APCO WORLDWIDE - Key Persons
Abdullah Sahyoun is a Director and the Head of AI & Digital Transformation at APCO and is based out of Dubai. He brings more than ten years of data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) expertise combined with five years of project management and consulting experience. His focus lies in the integration of modern technologies into projects to create cutting-edge solutions for problems facing our clients.
Prior to joining APCO, Dr. Sahyoun worked in different areas and sectors. Starting his career conducting research in pharma/biotech companies, he then moved to lead the risk analytics and AI practice at Ernst & Young (EY) across Germany, Switzerland, and Austria to deliver innovative advisory solutions to global key players in the automotive and pharmaceutical sectors.
Dr. Sahyoun is fluent in English, German and Arabic. He also speaks French on a basic level. He holds a PhD in Computer Science & Machine Learning from the University of Leipzig, Germany.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director, Head of Paid Media
Adam Saunders is a director at APCO Worldwide and is based in London. He specializes in paid media and is a member of the firm's Strategy and Campaigns team. He has over 11 years experience in paid media and has helped clients develop innovative data-driven strategies to achieve their goals.
At APCO, Mr. Saunders is helping clients develop paid media strategies using audience and data-driven insights to extend the reach of their campaigns and ensure they are delivering their messages to their target audience.
Before joining APCO, Mr. Saunders spent four years at MGOMD where he led the digital team across numerous clients. He has also worked on numerous award-winning campaigns and developed tech and data strategies which have been first in market
Mr. Saunders holds a bachelor's degree in marketing from the University of the West of England.
Agnieszka Zieminska Yank has two decades of human resources leadership experience. She oversees APCO's corporate talent strategy and leads a global team of HR professionals, enabling the company's 1,200 employees to excel by creating a fulfilling career experience. As APCO's chief talent officer based in the firm's Washington, D.C. office, Agnieszka leads all aspects of the talent function, which includes talent acquisition, learning and development, performance management, data and analytics, total rewards, staff care and employee relations, culture and DEI.
Agnieszka's experience also includes program management and business development. She has managed development programs in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Afghanistan and Haiti. Earlier in her career, she worked for non-profit organizations on civil society strengthening and government capacity building efforts in Eastern Europe. Agnieszka holds two master's degrees, one in International Administration and another one in Library Science. In addition, she holds Global Professional in Human Resources Certification and Certificate in Organizational Consulting and Change Leadership. She is an active member of the Society for Human Resources Management, World Economic Forum CHRO community and the PR Council's HR Community. She is a recipient of Ragan's Top Women in HR Award 2020.
Aleksander Kwasniewski is the former president of Poland. During his 10 years in office, President Kwasniewski navigated Poland through the delicate transition from communism. He successfully led the adoption of a new national constitution and the campaign committed to Poland's admission to NATO and the European Union. Before becoming president in 1995, he played an important role as a negotiator in the Round Table Agreement in 1989, which led to a peaceful transfer of power and cleared the way for a democratic Poland.
President Kwasniewski also advocated regional cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe. He pushed for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to be admitted to the EU and was a mediator in the resolution of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine.
Since completing his second presidential term in December 2005, President Kwasniewski has lectured around the world. He serves as a visiting faculty member at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., teaching in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, where he was appointed a Distinguished Scholar in the Practice of Global Leadership. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the International Crisis Group; member of the president's International Advisory Board of The Atlantic Council of the United States; member of the Bilderberg Group; chair of the supervisory board of the International Centre for Policy Studies in Kiev; chairman of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation; chair of the board of Yalta European Strategy; and chief of the board of his presidential foundation, Amicus Europae.
Earlier in his career, President Kwasniewski served as editor-in-chief of two publications: the student weekly, ITD, and the daily Sztandar Mlodych. In 1985 he co-founded the first computer science periodical in Poland, Bajtek. Under the Zbigniew Messner government, President Kwasniewski served as the minister for youth affairs and started an exchange program for Polish and German youths. From 1988 to 1991, he was the president of the Polish Olympic Committee. In the late 1980s, President Kwasniewski served as a cabinet minister and chairman of the Social-Political Committee for the government of Mieczyslaw Rakowski.
Alyse Deutsch is a consultant at APCO Worldwide and is based in Chicago. She is a member of the firm's Geo-Commerce practice, where she supports companies as they navigate, mitigate and grow through geopolitical risks.
Before joining APCO, Ms. Deutsch worked for the Alzheimer's Association as events manager for the #2 peer-to-peer fundraising event in the country. Leading the Walk to End Alzheimer's in the Chicago suburbs, Ms. Deutsch led end-to-end development strategy, strategic partnerships and external communications.
Ms. Deutsch began her career in the international education technology industry where she helped grow the operations practice for Vericant, the most widely-required video interview and spoken English assessment in North America. In this role, she used her fluency in Mandarin to guide Chinese students through the application process for U.S.-based and other English-speaking universities.
Before returning to the United States, Ms. Deutsch traveled to Taiwan and acted as the United States representative on the Executive Committee for the Taiwan-America Student Conference (TASC). She planned and led the 3-week-long Taiwan-based international student conference, with a goal of providing a bold, inspiring environment for delegates from around the world to see and experience the power of cross-cultural partnership.
Ms. Deutsch graduated from Indiana University - Bloomington with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and East Asian Studies and completed a language-intensive semester abroad at Beijing Foreign Studies University.
Ambassador Claudia Fritsche served as the first resident Ambassador of Liechtenstein in Washington from 2002-2016, after leaving her post in New York, where she had served as the Permanent Representative of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United Nations from 1990 to 2002.
Ambassador Fritsche served as Vice President and Member of the General Committee of the United Nations General Assembly during its 48th Session. From June 1999 to September 2002, she served as President of the International Association of Permanent Representatives to the United Nations. Since December 2000, Ambassador Fritsche was also accredited as non-resident Ambassador to the United States.
Before assuming her post as Permanent Representative of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United Nations, Ambassador Fritsche was assigned to the Liechtenstein Embassy in Berne/Switzerland in July 1987 as First Secretary and Chargés d'affaires. And from September 1989, she served simultaneously as First Secretary and Chargés d'affaires at the Liechtenstein Embassy in Vienna. Between June 1989 and May 1990, Ambassador Fritsche also represented her government in the EFTA/EC Working Group on "Flanking Policies."
Ambassador Fritsche joined the Office for Foreign Affairs of the Principality of Liechtenstein in June 1978 and served in a variety of diplomatic functions, inter alia secretary to the Liechtenstein parliamentary delegations to the Council of Europe and to the European Free Trade Association.
From February 1983 until May 1990, she was deputy to the Permanent Representative of Liechtenstein to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. She represented the Liechtenstein government on the European Committee on Equality between Women and Men (CEEG) from April 1987 until August 1990, while also chairing the Liechtenstein National Committee on Equality between Women and Men.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Inter - American Dialogue
Andrés Rozental had more than 35 years of service as a diplomat and holds the lifetime rank of eminent ambassador of Mexico. A former deputy foreign minister of Mexico, he also served as Mexican ambassador to both the United Kingdom and Sweden, and as Permanent Representative to the United Nations offices in Geneva.
The founding president of the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations, Ambassador Rozental is still an active participant in discussions on Mexico's role in the world and how it is being influenced by globalization.
After retiring from active government service, he founded Rozental & Asociados, an international consulting firm specializing in providing political and economic advisory services to Mexican and foreign companies, with a special focus on Latin America. Ambassador Rozental currently serves on the boards of several multinational corporations, including HSBC Mexico and Wilson Sons Brazil. He advises over a dozen European, Asian and Canadian companies on their corporate strategies in the Latin American region.
He is a member of the Board of Canada's Center for International Governance Innovation, a senior policy advisor to Chatham House in London, a member of Council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and a member of the Trilateral Commission.
Ambassador Rozental is also a member of the Inter-American Dialogue and is the author of four books on Mexican foreign policy as well as of numerous articles on international affairs.
Anita B. McBride served as assistant to President George W. Bush and chief of staff to First Lady Laura Bush from 2005 to 2009, where she coordinated closely with policy-makers and worked directly with agency heads, senior White House officials and members of Congress and their staffs to advise Laura Bush on her platform for advocacy of domestic and international initiatives, including education, global literacy, youth development, women's rights and health, historic preservation and conservation, the arts and global health. Her White House service spans two decades and three U.S. presidential administrations. She has helped coordinate three presidential transitions.
In previous roles under President George W. Bush, Ms. McBride served as senior advisor in the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Organizations, where she was responsible for recruiting American candidates for positions in the United Nations agencies. She was also the department's senior advisor to the secretary and White House liaison, managing presidential appointees through the confirmation process and overseeing the selection of American delegations to international summits and conferences.
Earlier in her career, Ms. McBride was director of White House Personnel under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. She also was director of the speaker's bureau at the United States Information Agency.
Ms. McBride was a member of the U.S. delegations to the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 2002; the UN Commission on Human Rights in 2003; and the UN Special Session on HIV/AIDS in 2006.
She presently serves as a senior advisor to the George W. Bush Institute and was recently named executive in residence at the Center for Presidential and Congressional Studies in the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C. She is the current chair of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
Ms. McBride is a member of the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council, a historic public-private partnership among the U.S. and Afghan governments, Georgetown University and private-sector institutions that help Afghanistan's women rebuild their country and reclaim their place at the center of post-Taliban society. She is also a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS and serves on the board of the National Italian American Foundation.
She received her Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Connecticut in 1981 and studied international relations and foreign languages at the American University in Washington, D.C., and the University of Florence in Italy.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer, Greater China
Anne Wang has over 15 years of experience in advising multinational corporations on their advocacy and communications strategies in the China market. At APCO, she mainly serves clients in the health care, FMCG and education sectors. She provides strategic counsel on China's macro-economic and industrial policies to global and China management teams of multinational companies as well as trade and industrial associations.
Anne oversees the business operation in the Greater China region for APCO and is based in Beijing. Throughout the years, she has been dedicated to fuse the best local experience with a global perspective and has built a diverse and experienced consultant team with a unique culture.
Job Titles:
- Chief Client Officer, Corporate Europe
- Strategic Consultant and Communications Expert
Arnaud Pochebonne is an award-winning strategic consultant and communications expert, specialized in navigating complex communication challenges, advising executives, and driving impactful strategies. Arnaud has over 25 years of experience in communications and consulting. He currently serves as the European lead for the Corporate Reputation practice.
Job Titles:
- Leader
- Member of the Board
Benjamin F. Wilson, a nationally recognized leader in the legal profession, represented major corporations, developers, and municipalities in complex litigation matters involving Clean Water Act enforcement, wetlands development, Superfund and environmental justice matters. Ben is a board member at APCO and the chairman of Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., a top-ranked law firm focused on environmental and natural resource law and litigation. He served as the deputy monitor for emissions & environmental in the Volkswagen AG emissions proceedings and served as the court-appointed monitor for the Duke Energy coal ash spill remediation project.
Job Titles:
- International Advisory Council
- Member of the Council
Beth Keck, International Advisory Council member at APCO, has had an international career spanning business, government, and the nonprofit sectors. She brings deep expertise in sustainability and public affairs and has extensive experience in China and Asia.
Ms. Keck is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the National Committee on US-China Relations. She serves on the board of directors of ACDI/VOCA and Tanager, international development nonprofits, and CanopyNWA, a regional refugee resettlement agency. She has held global leadership positions for Rotary International and currently serves on her city's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Taskforce. She has a master's degree in Chinese Studies from SAIS, a bachelor of journalism degree from The University of Missouri School of Journalism and completed post-graduate studies as a Rotary Foundation Scholar at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Bianca Egli is a senior director based in the Frankfurt office of APCO. She has nearly a decade of experience in corporate and crisis communications and is the Crisis practice lead in Europe for APCO. Ms. Egli consults multinational companies to navigate through media challenges and to build a visible profile in the market implementing integrated communication and public relations projects. She specializes in issue-driven media and public relations, corporate positioning, reputation management, brand positioning and crisis communications.
Prior to joining APCO, Ms. Egli worked for Burson-Marsteller in Frankfurt where she was part of the crisis communications practice dealing with tragedies, plant closures, product recalls and other issues for a variety of national and international clients. She has implemented reputation and issues management as well as media and crisis preparedness programs and advised many multinational companies across different industries including aerospace, automotive, consumer goods, pharma and technology. Previously, she worked in the media relations team of Swiss International Air Lines in Zurich.
Ms. Egli joined APCO in 2016 and holds a master's degree in Communications from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland and the University of Lund, Sweden.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Board
- Expert
Brad Staples is an internationally recognized expert on the geopolitical forces shaping markets. As chief executive officer, he leads the firm's business and more than 1200 employees who are based in more than 30 markets around the world. Brad has spent decades building APCO's business and developing client service teams around the world, having previously served as president international and chair of global development.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director
- Member of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries Advisory Board
- Senior Director and Political Strategist, North America
Brandon Neal is a senior director and political strategist at APCO and is based in Washington, D.C. Mr. Neal specializes in advocacy, corporate and political strategy, public/private partnership, business development, crisis management, transportation, technology and energy, and is a member of the firm's Campaign and Advocacy Team. He currently assists with reaching the White House, Capitol Hill, third-party stakeholders and validators to join APCO's advocacy efforts.
Prior to joining APCO, Mr. Neal was senior advisor to Mayor Pete Buttigieg and his presidential campaign, running his political operations. He also worked for the historic 2008 Obama for America Presidential Campaign, Obama Presidential Inaugural Committee, and served in the Obama Administration as senior advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation and director of Small Business. Previously he has been a political director at the Democratic National Committee (DNC), political director/deputy chief of staff for Rep. Karen Bass (CA-37), finance director for then Senator Barack Obama, political director at the Democratic Governors Association, and a national director at the NAACP National Office.
Mr. Neal is a member of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries Advisory Board and is a political contributor for Bloomberg Radio. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Howard University and a Masters of Public Administration degree from American University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Senior Advisor
Charlene A. Wheeless, senior advisor for equity and justice at APCO, is the former principal vice president of global corporate affairs for Bechtel Corporation. Ms. Wheeless was responsible for global communications, issues and reputation management, sustainability, stewardship and public affairs. She served on the company's ethics and knowledge management committees, as well as the boards of the Bechtel PAC and Bechtel Group Foundation.
Before joining Bechtel in 2009, Ms. Wheeless was vice president of communications for the Intelligence and Information Systems (IIS) business unit of Raytheon Company as well as the site executive of its Falls Church, Va. facility. In these positions she oversaw global public relations, advertising, media relations, marketing communications, employee communications, and community relations and served as the lead executive, responsible for facility operations, security and quality audits, and employee morale.
Prior to her years with Raytheon, Ms. Wheeless was senior vice president of global communications and marketing for American Management Systems (AMS) and corporate vice president of communications at DynCorp. She also held executive and staff positions with PRC, Inc. (later acquired by Northrop Grumman Corporation), Steuart Petroleum Company, and IBM Corporation.
Ms. Wheeless was recently named by PRWeek magazine one of the 50 most influential PR professionals in the industry, for the fifth consecutive year. She has also been named to the PR Women of Distinction (previously, Hall of Femme), the PR Global Power Book, and the 2017 National Journal "25 Influential Black Women in Business." Earlier in her career, she was recognized as a "Woman Worth Watching" by the nationally known Profiles in Diversity magazine, and a "Women Who Mean Business" honoree by the Washington Business Journal.
In 2021 Ms. Wheeless was hand-selected to be a member of Marshall Goldsmith's prestigious 100 Coaches, a collective of top executive coaches and leadership thinkers dedicated to paying it forward. Also that year, Amplify Publishing released Ms. Wheeless's debut book "You Are Enough" which reached best seller status on Amazon and won two independent book awards for Best Nonfiction and Inspirational Books of 2021.
Active in the community, Ms. Wheeless is a member of the board of directors, executive committee and immediate past chair for the Greater Reston (Virginia) Chamber of Commerce, a former board member for NACME (National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering), and the committee of The Seminar. Additionally, she is a member of the Board of Trustees and the current chair of the Arthur W. Page Society, and for Reston (VA) Hospital. Previously, she was on the advisory board of the George Washington Virginia Campus, and a commissioner on the Loudoun County (Virginia) Economic Development Authority.
Ms. Wheeless graduated from New Mexico State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and public relations. She earned a master's degree in public communications at American University in Washington, D.C., and a master's degree in business administration at Keller Graduate School of Management. She is also a certified coach through the Marshall Goldsmith's stakeholder-centered coaching program and certified through Linkage, Inc. in the purposeful leadership and inclusion assessments (pending).
Cliff Stearns is an executive director based in APCO's Washington, D.C., office and serves as a member of APCO's International Advisory Council. He is a former Member of Congress for Florida's 6th district, where he gained extensive experience in telecommunications, technology, cybersecurity and international trade during his 24 years of service.
Congressman Stearns has broad experience as a business owner, legislator, issues advocate and policy leader. As chair of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, he helped increase transparency in the federal government. Congressman Stearns served as the Republican leader on the Communications, Technology and Internet Subcommittee and was chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, where he enacted consumer privacy and data security legislation. Congressman Stearns was a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, where he advocated for increased funding for the VA and improved long-term care for veterans. As chairman of the Transatlantic Dialogue for the European Union, he was appointed primary liaison between the U.S. House of Representatives and elected members of the European Parliament.
Prior to his election to the United States Congress, Congressman Stearns worked for CBS, Inc. and Kotula advertising company in Greenwich, Connecticut. He then started his own company as president and chief operating officer of Stearns House, Inc., which managed, operated and owned motels and restaurants in Florida. Earlier, he was a captain in the United States Air Force and served four years as an aerospace project engineer providing satellite reconnaissance of Vietnam. He was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for distinguished service and meritorious achievement and later received the Air Force Association W. Stuart Symington Award, the highest honor presented to a civilian in the field of national security. He was also honored with the St. Gabriel Possenti Medallion Award and the Charles Dick Medal of Merit.
Congressman Stearns served on numerous congressional caucuses including the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Caucus, the Cystic Fibrosis Caucus and the Congressional Air Force Caucus. Among his accomplishments as a Member of Congress, he had several prominent bills signed into law, including establishing a program of extended care services for veterans, modernizing the accelerated approval pathway for rare disease drugs, and seting a noise level to alert blind and other pedestrians to the presence of motor vehicles. In addition, he proposed several pieces of legislation concerning data privacy, spectrum transmission, and consumer product safety.
Congressman Stearns earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He took courses with Harbridge House Inc. Los Angeles on Advanced Problems in Defense Contracting and with the University of California Engineering Extension at UCLA on space communications. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society (formerly Sigma Tau) and Theta Tau professional engineering fraternity. Congressman Stearns is a member of the Metropolitan Club of Washington, D.C. and the Capitol Hill Club.
Courtney Crowder, a leading expert in public affairs, government relations and political strategy, brings a wealth of experience and a track record of success. With a career spanning nearly 25 years, Courtney is known for his insightful approach and unrivaled knowledge of complex policy issues and strategic initiatives. In his current role at APCO, Courtney serves as the North America managing director and chair of Advocacy and manages the firm's operations in Washington, D.C., and Raleigh, overseeing the South Region.
Prior to APCO, Courtney founded and operated Crowder Consulting, where he leveraged his experience to provide tailored advisory services. His expertise in the political arena was further refined in his role as legislative director and senior advisor to Governor Bev Perdue, where he played a key role in policy formulation and strategic decision-making.
Before joining the governor's office, he counseled corporate, non-profit and governmental organizations at Capstrat, a North Carolina-based communications firm. He also served as the legislative liaison for the North Carolina Department of Insurance and special assistant to Commissioner James E. "Jim" Long and was on the campaign and congressional staff for Congressman Bob Etheridge from 2000 to 2003. He has played an active role in a host of campaigns at every level - presidential, state-wide, congressional and local.
Courtney received his Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and French from North Carolina Central University and his Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Duke University. He also studied at Oxford University in Oxford, England where he completed the Program of History, Politics and Society at Exeter College.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Digital Strategy in APCO 's Tokyo
Dale Vieregge, senior director of digital strategy in APCO's Tokyo office, brings more than a decade of professional experience directing the design and implementation of digital products and campaigns, managing multi-disciplinary teams, and leveraging research, testing, and analytics to refine strategy, optimize tactics, and improve performance.
Dan Glickman, former U.S. secretary of agriculture and chair of APCO's International Advisory Council, is the former executive director of the Aspen Institute Congressional Program, a nongovernmental, nonpartisan educational program for members of the United States Congress. Secretary Glickman also serves as a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., formed by former Senate majority leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell, to develop and promote bipartisan solutions to the country's problems and to promote civility in government.
Prior to joining the Aspen Institute, Secretary Glickman was chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) and director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
From 1995 to 2001, Secretary Glickman served as U.S. secretary of agriculture, where he led the department in administering farm and conservation programs; modernizing food safety regulations; forging international trade agreements to expand U.S. markets; and improving its commitment to fairness and equality in civil rights.
Before his appointment as secretary, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 18 years, representing the 4th congressional district of Kansas. During that time, he was a member of the House Agriculture Committee, including six years as chairman of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over federal farm policy issues. He was also an active member of the House Judiciary Committee; chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; and a leading congressional expert on general aviation policy.
Earlier in his career, Secretary Glickman was president of the Wichita School Board; partner in the law firm of Sargent, Klenda and Glickman; and trial attorney at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Secretary Glickman is currently a member of the Kansas and District of Columbia Bars, Council on Foreign Relations, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the Council on American Politics at The Graduate School of Political Management at The George Washington University; is a senior fellow of the Center on Communication Leadership and Policy at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism; and is vice-chair of the World Food Program-USA.
He is also on the board of directors of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange; Food Research and Action Center, a domestic anti-hunger organization; Issue One, an organization promoting democratic institutions in America; and the Center for U.S. Global Engagement, where he is chair of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. Additionally, he co-chairs the Chicago Council on Global Affairs' global agricultural development initiative, as well as an initiative of eight foundations administered by the Meridian Institute that looks at long-term implications of food and agricultural policy. Secretary Glickman is also adjunct professor of food and nutrition at the Tufts University School of Nutrition.
Secretary Glickman received a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University.
Daniella Lebor is an award-winning communicator with experience advising politicians, corporations, NGOs and non-profit organizations on their communication and policy priorities. In her current role as co-managing director of APCO London, Daniella manages our UK business and operations. She is responsible for delivering high levels of client service, driving growth in the market, and creating an inclusive culture which helps to nurture and empower all staff to contribute to success.
A data-driven leader, Daniella has helped some of APCO's largest clients meet complex objectives, working at the intersection of business strategy, political change and integrated communication campaigns. Before her roles as managing director and deputy managing director of APCO's London office, she helped establish the campaign team, bringing together creative, traditional, and digital media experts to develop integrated and culturally resonant campaigns. She also led an initiative focused on using technology to identify - and mitigate - online misinformation.
David Sánchez is director, machine learning and artificial intelligence strategist with APCO's Washington, D.C., Studio, a full-service multidisciplinary group that enables ideas, delivers innovation and business value to products, services and experiences.
Mr. Sánchez is a skilled storyteller, strategist and industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience in advertising and marketing leveraging his skills in creative and art direction, paid and social media, technology and engineering, user experience and information architecture, CRM and data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence, product delivery and visual design.
Mr. Sánchez provides a hands-on approach to conceptualizing insights that bring impactful brand experiences to life. He quickly develops a deep understanding of his clients' KPIs and business challenges and applies it to creating strategic insights, ideas, products and services that help articulate their stories. Mr. Sánchez stays on the cutting edge of design technologies and industry innovations to keep ahead of stakeholder expectations and maintain the excellence of his craftsmanship and is a thought leader in his field. Within APCO's Studio team, he drives conceptual design, prototyping and industrial design, data visualization, web design, brand identity and online advertising. He also leads creative reviews and client brainstorming sessions fostering progressive thinking that push the of boundaries of creative bravery and brand experience.
Mr. Sánchez has worked with clients across multiple industries including multiple Fortune 500 brands including automotive and transportation, business and professional services, consumer products, energy and utilities, financial services; health care and pharmaceuticals, industrial, institutions and nonprofits, tourism and hospitality and technology.
Prior joining APCO in 2005, Mr. Sánchez was owner of HyperBrand (previously Wavefront Media) which he founded in 2000. Before HyperBrand, he was a senior technology director and product delivery for CHAT Agency (Dentsu Aegis Network Affiliate), a premier digital agency in Puerto Rico. He was involved with all aspects of Web development, interactive marketing strategy and technology direction for a variety of clients such as Kia Motors, VF Corporation, Government of Puerto Rico, University of Phoenix and Liberty Cablevision. While at CHAT, he founded the company's customer relationship management (CRM) practice in addition to the digital marketing technology (DMT) platform. He began his career as an information technology group intern with Microsoft Caribbean.
Mr. Sánchez holds a bachelor's degree in business administration with emphasis in information systems from Universidad Metropolitana of San Juan, Puerto Rico. He also completed the short program from MIT Sloan & MIT CSAIL Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy, as well as a Microsoft's Introduction to Artificial Intelligence on Azure.
Mr. Sánchez is fluent in English and Spanish. He is also a Microsoft ex-alumnus (1998) and member of the board of directors of Maryland Gear, Inc, a startup marker space, in the fields of engineering, science, manufacturing and prototyping and patents.
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- Chief Operating Officer, North America
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- Executive Director, Global Crisis Practice Lead
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- Member of the Board
- President and Managing Director of Operations
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- Chief Client Officer, MENA
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- Chief Client Officer, Southeast Asia
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- Managing Director, Dubai Head of AI Comms Lab Global Digital Practice Lead
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- Managing Director, Chicago & Midwest
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- President, Middle East & North Africa
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- Chief Communications & Marketing Officer
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- Executive Chairman
- Founder
- Member of the Board
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- Member of the Board
- CEO, Gagen MacDonald
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- Chief Information Officer
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- Senior Director, North America Digital Strategy Practice Lead
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- Senior Director, APCO Impact
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- Lead Director
- Member of the Board
Ángel Alonso is a project consultant at APCO and is based in Brussels. He is part of the tech practice, specializing in cybersecurity and geopolitics.
Prior to joining APCO, Ángel worked as a Bluebook trainee at the Cabinet of the High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, where he contributed to the communication efforts and the follow-up of the latest developments in EU foreign affairs. Mr. Alonso is passionate about international relations and communications, and had the opportunity to work as an intern for strategic communications at Business at OECD, and assisted the diplomatic efforts of the Spanish Representation to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, following the modernization of the Data Convention.
Mr. Alonso holds a master's in international public management at Sciences Po Paris, with a specialization in diplomacy and European studies. He speaks Spanish, English and French fluently.