Former Advisor to Sir Keir Starmer Mark Simpson Joins APCO’s Public Affairs Team as Director in London

LONDON – 11 November 2024: Mark Simpson, who previously served as the head of international policy to Sir Keir Starmer, joined APCO in London as a director in the Public Affairs team.  

Simpson’s role in APCO’s UK Public Affairs team will focus on helping clients understand the fast-moving UK policy landscape and Westminster developments within a wider geopolitical context.   

Daniella Lebor, co-managing director of APCO’s London office, said, “with his deep bench of experience and knowledge of Labour Party policy, Mark brings our clients critical insights into the current governments policy priorities on both domestic and international issues. We are delighted to have Mark join our talented team to help our clients navigate challenging and fast-moving political, economic and societal issues.” 

“I am delighted to be joining APCO, adding my expertise and political insight to our already superb and knowledgeable team,” Simpson said. “At a time of political change and opportunity, this is an exciting time for the firm, whose global reach combined with local knowledge delivers a unique offer for business in every corner of the world.” 

Prior to joining APCO, in his role as head of international policy to Sir Keir Starmer, Simpson led and coordinated the Labour Party’s foreign policy approach, specialising in international trade, defence and global relations. He also led the Labour Party’s approach to UK-EU relations during the complex and turbulent Brexit negotiations period.  

Simpson also previously served as the chief political officer for the Labour Party in the European Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg. In this role, he coordinated all policy positions of Labour MEPs in the European Parliament, liaised with sister parties within the Socialist & Democrat Group to work on join positions or avoid points of differences and organized meetings with other key EU figures. 

Simpson joins a deep bench of public affairs and policy experts in APCO’s offices in London and across Europe, including Jo Tanner, Kate Forrester, Theo Moore, Jacob Moroza-Rasmussen and Jean-Renaud Roy. 

APCO’s London office has over 140 staff working across more than 100 clients and sits at the centre of the firm’s global operations. Thanks to a diverse and multilingual team, APCO’s London office leads on many of the agency’s most dynamic global assignments. With a growing client base in the most pressing issues facing the world today, APCO has been a fixture of the UK advisory and advocacy market since 1996 and continues to be at the forefront of the seismic changes facing economies and societies today.