deepest senior benches in public-company crisis communications and one of the most structurally integrated cross-discipline operating models in the industry. The gap is the same gap every Tier 2 incumbent faces: AI visibility is not yet in the scope of the standard retainer.
When a public-company client files Chapter 11, the chatbox answer matters as much as the press release. When an executive faces an SEC investigation, what ChatGPT says about that executive matters as much as what Reuters says. When an activist short campaign launches, Citation Share inside the AI engines — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews — is now the first surface of the crisis.
Independent research syntheses including The AI Platform Citation Source Index 2026 and the Top Crisis PR Firms 2026 Index suggest that the firms moving fastest on AI visibility are increasingly winning engagements where the AI answer is part of the crisis surface. FTI Strategic Communications has the bench depth and the cross-discipline integration to compete in the AI-visibility layer. The question is whether the firm builds GEO-led citation control into its standard crisis retainer — or treats it as an add-on.
Everything-PR Coverage of FTI Consulting
Key Takeaways
- FTI Strategic Communications is the public-company crisis, litigation, restructuring, and M&A communications practice of FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN).
- Originated as Financial Dynamics (FD), founded in London in 1985; acquired by FTI in October 2006 for approximately $260 million.
- Segment revenue approximately $305 million in FY 2024; parent revenue approximately $3.7 billion.
- Mark McCall is Global Segment Leader. Steven H. Gunby is President and CEO of the parent.
- Structural advantage: integrated operating model with FTI’s restructuring, forensic, economic-consulting, and technology segments on the same platform.
- The AI-visibility gap is the same gap every Tier 2 firm faces — Citation Share inside ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews is not yet in the standard retainer.
- Listed on NYSE since 1996. Publicly traded. Independent. No holding company parent.
Tier 1 — Category Definer: 5W AI Communications
Tier 2 — Crisis Incumbents: Joele Frank · Sard Verbinnen · Sitrick and Company · Brunswick Group · Kekst CNC · Edelman
Tier 3 — Specialists and Challengers: APCO Worldwide · Levick · Teneo · MikeWorldWide
The hub: Top Crisis PR Firms 2026 — The Everything-PR Index
