Your Ambitions Require Persuading Others
Every business leader and senior politician has ambitions. Every obstacle they overcome involves persuasion. And persuasion is what we do. Whether it is affecting regulatory change, profile-building ahead of an election or thought-leadership to build reputation, we open doors and change minds.
Our clients range from large corporations to NGOs and Prime Ministers. We help them to navigate regulatory and political agendas. We work at the highest levels of Tier-One international and domestic media. We move at high speed and our clients value our ability to get them access to decision-makers and coach them on difficult media and parliamentary encounters.
Under the forensic gaze of news and social media, senior figures can find their reputations being savaged. Having worked on the inside of media and politics, we can quickly stabilise crises and reduce the risk of future difficulties.
What We Do
REGULATORY AND POLITICAL GUIDANCE FOR CORPORATES
We start by understanding your business model and how it could be impacted by regulatory and political change. We then work out who the effective decision-makers are (they may not be politicians) and who is influencing them. We work out their values and goals. Then the work of persuasion begins. We inform and educate, build support and bring allies onside. We use campaigning techniques to cajole and pressurise. Throughout, we build relations with key journalists, politicians and influencers. Timing is critical -- much better to get involved early in a process when ideas can be shaped, than late when minds have become fixed and opposing coalitions built.
Reputation Management for Individuals
None of us is perfect. And under the forensic gaze of the 24 hour media, senior figures in business and politics can find their reputations being shredded. Sins of their youth come back to haunt them. Unfair and twisted allegations get mainstreamed. Having worked for years on the inside of media and politics, we can help turn around a damaged reputation and reduce the risk of future attacks. Our services include media training and proactive engagement with the media. We are on-hand 24/7 for clients facing questions that require an instant response. We know what journalists are frightened of. Equally, we know what they need. And by playing on those insights we help our clients get the coverage they seek.
PROFILE-BUILDING FOR POLITICAL LEADERS
What the world thinks about a prospective head-of-state can have a huge bearing on, firstly, their electoral prospects and, secondly, their effectiveness in office, when/if they win it. We help candidates to project their political vision and build international support for what they want to do in office. We run international media and political engagement programmes covering all the main Tier-One press and broadcast outlets from The Economist, to Bloomberg, CNN and the BBC. In doing so, we strengthen their public diplomacy and highlight their achievements. The alternative is a jaded, outdated media narrative that misrepresents domestic contexts and the need for reform. To get balanced and accurate coverage, narratives need to be refreshed and pitched in ways that capture the attention of newspaper editors, TV news producers and social media influencers.
All businesses need to understand the climate of opinion in which they operate. We explain political and media agendas and devise programmes for influencing them.
People
Jonathan Horsman
Jonathan Horsman set up Centaurus Communications in 2012 after seven years at Project Associates in London where he ran the International Division. In recent years, he has advised former Presidents of Georgia and Ukraine and Prime Ministers of Thailand and Hungary on their international media and political communications. Jonathan was previously Head of Public Affairs for a FTSE 100 financial services company and worked as an adviser to a UK Treasury minister in the 1990s.
Adrian Pepper
Adrian Pepper is a campaign strategist and pollster who advises leading businesses, politicians and news organisations across the world. He has seen British and EU politics from every angle, including as a Special Adviser to a Conservative Cabinet minister and a Party Group leader in the European Parliament. Adrian specialises in running multi-pronged communications campaigns for companies targeted at media, investors, consumers, NGOs, regulators and politicians.
IAN GREGORY
Ian Gregory started his career in politics with a PPE degree at Oxford University and stints working as an assistant to then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and US Congressman Tom Lantos. He wrote for The Financial Times before moving to the BBC where he produced international news including Hardtalk and coverage from Davos and G8 summits. Ian’s clients have included Accenture, Deloitte and KPMG. He is an expert in counter-campaigning and crisis media relations.
Dr Brian Brivati
Dr Brivati advises organisations across the FSU and MENA regions on strategic communications, leadership development and donor mapping. He is an adviser to Integrity Research and a director of D Academy which works with companies to build human capacity in conflict-affected, transition states. Previously, he delivered fellowship programmes for the John Smith Trust and was Professor of Contemporary History at Kingston University.
JORDAN GREENAWAY
Jordan is a digital communications expert providing advice to high-profile and high-net-worth individuals, and helping them to highlight projects that deserve a wider hearing while also protecting their business interests and personal life from intrusive media. He previously worked in politics as a speechwriter and advisor to a Shadow Minister for Science and Technology. He is the Founder and Director of Transmission Private.
James Price
James is a former Special Adviser who served as Chief of Staff to Nadhim Zahawi as both Chancellor of the Exchequer and Chairman of the Conservative Party. From October 2021 to July 2022 he worked as a Special Adviser in the Department for Education and was responsible for steering two education bills through the Houses of Parliament. James is currently a Managing Partner at the Adam Smith Institute. He has an MA in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History from the University of Oxford and an MSc in Security Studies from University College London. He served as President of the Oxford Union Society in 2020-21.
chris leslie
Chris was Labour MP for Shipley 1997-2005 and Nottingham East 2010-19. He was a Minister in the Department for Constitutional Affairs 2001-05, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury 2013-15 and briefly Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in 2019. Since leaving Parliament, he has served as Chief Executive of the Credit Services Association. Chris has an MA in Industrial & Labour Studies and a BA (Hons) in Politics & Parliamentary Studies from the University of Leeds.
Rt Hon MARK FIELD
Mark Field was the Conservative MP for the prestigious Cities of London and Westminster seat in the House of Commons from 2001 to 2019. He was appointed Vice Chairman (International) of the Conservative Party by David Cameron in 2015 and reappointed to the role by Theresa May. He served as Minister of State in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office from 2017-19 with responsibility for, among other things, the Asia and Australasia/Pacific region.
Sam Chandler
Sam Chandler is a strategic communications consultant who joined Centaurus Communications in 2021. He was educated at the University of York and the University of St Andrews, from which he has a Master’s degree in International Relations and Political Theory. Previously Sam worked for Pall Mall Communications, writing news digests for the company’s clients in the Middle East. While studying, he spent time in Boris Johnson’s parliamentary office.
Cllr. Brendan Chilton
Brendan is Leader of Ashford Borough Council’s Labour Group and Chief Executive of the Independent Business Network, a pro-enterprise lobby for family owned businesses. He was previously Director of Labour Future, a members’ network reconnecting Labour with its working class base. Brendan is a prolific media performer who regularly appears on the BBC, Sky News and GB News; and has written for the Daily Telegraph, Daily Express and LabourList. He started his career in Parliament working for senior Labour MPs; and has degrees in Modern History, Politics and International Relations from the University of Kent.
Chris pond
Chris was the Labour MP for Gravesham from 1997 to 2005 and a Treasury PPS and DWP Minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. On leaving Parliament, he became a Board member of the FSA (forerunner to the FCA). He is the recent ex-Chair of the Lending Standards Board, Chairman of the Financial Inclusion Commission, a Board Member of HMT’s Fintech Delivery Panel and a Trustee of Martin Lewis's Money and Mental Health Policy Institute.
Contact Us
For more information, please contact Centaurus Communications on:
T: +44 (0)203 542 6465
E: info@centauruscommunications.com
Centaurus Communications Ltd
34 Bedford Row
London WC1R 4JH
United Kingdom