Corporate communications in the second age of Trump

02/26/25 • 23 min

Trump is back. And back with a bang.

Be it old age or the fog of Covid but Little Questions had forgotten quite how discombobulating the stream of consciousness from the 47th President of the United States really is.

From waking up in the morning wondering, what has he said or done now, to then trying to work out what he meant, and if the latest u-turn was a u-turn or not. All before the coffee has properly kicked in.

There can be no question that his return has encouraged a wider shift to more conservative social and political stances and a celebration of capitalism. Across many sectors, businesses are either doing away with, watering down or simply trying to hide their DEI and ESG programmes – the find and replace function in Windows has surely never been busier.

Some business leaders have gone further, speaking out on previously controversial issues, no longer afraid of being cancelled.

For some the shift is a breath of fresh air. For others a return to darker times.

How on earth do we Corporate Communicators, the last bastions of common sense in an increasingly mad and angry world, respond? Are we ducking and covering hoping for things to return to normal in four years? Do we pragmatically and gently reposition? Do we rail against the dying of the light and to hell with the commercial consequences? Or do we drill baby, drill?

This episode is hosted by Andrew Brown. Formerly Director of Communications and Public affairs at Ageas Insurance, Andrew has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global, listed, multifaceted firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors. He has considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management as well as reputation sentiment analysis and insight. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

You can get in touch by emailing [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review.

And this time we're joined by Apella colleague James Kirkup, former DG at the Social Market Foundation. James spent over 20 years in high-profile Westminster roles including Political Editor of the Daily Telegraph and Director of the Social Market Foundation. Extensive experience of thought leadership and advocacy work, with a particular focus on the relationship between business, politics and public policy.

Find out more at apellaadvisors.com.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Trump is back. And back with a bang.

Be it old age or the fog of Covid but Little Questions had forgotten quite how discombobulating the stream of consciousness from the 47th President of the United States really is.

Some business leaders have gone further, speaking out on previously controversial issues, no longer afraid of being cancelled.

For some the shift is a breath of fresh air. For others a return to darker times.

You can get in touch by emailing [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review.

Find out more at apellaadvisors.com.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Previous Episode

Leaking

You can picture the scene - you have spent the last three months speaking to your ExCom and corporate finance team about your company’s biggest acquisition to date. This will fundamentally transform the shape and operations of the company, you are raising a large equity and debt package to finance the deal, and your leaders are excited about this next stage for the company.

Then, the dreaded happens - you take the call from the journalist, and they have the story. You feel weeks of planning slipping through your fingers, with limited time to respond and stakeholders panicked.

We know from experience that leaking is part and parcel of the communications world. So, where exactly do they come from? And what can you do to make sure – if they do occur – you are best prepared to deal with them? This is what we're unpacking on this episode of The Little Questions.

This podcast was hosted by:

Elizabeth Mobed, who joined Apella as a Senior Associate in November 2023. She spent the last three years at Teneo advising clients on a range of reputation and communications mandates. She has extensive capital markets and financial communications experience, advising on international M&A transactions and IPOs with FTSE 100 and private equity firms. She has also advised clients on ESG, issues campaigning and crisis communications. She joined Teneo in 2021 from FTI Consulting's Energy and Natural Resources communications team. She holds an BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford.

Matt Young has 25 years of experience across media relations, public affairs, regulatory development, employee engagement, brand development, competition and CSR. Group corporate affairs director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Andrew Brown; formerly Director of Communications and Public affairs at Ageas Insurance, Andrew has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global, listed, multifaceted firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors. He has considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management as well as reputation sentiment analysis and insight. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

You can get in touch by emailing [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review.

Find out more at apellaadvisors.com.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.