Strategic addition further strengthens agency’s expanding bench of specialized corporate affairs experts
CHICAGO (July 14, 2025) — Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) agency Golin today announced the continued expansion of its corporate affairs practice with the addition of industry veteran Brian Besanceney as senior advisor. Besanceney, a former two-time Fortune 50 Chief Communications Officer (CCO) and White House communications leader, will partner with the agency on a fractional basis to help clients navigate complex reputational challenges and bolster the firm’s growing C-suite and board-level business strategy capabilities.
Brian Besanceney
Besanceney brings to Golin more than 25 years of corporate affairs and communications leadership experience at high-profile posts, including in The White House, The Walt Disney Company, Walmart, and Boeing. His advisory role enhances Golin’s growing corporate affairs practice, which is managed under the tenured leadership of Sarah Vellozzi, U.S. corporate affairs managing director. Recent additions to the practice include Andrew Wilson as EVP of Issues & Crisis, Kris MacAuslan as EVP of Transformation & Engagement, Tyler Spalding as EVP of Executive Positioning, Clare Pickett as SVP of Corporate Reputation, and Katlynn Jabril as VP of Executive Positioning.
“Having worked with Golin as a client, I know firsthand their ability to help drive real business results with their strategic counsel and ability to get things done,” said Besanceney. ”As the world gets more complex and brand and reputation continue to merge, Golin’s expertise, strategic insights, and collaborative culture really stand out when it comes to helping clients solve problems.”
Besanceney will leverage his extensive experience leading communications and corporate affairs for iconic Fortune 50 companies to advise Golin clients on reputation management, crisis communications, geopolitical complexity, digital transformation, and executive positioning strategies. He also brings a perspective from the board room as Chairman of Orlando Health, a high performing healthcare system with $12B of assets under management. In addition to his advisory work with Golin, Besanceney serves as a Partner at CommsCollectiv, a firm pioneering the fractional communications leadership model.
“Corporate affairs is experiencing a pivotal moment as organizations face increasingly complex challenges in an era of geopolitical risk, changing stakeholder expectations, and rapidly evolving technology,” added Besanceney. “Golin’s ability to have a finger on the pulse of culture – combined with growing capabilities in the corporate affairs space – are perfectly aligned with where the industry is heading.”
“Brian is one of the most accomplished corporate affairs executives in our industry,” said Ellen Ryan Mardiks, Chairman of Golin. “Having led communications through transformations at Boeing and Walmart, and during critical moments at The White House, he has mastered complex stakeholder engagement. Brian’s proven ability to evolve and uplevel communications functions for some of the world’s most scrutinized organizations makes him an invaluable advisor to our clients and teams.”
The expansion of Golin’s corporate affairs leadership team follows significant growth for the practice, including new clients Mass Mutual and MN8 Energy, and expanded relationships with existing clients Adobe and PepsiCo.
About Golin
Golin is a global public relations agency that helps companies create change that matters. Together, we discover powerful human truths that bind us, create with bravery and collaborate inclusively and obsessively. Golin’s 1700 global employees operate across 50+ offices worldwide, allowing us to provide our clients with comprehensive solutions for multi-market, regional and global communications programs. Golin is a 2024 Double Grand Prix winner and 2025 Golin and Silver winner from the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. It was most recently named Campaign’s 2025 Global PR Agency of the Year, one of Fast Company’s 2025 Most Innovative Companies and a 2025 Contagious Pioneer for creative excellence. It’s also PRWeek’s 2025 Global Agency of the Year, 2025 Best Agency in Asia Pacific, 2024 U.S. overall Agency of the Year, and a U.S. Best Place to Work for the past three years (from 2022-2024). It was also named one of PRovoke Media’s 2025 Best Agencies in the U.S. and UK, the 2025 Overall Best Agency to Work For in North America, 2024 Best Large Agency to Work For in North America and 2024 Global Agency of the Year. AMEC has named Golin its Communications Research & Measurement Team of the Year for the past six consecutive years (from 2019-2024) and Golin is a 2021 Chicago Tribune Top Workplace honoree.