Your Ambitions Require Persuading Others
Every business leader and politician has ambitions. Every obstacle they overcome involves persuasion. Whether it is affecting regulatory change, thought-leadership to build brand, or campaigning in mainstream & social media, we open doors and change minds.
Our clients range from large corporations to NGOs and Prime Ministers. We help them navigate complex political and media landscapes. We bring creativity and experience to multi-faceted communications challenges. Clients value our ability to shift attitudes and persuade people to act.
Under the forensic gaze of news and social media, senior figures can find their reputations being savaged. Having worked on the inside of media and politics, we can quickly stabilise crises and reduce the risk of future difficulties.
What We Do
STRATEGIC corporate COMMUNICATIONS
Businesses need to be able to influence the opinion environments in which they operate. We start by understanding your business model and how it could be impacted by regulatory and political change. We then work out who the effective decision-makers are (they may not be politicians) and who is influencing them. We work out their values and goals. Then the work of persuasion starts. We inform and educate, build support and bring allies onside. We use campaigning techniques to apply pressure. Throughout, we build relations with key journalists, politicians and influencers. Timing is critical -- we get involved early when ideas can be shaped, before minds become fixed and opposition entrenches.
strategic MEDIA for campaigns & individuals
As former journalists, we can explain media agendas and devise programmes for influencing them. We blend mainstream and social approaches so clients get heard at scale. It is more than just coverage for coverage’s sake: the messaging serves a strategic purpose — building brand, regulatory defence, new market entry and more. And none of us is perfect: under the forensic gaze of social media, senior figures can find their reputations being shredded. Having worked on the inside, we can defend reputations and reduce the risk of attack. We know what unsettles journalists. Equally, we know what they need. We play on these insights to help clients control the narrative.
public diplomacy for Governments & POLITICianS
London is a hub for capital markets and major media brands. It is an intellectual hub with world-leading think tanks and pressure groups that have an outsized influence on international affairs. Overseas governments have skilled missions, but they need additional support to get cut-through on the issues that animate voters at home and allies internationally. We have run public diplomacy, media relations and influence programmes for clients in countries as diverse as Hungary, Nigeria, Thailand and Georgia. We secure share-of-voice and help them make their arguments more powerfully. The alternative is outdated narratives that misrepresent their intentions.
All businesses need to understand the climate of opinion in which they operate. We explain political and media agendas and devise programmes for influencing them.
People
Jonathan Horsman
Jonathan founded Centaurus Communications in 2012 after seven years at Project Associates where he ran an International Division serving governments & heads of state. He advises corporate and government clients on media and political agendas and strategies to influence them. He was previously Group Director of Public Affairs for a FTSE 100 financial services group and was an adviser to a UK Treasury minister in the 1990s.
Adrian Pepper
Adrian is a campaign strategist and pollster who advises businesses, politicians and news organisations. He has seen British and EU politics from all angles, including as Special Adviser to a Conservative Cabinet minister and a Party Group leader in the European Parliament. Adrian specialises in running multi-pronged strategic campaigns for companies targeted at media, investors, consumers, NGOs, regulators and politicians.
IAN GREGORY
Ian started his career in politics with stints working as an assistant to then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and US Congressman Tom Lantos. He wrote for The Financial Times before moving to the BBC where he produced international news strands including Hardtalk and coverage from Davos and G8 summits. Ian runs Abzed Communications and is a recognised expert in counter-campaigning and crisis media communications.
Dr Brian Brivati
Brian had advised organisations across the FSU and MENA regions on strategic communications, leadership development and donor mapping. He has advised Integrity Research and been a director of D Academy which works with companies to build human capacity in conflict-affected, transition states. Previously, he delivered fellowship programmes for the John Smith Trust and was a Professor of Contemporary History at Kingston University.
JORDAN GREENAWAY
Jordan is a digital media expert. He is the Founder and CEO of Profile, an award-winning B2B PR agency serving entrepreneurs in finance, tech, healthcare and sustainability. He previously worked in politics as a speechwriter and advisor to a Shadow Minister for Science and Technology. He serves on the Board of FINCA International and is an adviser to The Entrepreneurs Network, a Westminster think tank shaping policies for the next generation of business leaders.
James Price
James was Special Adviser and Chief of Staff to Nadhim Zahawi when he Chancellor of the Exchequer and Chairman of the Conservative Party. From In 2021-22 he was a Special Adviser in the Department for Education responsible for steering two education bills through Parliament. He is a Managing Partner at the Adam Smith Institute and has an MA in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History from the University of Oxford and an MSc in Security Studies from University College London. He served as the youngest-ever President of the Oxford Union Society from 2020-21.
chris leslie
Chris was Labour MP for Shipley from 1997 to 2005 and Nottingham East from 2010 to 19. He was a Minister in the Department for Constitutional Affairs 2001-05, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury 2013-15, and briefly Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in 2019. Since leaving Parliament, he has served as Chief Executive of the Credit Services Association. Chris has an MA in Industrial & Labour Studies and a BA (Hons) in Politics & Parliamentary Studies from the University of Leeds.
Rt Hon MARK FIELD
Mark was the Conservative MP for the prestigious Cities of London and Westminster seat in the House of Commons from 2001 to 2019. He was appointed Vice Chairman (International) of the Conservative Party by David Cameron in 2015 and reappointed to the role by Theresa May. He served as Minister of State in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office from 2017 to 2019 with responsibility for, among other things, the Asia and Australasia/Pacific region.
Sam Chandler
Sam Chandler is a strategic communications consultant who joined Centaurus in 2021. He was educated at the University of York and the University of St Andrews, from where he has a Master’s degree in International Relations. Previously Sam worked for Pall Mall Communications, writing news digests for the company’s clients in the Middle East. While studying, he spent time in Boris Johnson’s parliamentary office. He is a member of Young Voices and writes in European and international relations.
Cllr. Brendan Chilton
Brendan is Leader of Ashford Borough Council’s Labour Group and Chief Executive of the Independent Business Network, a pro-enterprise lobby for family owned businesses. He was previously Director of Labour Future, a members’ network reconnecting Labour with its working class base. Brendan is a prolific media performer and has written for the Daily Telegraph, Daily Express and LabourList. He started his career in Parliament and has degrees in Modern History, Politics and International Relations from the University of Kent.
Chris pond
Chris was the Labour MP for Gravesham from 1997 to 2005 and a Treasury PPS and DWP Minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. On leaving Parliament, he became a Board member of the Financial Services Authority (forerunner to the FCA). He is ex-Chairman of the Lending Standards Board, Chairman of the Financial Inclusion Commission, a Board Member of HMT’s Fintech Delivery Panel and a Trustee of Martin Lewis's Money and Mental Health Policy Institute.
Contact Us
For more information, please contact Centaurus Communications on:
T: +44 (0)7880 786582
E: info@centauruscommunications.com
Centaurus Communications Ltd
34 Bedford Row
London WC1R 4JH
United Kingdom