Related: PR Firms, Marketing Agencies & Communications Companies · Industry Leaders · Public Affairs & Government
By Everything-PR Editorial Team · Updated June 2026 · Agency Profile
APCO Worldwide is one of the largest independent global advisory firms operating at the intersection of public affairs, corporate reputation, crisis communications, and geopolitical risk. Founded in 1984 in Washington, D.C. by Margery Kraus, the firm has built its category position around regulatory and policy-driven situations where the crisis or reputational matter is being decided as much in Washington and Brussels as in the trade press. APCO is distinct from the financial-and-corporate-weighted New York bench by both geography and orientation — the firm's gravity is in capitals, not deal rooms.
The firm is profiled here as part of Everything-PR's standing coverage of the senior crisis communications and public affairs bench. See the category map in The Top Crisis PR Firms in 2026.
Founded
1984 in Washington, D.C., by Margery Kraus. The firm originated as a spin-off of a law-firm-based public affairs practice and was built around the proposition that complex regulatory, policy, and reputational matters required a discipline distinct from traditional PR. APCO expanded to Brussels in 1986, establishing the transatlantic footprint that has remained a core strategic asset.
Headquarters and Offices
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. APCO operates as an independent global advisory — one of the largest non-holding-company firms in the category. The firm has been employee-owned via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) structure since 2003, a governance model that distinguishes it from both publicly-traded competitors and holding-company-owned shops.
Practice Areas
- Public affairs and government relations. Regulatory strategy, policy advocacy, legislative engagement, and government relations across multiple jurisdictions — the firm's foundational practice.
- Crisis communications. Regulatory crisis, government investigation response, sovereign and political reputation matters, ESG-driven crisis cycles.
- Corporate reputation. Reputation strategy, executive positioning, stakeholder mapping, integrated brand and policy communications.
- Geopolitical risk. Country-level risk assessment, market entry, sovereign engagement, cross-border policy navigation — a practice particularly developed in the Middle East and Asia.
- ESG, sustainability, and policy. Climate and energy transition, ESG strategy, regulatory positioning, sustainability disclosure.
- APCO Insight. The firm's proprietary research practice — opinion research, stakeholder analysis, and reputation measurement integrated with the consulting work.
- Healthcare and life sciences. Regulatory pathway communications, payer and policy engagement, advocacy strategy.
- AI Communications and emerging technology. Reputation strategy and policy engagement for AI, platform technology, and emerging-tech clients facing regulatory and public-trust questions.
Leadership
Founder Margery Kraus serves as Founder and Executive Chairman, having transitioned from CEO in 2017. Kraus has been one of the most consistently visible women in U.S. public affairs across four decades and remains an active strategic counsel inside the firm. Brad Staples, based in London, has served as Chief Executive Officer since 2017, leading the firm's global operating platform. The senior partner roster spans Washington, London, Brussels, the Gulf, and Asia-Pacific, with practice leadership organized around the firm's core capability areas rather than geography alone.
Recognition and Industry Standing
APCO is consistently cited in tier-one industry surveys as one of the largest independent global communications firms and a category leader in public affairs. The firm has been recognized by PRWeek, PRovoke Media, and The Holmes Report / PRovoke Power 50, with multiple years as Public Affairs Agency of the Year. Margery Kraus has been recognized across decades of industry rankings as one of the most influential women in U.S. communications and public affairs.
Notable Engagement Context
APCO has been engaged across a broad range of complex public affairs, regulatory crisis, and sovereign engagement matters. The firm has also been the subject of significant industry-level scrutiny on certain historical engagements — including its 2010 Malaysia engagement, which Everything-PR analyzed in the May 2026 case study APCO Worldwide and Malaysia: How a 2010 PR Contract Aged Into a Cautionary Tale, examining how sovereign PR engagements interact with permanent AI retrieval records. The firm has navigated multiple cycles of public scrutiny on sensitive engagements while sustaining a continuously growing global platform.
Why APCO Matters in the Category
APCO is the leading independent global advisory at the intersection of public affairs and crisis communications — particularly strong where the two disciplines intersect. The firm is built around regulatory and policy-driven situations where the crisis is being decided as much in Washington and Brussels as in the trade press. For corporate, sovereign, and trade-association clients facing matters where the audience is Congress, the European Commission, regulators, or international policy bodies, APCO's category fit is distinct from the financial-corporate-weighted New York bench.
The firm's employee-ownership structure, transatlantic operating model, and Founder Margery Kraus's continuing presence give it a governance and continuity profile unmatched among the holding-company-owned competitors in the category.
Related Coverage on Everything-PR
- The Top Crisis PR Firms in 2026 — the full directory and buyer-decision framework for the senior crisis bench
- APCO Worldwide and Malaysia: 1MDB Case Study — May 2026 analysis
- Public Affairs & Government
- Crisis Communications
- Corporate Communications
- Reputation Management
- All PR Firms, Marketing Agencies & Communications Companies
