Blue Rubicon

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Blue Rubicon is a PR and lobbying consultancy, established in 1999 by Fraser Hardie and Chris Jones. Bought and then merged with Open Road in 2014. [1]

Since July 2015 it has been owned by multinational advisory consultancy Teneo.

Merge with Open Road

In February 2014, Blue Rubicon bought and merged with consultancy Open Road in a part cash, part equity deal. The deal saw Open Road's 21 team members merge into Blue Rubicon's. It is thought the two will remain separate first but will start to work together on projects.[1]

Bought by Teneo

In July 2015 it was that Teneo had bought British lobbying firm Blue Rubicon. All members of the Blue Rubicon senior management team will continue as part of the Teneo leadership team.

On the acquisition, Teneo CEO and chairman Declan Kelly said:

'The acquisition of Blue Rubicon and StockWell is a transformational moment for Teneo as we continue to grow across the globe, building on our reputation as one of the world's leading advisory firms'.

Blue Rubicon senior partner Fraser Hardie said:

'We are incredibly excited about becoming part of Teneo. We're bringing together a compelling combination of skills to meet growing demand for reputation-related advice at a time when CEOs and boards look increasingly to manage reputation more strategically and across the whole enterprise.
'Many now see the systematic growth of trust as providing the oxygen in which to do business - a vital element which maintains strategic freedom, accelerates transitions and cements competitive advantage'.[2]


Lobbying for the corporate education industry

Blue Rubicon has a number of lobbying clients that are pushing for reform of education systems that benefit corporate interests. These include, or have recently included:

Safina Mirza, who was an Associate Director at Blue Rubicon until June 2015, says she ‘worked closely with Pearson Education to raise awareness of their global brand by developing and rolling out a common narrative throughout their territories. Safina was also responsible for updating Pearson’s newsroom functions, enabling press teams to react to breaking news and to plan ahead for proactive press announcements’. She was previously head of marketing and communications at the Learning and Skills Council[3]


People

APPC Register

December 2014-February 2015

Amna Ahmed | Anna Bage | Anna Bloch | Ben Bradley | Matthew Burchell | Rory Cronin | Nick DeLuca | Tom Denney | Jessica Frost | Hayley Fussell | Fraser Hardie | Emma Haselhurst | Anna Hatfield | Annie Huddart | Sean Kemp | Alexa Knight | India Knight | Martin Le Jeune | Andrew Lewin | Ben Lewis | Patrick Loughran | Sonia Malhotra | Adam Marks | Adam Marks | Hannah Marwood | Charles Maughan | Andrew May | Graham McMillan | Emily McQueen | Chris Norton | Ed O'Brien | Mark Pack | David Radestock | Alex Rawle | Alex Savage | Gemma Scotcher | Charles Stewart-Smith | Amanda Stuart | Simon Taylor | Gordon Tempest-Hay | Jon Waghorne | Keisha Walcott | Don Wallace[20]

September 2014-November 2014

Amna Ahmed | Anna Bage | Anna Bloch | Ben Bradley | Ben Bradley | Matthew Burchell | Nick DeLuca | Tom Denney | Jessica Frost | Hayley Fussell | Fraser Hardie | Emma Haselhurst | Anna Hatfield | Annie Huddart | Sean Kemp | Alexa Knight | India Knight | Martin Le Jeune | Andrew Lewin | Ben Lewis | Patrick Loughran | Sonia Malhotra | Adam Marks | Adam Marks | Hannah Marwood | Charles Maughan | Andrew May | Graham McMillan | Emily McQueen | Chris Norton | Mark Pack | Vanessa Pine | David Radestock | Alex Rawle | Alex Savage | Gemma Scotcher | Charles Stewart-Smith | Simon Taylor | Gordon Tempest-Hay | Keisha Walcott | Don Wallace[21]

June 2014-August 2014

Amna Ahmad | Anna Bage | Ben Bradley | Matthew Burchell | Nick de Luca | Tom Denney | Hayley Fussell | Alex Grethe | Fraser Hardie | Emma Haselhurst | Anna Hatfield | Annie Huddart | Chris Isaac | Sean Kemp | Alexa Knight | India Knight | Martin Le Jeune | Andrew Lewin | Ben Lewis | Patrick Loughran | Sonia Malhotra | Adam Marks | Hannah Marwood | Andrew May | Christine McKenna | Graham McMillan | Emily McQueen | Shirin Merola | Billie Morgan | Chris Norton | Mark Pack | Vanessa Pine | David Radestock | Alex Rawle | Rebecca Reilly | Simon Ruse | Gemma Scotcher | Charles Stewart-Smith | Hannah Talbot | Simon Taylor | Gordon Tempest-Hay | Keisha Walcott | Don Wallace | Hatty Woollard[22]

March 2014-May 2014

Amna Ahmad | Matthew Burchell | Nick de Luca | Hayley Fussell | Fraser Hardie | Emma Haselhurst | Anna Hatfield | Annie Huddart | Chris Isaac | Sean Kemp | Alexa Knight | India Knight | Martin Le Jeune | Ben Lewis | Patrick Loughran | Sonia Malhotra | Hannah Marwood | Andrew May | Graham McMillan | Emily McQueen | Shirin Merola | Anamaria Missouri | Chris Norton | Mark Pack | Vanessa Pine | Alex Rawle | Rebecca Reilly | Simon Ruse | Alex Savage | Gemma Scotcher | Charles Stewart-Smith | Simon Taylor | Gordon Tempest-Hay | Don Wallace[23]

Former Staff

  • Spencer Livermore, Gordon Brown's former director of political strategy, joined Blue Rubicon as head of strategy and planning in January 2009. Livermore was one of the first senior figures to leave Brown’s inner circle, departing in early 2008 after Brown attracted heavy criticism for pulling the plug on an early election. Livermore had previously helped the Prime Minister to plan the strategy for the first 100 days of his premiership. He also worked closely with Brown throughout his time as chancellor after being appointed a special adviser in 1998.[24]
    Livermore announced he would be leaving his role as director of strategy in 2013 to rejoin the Labour Party as campaign director for Douglas Alexander and Michael Dugher in the build up to the 2015 general election. [25]

Clients

December 2014-February 2015

Affinity Sutton | Airwave | Asda | AstraZeneca | BDO | British Marine Federation | BUPA | Coca-Cola | Cosmetic, Toiletry & Perfumery Association (CTPA) | Engineering UK | Eurostar | Facebook | Gala Coral | Genting | Google | GSK | HSBC | Investment Association | MAXIMUS | Mobile Operators Association (MOA) | Mondelez | MSD (Merck Sharp & Dohme) | National Grid | Newspaper Licensing Agency | Novartis | Prudential | Royal Mail | Sanofi Pasteur MSD | The Crown Estate | The Lowry | UK Competitive Telecommunications Association | University of Law | Vodafone[20]

September 2014-November 2014

Airwave | Asda | AstraZeneca | BDO | BioIndustry Association | Bristol-Myers Squibb | British Marine Federation | British Metals Recycling Association | BUPA | Cancer Research UK | Coca-Cola | Engineering UK | Eurostar | Facebook | FXB International | Gala Coral | Genting | Google | GSK | Heathrow Airport | HSBC | Investment Managers Association | MSD (Merck Sharp & Dohme) | National Grid | Newspaper Licensing Agency | NHS Croydon CCG | Novartis | Pearson | Prudential | Resolution | Royal Mail | Sanofi Pasteur MSD | Skills for Care | The Lowry | UK Competitive Telecommunications Association | University of Law| Virgin Trains | Vodafone[21]

June 2014-August 2014

Airwave | Aldridge Foundation | Allergan | Amazon EU | Asda | AstraZeneca | AstraZeneca / Bristol-Myers Squibb Alliance in Diabetes | BDO | BioIndustry Association | Bristol-Myers Squibb | British Marine Federation | British Metals Recycling Association | Cancer Research UK | Co-operative Bank | Coca-Cola | Engineering UK | Eurostar | Facebook | Gala Coral | Genting | Gilead | Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition | Global Strategy Group | Google | Heathrow Airport | Institute for Family Business | Investment Management Association | Lloyds Banking Group | MSD (Merck Sharp & Dohme) | National Grid | Newspaper Licensing Agency | NHS Croydon CCG | Novartis | Pearson | Prudential | Royal Mail | Sanofi Pasteur MSD | Skills for Care | Virgin Trains | Vodaphone[22]

March 2014-May 2014

Airwave | Aldridge Foundation | Allergan | Amazon EU | Asda | AstraZeneca | AstraZeneca / Bristol-Myers Squibb Alliance in Diabetes BDO | BioIndustry Association | Bristol-Myers Squibb | British Metals Recycling Association | Co-operative Bank | Coca-Cola | Engineering UK | Eurostar | Facebook | Gala Coral | Genting | Gilead | Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition | Global Strategy Group | Heathrow Airport | Institute for Family Business | Investment Management Association | Lloyds Banking Group | National Grid | Newspaper Licensing Agency | Pearson | Prudential | Royal Mail | Sanofi Pasteur MSD | Skills for Care | Vodafone[23]

2010

  • Blue Rubicon has also previously handled Barclays' public affairs.[26]

2008

British Gas | City & Guilds | Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association | Cycling England | Diageo UK | eBay | GlaxoSmithKline Nutritional Healthcare | Heritage Lottery Fund | Peter Jones National Skills Academy for Enterprise | Royal Mail | Shell | The Lowry | Unilever UK & Ireland[27]

Registrar of consultant lobbyists

Blue Rubicon has been registered since January 2016. The register documents clients for whom Blue Rubicon has lobbied ministers of government. The 2015 listings are as follows:

January - March 2015

Coca-Cola | EngineeringUK | Google | The University of Law | Vodafone

April - June 2015

EngineeringUK | Facebook | Google | The Creative Industries Council

July - September 2015

Airwave | Coca-Cola | Google | Novartis | Prudential | The Dogs Trust

October - December 2015

Coca-Cola | Engineering UK | Google | Guardian Media Group | Novartis | The Dog's Trust | The Investment Association [28]

Contact

5 Floor, 6 More London Place, London, SE1 2DA
Website: http://www.bluerubicon.com

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Blue Rubicon snaps up public affairs specialist Open Road, PR Week, 10 February 2014, accessed September 2014
  2. David Singleton Blue Rubicon sells up to Teneo Public Affairs News, 9 July 2015, accessed 15 July 2015.
  3. Blue Rubicon, who we are, archived page from December 2014
  4. Blue Rubicon Alastair Gornall, accessed 16 February 2015
  5. Blue Rubicon Fraser Hardie, accessed 16 February 2015
  6. Blue Rubicon Gordon Tempest-Hay, accessed 16 February 2015
  7. Blue Rubicon Graham McMillan, accessed 16 February 2015
  8. Blue Rubicon Nick DeLuca, accessed 16 February 2015
  9. Blue Rubicon Chris Jones, accessed 16 February 2015
  10. Blue Rubicon Chris Norton, accessed 16 February 2015
  11. Blue Rubicon Patrick Loughran, accessed 16 February 2015
  12. Blue Rubicon Charles Stewart-Smith, accessed 16 February 2015
  13. Progress Magazine, accessed October 2008
  14. Blue Rubicon Matthew Burchell, accessed 16 February 2015
  15. Blue Rubicon Simon Taylor, accessed 16 February 2015
  16. Blue Rubicon Mark Pack, accessed 16 February 2015
  17. Blue Rubicon Matthew Hickley, accessed 16 February 2015
  18. Blue Rubicon Basil Towers, accessed 16 February 2015
  19. Blue Rubicon Sean Kemp, accessed 16 February 2015
  20. 20.0 20.1 Register 1st December 2014 - 28th February 2015 Open Road/Blue Rubicon APPC, accessed 31 March 2015
  21. 21.0 21.1 Register 1st September 2014 - 30th November 2014 APPC, accessed 21 January 2015
  22. 22.0 22.1 1st June 2014 - 31st August 2014 APPC, accessed 17 October 2014
  23. 23.0 23.1 Register for 1st March 2014 - 31st May 2014, APPC, accessed September 2014
  24. Brown strategist to join Blue Rubicon PR Week, 09 Jan 2009
  25. Blue Rubicon's Spencer Livermore to return to Labour Party, PR Week, 8 October 2013, accessed September 2014
  26. APPC Register Entry for 1 September 2010 to 30 November 2010
  27. APPC register to November 2008
  28. Blue Rubicon profile 2015, Registrar of consultant lobbyists, accessed 5 February 2016

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