Stagwell (STGW), Sloane & Company Hire Former Virgin Group Communications Veteran Nick Fox to Lead Risk and Reputation Unit

Former CCO of the Virgin Group brings decades of communications experience and expertise to lead Stagwell’s Risk & Reputation practice; joins Sloane as Senior Managing Director –

 NEW YORK – Feb. 3, 2023 – Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW), the challenger network built to transform marketing, and Sloane & Company (“Sloane”), a Stagwell company and an industry leader at the forefront of corporate and financial communications, have appointed Nick Fox as Stagwell’s new head of the company’s recently launched Risk and Reputation Unit. In his combined role at both companies, Fox will serve as senior managing director for Sloane.

Fox assumes his new role after a 14-year tenure at The Virgin Group, where he served as the company’s director of external relations, and, later, chief communications officer—overseeing the growth and protection of Virgin’s brand around the world. In addition to advising CEOs across Virgin’s partnerships in mobile, travel, health, space, and other sectors, Fox also managed the rollout of Virgin Galactic’s initial public offering in 2019 and that of Virgin Orbit in 2021. Following his departure from Virgin in December 2021, Fox has continued to provide strategic communications counsel for a range of clientele, with a primary focus on brand building, risk management and corporate reputation.

“Nick is an incredible addition to the Stagwell team,” said Stagwell Chairman and CEO Mark Penn. “He brings a wealth of global communications knowledge – working at the senior-most levels of international business. Our Risk and Reputation business unit has already curated an impressive slate of experts to tackle the most sensitive issues facing business leaders today. I am confident that with Nick at the helm, this practice will continue to drive immense value and top-notch guidance for our clients and their stakeholders.”

As head of the Risk and Reputation Unit, Nick will advise clients on how to manage some of the most complex business issues facing companies now, from increasing geopolitical tensions to financial system pressure to political and social polarization. 

“Fox’s extensive communications background in both the U.K. and European markets poises both Stagwell and Sloane to broaden their international reach to attract new business—while also bringing a fresh perspective to existing client work,” added Sloane & Company CEOs Darren Brandt and Whit Clay. “As more companies seek trusted communications partners that will get into the weeds with them and help them navigate the travails of the U.S. market—or perhaps gain access to it for the first time—we are confident that Nick’s unique skillset will position us for impressive growth and client success, both now and in the long-run.”

“The expert roundtable that Stagwell and Sloane are building represents a deep knowledge base that you don’t find in a traditional communications firm,” said Nick Fox. “The opportunity to engage with and draw from the corporate, financial, and political arenas will provide an extremely valuable service for global leaders and companies facing increasingly complex challenges today. I am looking forward to working with such an entrepreneurially minded group.”

Fox began his new position in February, splitting his time between New York City and Washington, D.C.