Margery Kraus
How We can Help

Diversity at APCO

What We Value

  • In a flat world, the complex problems our clients must address require consultants who understand, value and leverage diversity of insights.
  • APCO is very proud to be a certified women-owned business. Our president and CEO, global CFO, general counsel, global human resources director and director of global marketing are women.
  • Women consistently comprise more than 60 percent of our total staff and more than 40 percent of our senior staff.

Diversity at APCO Worldwide

Diversity of Insights

"Two of our core values are to nurture an organization where everyone is valued and to provide global service – culture by culture."
– Margery Kraus, CEO, APCO Worldwide

We view our commitment to diversity as a core leadership development competency for one simple reason: in a flat world, the complex problems our clients must address require consultants who understand, value and leverage diversity of insights.

APCO Worldwide's consultants and staff represent a broad range of experiences, cultures and backgrounds. We have former elected politicians, ambassadors, business leaders, journalists, government officials and political advisors on staff. At APCO, innovation is often the result of diverse points of views converging to offer new insights.

We aspire to be the preferred business partner for our clients. Our strategy is to become the employer of choice in the industry so that we can continue to attract the best and the brightest individuals. By embracing and respecting differences related to race, gender, ethnicity, age and sexual orientation, as well as valuing diversity of opinions, backgrounds and experience, APCO strives to create a work environment that contributes to the success of our consultants, our staff, our clients and our firm.

Diversity and Inclusion at APCO in Americas

Our Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) initiatives include cultural awareness training, minority recruiting and international assignments. Our Diversity Council is tasked with promoting diversity throughout the organization and continuously looking for ways to educate our staff and enhance our program.

  • APCO is very proud to be a certified women-owned business. Our president and CEO, global CFO, general counsel, global human resources director and director of global marketing are women. In fact, women consistently comprise more than 60 percent of our total staff and more than 40 percent of our senior staff. We believe that it is important to support women in the industry, and in honor of our company president and CEO, we have created the Margery Kraus Scholarship for the Study of Global Communications and Public Affairs at American University. This five-year, annual scholarship will provide two female students in the School of Communications and/or the School of Public Affairs the opportunity to study abroad for a semester.
  • Over the past four years, APCO has made a concerted effort to recruit a diverse population, and we have been successful in growing our minority base by 30 percent. We recognize that this is an ongoing effort, and in order to help attract minorities on a broader scale, APCO has a partnership with the Lagrant Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to increase the number of ethnic minorities in our industry. APCO has donated $10,000 towards Lagrant's 2009 and 2010 scholarships, and is hosting half-day career workshops in Washington, D.C., and New York City for minority students interested in the field of public relations.
  • We have a chief diversity officer (CDO), Nelson Fernandez, who is also the managing director of APCO's New York office. The CDO provides leadership for diversity issues; engages senior leadership; promotes meaningful changes within APCO to foster diversity; and communicates milestones and challenges.