GPlus Europe
GPlus Europe, part of the Omnicom empire, is a public relations company with offices in London and Brussels that specialises in advising clients on winning support from decision makers in the European Union. "GPlus Europe produces made-to-measure political and communications strategies for our clients. We think through an organisation’s whole approach to the EU in order to position it, brand it and build its reputation with policy-makers, stake-holders and the media," it states on its website. [1]
Contents
Working for Russia
In 2006 the Russian government signed a multi-million dollar deal with the Washington office of the PR company Ketchum and GPlus Europe. The Financial Times reported that the contract is "to improve the presentation of Russia's presidency of the Group of Eight leading nations." In late April 2006 U.S. Republican Senator from Arizona, John McCain, criticized the decision in January by the Russian government controlled company, Gazprom, to cut off gas supplies to the Ukraine. The deputy press attaché to Mr Putin, Dmitry Peskov, told the Financial Times that Russia's 12-month presidency stint of the G8 "didn't get off to a good start on the communications front." "Perhaps if we had already been working then with some kind of communications company things would have been different," he said [2]
GPlus founder and partner Peter Guilford told PR Week that the agency was tasked with covering "Russia's G8 priorities - energy security, education and infectious diseases. In reality, the broader view of that brief was everything to do with Russia's integration into the broader world economy." He went on to say "Russia is not perfect. It doesn't have a perfect democracy, it doesn't have perfect human rights, but it has come a hell of a long way in the past 15 years, now there is a commitment to liberal economics, human rights and democracy. They're not always perfect, they're not always kept to, but the direction is right,"[3]
War in the Caucasus
On 7 August 2008, Georgia invaded South Ossetia but was quickly driven back by Russian soldiers. Immediately Georgia set about to "prove" that it had been invaded by Russia, the aggressor. The PR company running the Georgian show was Aspect Consulting. The Russians belatedly responded to the effective Georgian propaganda by employing GPlus.[4]
Principals and Personnel
| Principals | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nigel Gardner -- Chairman | Nicholas Taylor -- CEO | Peter Guilford -- Senior Partner |
| Gregor Kreuzhuber -- Partner | Hans Kribbe -- Partner | Rory Macrae -- Partner |
| Tim Price -- Partner | Michael Tscherny -- Partner | John Wyles -- Partner |
| Account Managers and Junior Personnel | ||
| Roderick Abbott -- Associate | Ewa Abramiuk -- Researcher‡ | Laura Bacci -- Senior Account Manager |
| Jerome Bacquias -- Account Executive‡ | Céline Bernaerts -- Account Executive‡ | David Bowe -- Associate |
| Anne-Sophie de Brancion -- Account Director | Susana Braz -- Account Director | Daniel Brinkwerth -- Account Manager‡ |
| Lucía Caudet -- Account Director | Dorothée D'Herde -- Account Director | Joly Dixon -- Associate |
| Agnès Domergue -- Senior Account Executive | Jeanne Dromard -- Account Executive‡ | Beatrice Flammini -- Account Director |
| Daniel Friedlaender -- Senior Account Executive | Adrian Georgiev -- Account Executive | Natasha Hurley -- Account Manager |
| Christian Kaufholz -- Account Director | Sabine Kayser -- Account Executive‡ | Philippe Lemaître -- Associate |
| Loren Lesko -- Senior Account Manager | Andrea Maibaum -- Senior Account Manager | Joanna Meade -- Senior Account Executive |
| Stéphanie Meillier -- Senior Account Executive | Christina Meinshausen -- Account Executive | Oya Memisoglu -- Account Executive‡ |
| Anna Michalowicz -- Senior Account Manager | Milina Monceková -- Senior Account Executive | Sameera Naraghi -- Financial Controller |
| Zuzana Púciková -- Senior Account Executive | Alessandra Pertot -- Senior Account Executive | Stéphanie Pochon -- Account Director |
| Sandra Riggi -- Administrative Assistant | Daphné Roose -- Office Assistant | Angus Roxburgh -- Associate * |
| Charles Stewart-Smith -- chaired Brussels-based consultancy† | Laura Teirlynck -- Head of Finance & Systems | Cecile Vernant -- Senior Account Executive |
| Simonas Vileikis -- Senior Account Executive | Antony Vinall -- Associate | Bernard Volker -- Associate‡ |
| Julius Von Freytag-Loringhoven -- Account Executive‡ | ||
| Former employees | ||
| Tom Brookes -- † | Julia Staunig -- † | Julian von Fumetti -- † |
|
Source: About us (Accessed 21 September 2008) Symbol Key:
| ||
Contact, References and Resources
Contact
- GPlus Europe
- 239 Old Marylebone Road
- London NW1 5QT
- United Kingdom
- GPlus Europe
- Rue Breydel 42
- 1040 Brussels
- Belgium
Web: www.gpluseurope.com
Resources
References
- ↑ GPLus Europe Website Home page] Last Accessed 31st May 2007
- ↑ Neil Buckley, "Kremlin hires PR group to improve G8 image", Financial Times, 30 April 2006.
- ↑ EU asks US to help pressure Russia on energy", International Herald Tribune, 30 April 2007. (This is a Reuters story); Hannah Marriott, "Brussels' Inside Man - Peter Guilford", PR Week, 16 March 2007.
- ↑ Peter Wilby, Georgia has won the PR war, Guardian, 18 August 2008.
