Patrick Jephson

Former Chief Of Staff To Princess Diana

International Reputation Expert, New York Times Bestselling Author & Consultant, Netflix's "The Crown"

Patrick is a consultant, journalist, broadcaster and New York Times and London Sunday Times bestselling author, based in Washington DC.  His byline has appeared in every major UK newspaper and international titles as varied as TIME magazine, People, The Spectator, Paris Match, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and the National Catholic Reporter.  He is a published authority on corporate and personal branding, addressing conferences worldwide as well as events at the US State Department, the American University and the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. 

He also writes, presents and advises on factual and drama programs, appearing on every major US network as well as British and international platforms.  His two decades of news and current affairs assignments have included on-screen conversations with figures such as David Frost, David Dimbleby, Barbara Walters and Larry King. 

He is founding partner in JephsonBeaman, a boutique communications consultancy specializing in international high-profile, sensitive and UHNW services.  With more than twenty-five years’ experience in the government, luxury and family office sectors, Patrick’s portfolio has included Ferrari, Harrods, Beretta and Hawker Beechcraft as well as national agencies and NGOs.  He has also worked on reputation and legacy briefs with European, Middle Eastern and Asian families, including royalty. 

Patrick owes much of his practical communications experience to Princess Diana, who chose him to be her equerry and only private secretary/chief of staff.  He served the Princess for eight years (1988-96), responsible for every aspect of her public life, worldwide humanitarian initiatives, and private organization.  Under relentless media scrutiny, his tenure covered the period of Princess Diana’s greatest popularity as well as the constitutional controversy of her separation from Prince Charles.  In recognition of his service, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II appointed him a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order.

Patrick was born and raised in Ireland and holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science from Cambridge University.  As an officer in the British Royal Navy he served all over the world before being selected for royal duty.  In March 2015 he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

Mary Jo Jacobi

Former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, Former Assistant US Commerce Secretary for President George H.W. Bush, British Civil Service Commissioner

Former Senior Executive, HSBC, Lehman Brothers, Royal Dutch Shell And BP America

Mary Jo Jacobi Jephson is a renowned expert in reputation, brand and crisis management drawn from her extensive experience at senior levels of the corporate, public and voluntary sectors on both sides of the Atlantic. Most recently, Mary Jo was Executive Vice President of BP America during its response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Previously she led reputation management for Royal Dutch Shell, Lehman Brothers, HSBC Holdings and Drexel Burnham Lambert. She also devised and executed the award-winning global brand strategies for Lehman and HSBC, including the first-ever use of airport jetties for brand projection and thought leadership. She is a non-executive director of the Weir Group PLC, Mulvaney Capital Management and Panafsat and a member of the advisory board of Fink Africa. She is also a Visiting Fellow of Oxford University'ss Centre for Corporate Reputation. Mary Jo was the first woman to chair the board of the Ladies Professional Golf Association and subsequently served on the board of the Ladies European (Golf) Tour. She is a frequent broadcast commentator, lecturer and public speaker around the world.

Richard Stephenson

Civil Aviation Authority

Communications Director

Richard Stephenson joined the CAA in January 2015 as Communications Director. Prior to joining the CAA, Richard held senior communications roles in high profile and leading FTSE businesses, including as Group Strategic Communications Adviser at Centrica plc, Corporate Affairs Director at AXA and Director of Public Relations at Royal Mail Group. A postgraduate of Cardiff Journalism School, Richard is non-executive chairman of a fledgling public relations agency, non-executive director of Coventry University London Campus and a Director of County Hall Management Company Ltd. He has been a prolific charity fundraiser, climbing Kilimanjaro and traversing New Zealand and the Arctic for good causes, is currently chairman of a youth charity and has undertaken political work, in four continents, for over 20 years.

Daniel Tisch

Argyle Public Relationships

President & CEO

Daniel Tisch is widely known as an international public relations professional, speaker, writer and industry leader. He is the CEO of Argyle Public Relationships, one of Canada’s largest independent PR firms, a Fellow of the Canadian Public Relations Society, and the 2011-2013 chair of the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management, the confederation of the world’s major PR and communication professional associations.

Since Daniel became Argyle’s CEO and owner in 2003, the firm has grown from 10 employees in Toronto to more than 120 across eight major North American cities today. Argyle has earned more than 300 awards in that period, including twice being named IABC Global Mid-Sized Agency of the Year (2017 and 2018), and two Canadian Agency of the Year honours (PRovoke Media in 2020, Canadian Public Relations Society in 2021). Since 2015, Argyle has appeared six times on lists of Canada's fastest-growing companies in the Globe & Mail and Canadian Business magazine.

As a consultant, Daniel has advised a long list of Global 500/Fortune 500 companies as well as both Canadian and international government leaders. He is particularly well-known for expertise in reputation, issues and crisis management, serving in 2009 as the lead communications advisor to an industry affected by the largest food recall in North American history. Daniel’s other areas of practice include reputation management strategy, stakeholder engagement, governance and executive leadership communications.

As Global Alliance chair, Daniel led the organization to unprecedented growth, chaired a process to develop an international consensus on the roles and responsibilities of twenty-first century public relations, co-chaired the two largest World Public Relations Forums in history, launched a “best-of-the-best” global awards program and an international research study on the state of public relations with the University of Southern California, and represented the profession on the International Integrated Reporting Council.

Earlier in his career, Daniel held senior communications roles in the Canadian government, including serving as Senior Policy Advisor and Acting Chief of Staff to Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. In the latter role he was a member of the Canadian delegation to the G7 Economic Summit.

Daniel has spoken at conferences on every continent, lectured on public relations at Queen’s University at Kingston (Canada) since 1996, and contributed to leading PR and marketing textbooks. He appears regularly in broadcast, print and online media, including recent comments in the New York Times, the Globe and Mail, Reuters, CBC Television, Global News, PR Week and Strategy. He is a member of CPRS, the IABC and the Arthur W. Page Society.

Born in Madrid, Spain, and raised in Toronto, Daniel speaks English, French and Spanish. He holds two degrees from Queen’s University — a Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies and a Master of Business Administration. Daniel is the Vice Chair of the Queen’s University Board of Trustees, a leader in the international Scouting movement and a board member of Social Venture Partners International.

Nancy Seideman

Emory University

Former Vice President, Academic Communications and Reputation Leadership

Award-Winning Communications Professional with Expertise in Storytelling, Media Relations, Issues/Crisis Management

Communications strategist Nancy Seideman works to maintain and increase the reputation of organizations through her expertise in issues management and crisis communications planning and implementation. 

During her 30-year communications career at Emory University, Nancy managed multiple, complex issues associated with higher education. 

In 2014, she co-directed communications strategy and messaging related to Emory University Hospital's successful care of patients with Ebola virus disease, the first to be treated in the United States.  From 2020-21, Nancy played a key enterprise-wide communications role in helping the Emory community to navigate the impact of the pandemic and maintain the university’s priorities and mission. 

Nancy retired from her role as the university’s Vice President for Academic Communications and Reputation Leadership in 2021 to pursue a communications consulting career with a focus on issues/crises, organization and transitions. 

Nancy is widely recognized for her skill at consensus building and cultivating relationships within complex organizations to create an environment which contributes to a successful outcome in handling challenging issues.  Her focus is on helping clients achieve their objectives by providing thoughtful counsel and by developing and leading the implementation of a comprehensive communications strategy that delivers desired results.

Greg Vanier

Edelman Canada

VP, Crisis and Reputation Risk & National Lead of Data Security and Privacy

Greg Vanier is Senior Vice President, Crisis & Risk, and National Lead of Edelman Canada’s Data Security and Privacy practice.

Greg has a deep understanding of the complexities associated with data security and privacy communications and has helped both Canadian and foreign companies respond to breaches of personal information, ransomware attacks, corporate espionage and security vulnerabilities.

Greg represents clients across many industries and sectors including mining, transportation, financial services, accommodation and hospitality, consumer packaged goods, food manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, and agriculture. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies, non-profits and government agencies, and regularly presents on the topic crisis and risk communications at universities, conferences and within corporate boardrooms.

Greg has spent the entirely of his career working as a crisis communicator, helping clients respond to a variety of challenging issues, including acts of domestic terrorism, industrial emergencies, oil spills and pipeline ruptures, food borne illness outbreaks, product recalls, labour disruptions, workforce reductions, hostile takeovers and trade disputes, animal welfare issues, and staff misconduct.

Sandra Fathi

Gregory FCA

Chief Strategy Officer

Sandra Fathi is Chief Strategy Officer for Gregory FCA, a B2B technology and financial services public relations and marketing firm. She has spent the last 25 years helping technology, healthcare and professional services companies achieve their goals. Sandra founded Affect in 2002, a public relations, marketing and social media agency, for nearly two decades prior to being acquired by Gregory FCA in the Spring of 2021. 

Sandra started her career as a reporter for a division of Ziff Davis and IDG Tech Network. She went on to work at a number of leading technology firms and one of the top global PR agencies. Her clients have included Apple, EDS, Ericsson, Nokia and Microsoft, as well as innovative start-ups.

Sandra is also active in the communications industry and professional community. She has served on the board of the PR Council, as Chair of PRSA’s Tri-State District, President of PRSA-NY and President of the PRSA Technology Section. She is a sought-after speaker for conferences and events and her expert commentary has appeared in business and industry outlets such as CNN, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc., Huffington Post and U.S. News & World Report.  Adding to her accolades, Sandra has been recognized as one of PRNews’ Top Women in PR, a PRNews PR Professional of the Year finalist, and a Bulldog PR Agency Professional of the Year.

In addition to her professional pursuits, Sandra is a wife and mother of two children and one demanding dog. She is passionate about philanthropic work and serves on the board of directors of HavServe, a nonprofit organization focused on community-led development in Haiti.

nonprofit organization focused on community-led development in Haiti.