Robert Phillips is the co-founder of Jericho Chambers and author of Trust Me, PR is Dead (Unbound 2015), described as a “game-changer for the future of communications” and “a thrilling revelation” (Huffington Post). Robert advises global organisations on communications, leadership and trust in a post-PR world. Jericho Chambers is championing radical new models of stakeholder engagement, based on principles of co-production and vulnerability, activism and dissent.
Robert leads Jericho’s current work on the Responsible Tax project and the Future of Work is Human.
Having spent 25 years at the top of the global Public Relations industry, Robert quit his job as Chief Executive for Europe, the Middle East & Africa of Edelman, the world’s largest PR firm, and Global Chair of its Public Engagement & Future Strategies group because, in his own words, he “no longer believed in what he was doing”.
Throughout his career, Robert has been committed to making a difference and helping brands and organisations create positive social impact. He works at the inter-section of business, politics and civil society where, in his words “the crisis of trust is a crisis of leadership”.
Robert has advised many FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies at Board and ExCo level. Present and past clients include AkzoNobel, Aviva, Capital & Counties Properties, CIPD, Diageo, KPMG, RICS, SAB Miller, Shell, Sony and Unilever. Robert’s belief is that substantive solutions must be found to address critical societal issues and that organisations should be judged on what they do, not what they say. The future can only be negotiated, not imposed.
Robert co-founded Jackie Cooper PR in 1987, having launched his first company two years earlier, while still at university. He sold JCPR to Edelman in 2004 and was UK CEO of Edelman from 2007 to 2010, twice winning Consultancy of the Year (while runner-up on a third occasion). He was CEO, EMEA, of Edelman from 2010 to 2012. Robert contributed to the annual Edelman Trust Barometer from 2007 to 2012.
Robert is a Visiting Professor at Cass Business School, City University, London and co-author of Citizen Renaissance (2008). He sits on the Advisory Board of the Forward Institute, is a Fellow of the RSA, a Fellow of the PRCA and a Trustee of The Creative Society.
He is a frequent public speaker and media commentator on leadership, communications and trust and an occasional contributor to Management Today, the UK’s leading business magazine.
