Dear Business Leaders/ Strategic Communications advisors

I am delighted to have the opportunity to visit such an exciting and dynamic country. Against a backdrop of economic globalization, political transition and technological transformation, business has emerged as the principal engine of growth and development in the new world order.

Good business today is about performing and behaving with a sense of responsibility. Strategic business development and revenue growth are reflections of a company’s performance. So too, is the active management of corporate reputation defined through effective stakeholder relationships. Risk to reputation, whether real or perceived, can destroy reputation and brand equity developed and invested in, over decades. Public perception of risk has become a constant and recurring threat to reputation. Growing consumer demands and expectations have created requirements for greater accountability through more intense scrutiny of the policies and practices. So, successful organizations are those that understand these threats; and operate and communicate in ways that can help to reduce conflict, and gain credibility and trust – critical attributes in reducing unwanted market volatility and maintaining customer, investor, employee and community loyalty.

If there was ever a time to anticipate and assess the reputational risk and opportunities facing your business it is now. I look forward to discussing with you best practice experience in the field of reputation risk management and contingency planning as a strategic tool for building and protecting asset value.

Judy Larkin