Nexus is a Strategic Communications Consultancy Providing Public Affairs, Stakeholder Engagement, Media Relations, Financial Communications and Crisis Management Services.
About Us
The founders of Nexus and its professionals provide a strong combination of agency and in-house experience in the United States and internationally. The founders met working at a US consultancy that pioneered public relations industry in the former Soviet Union in the early to mid-1990s.
John Dillard later pursued a career in major US communications firms, including positions of Senior Vice President in Edelman and Weber Shandwick over nearly 20 years, specializing in financial communications, crisis management and media training. He subsequently served for five years as head of communications for Fisher Investments, the world’s largest registered investment adviser, including establishing an on-the-ground public relations presence in more than 10 countries. Alexander Kravtsov continued to work in the U.S. and also specialized in former Soviet Union republics including Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Georgia, providing public affairs and stakeholder engagement services to clients across the region and local companies looking for international expansion.
John and Alexander came together to create a boutique firm with a vision to offer high level communications solutions to clients. Looking at specific business challenges and needs of each client, Nexus offers tailored and results-oriented solutions and ensures impeccable execution. At a time when the only constant in our world is change, we are flexible, strategic and creative.
John and Alexander came together to create a boutique firm with a vision to offer high level communications solutions to clients. Looking at specific business challenges and needs of each client, Nexus offers tailored and results-oriented solutions and ensures impeccable execution. At a time when the only constant in our world is change, we are flexible, strategic and creative.
Services
The heartland of Eurasia, from Ukraine to Central Asia, is undergoing a period of political and economic turmoil not seen in decades. Oftentimes overshadowed by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the changes across the region and within countries require international investors to have a deep understanding to adjust their operations to the shifting landscape. We have the proven experience, understanding and contacts in the region to help companies do all that. We develop stakeholder and issue maps, design public affairs strategies and implement outreach efforts in compliance with the highest professional and ethical standards.
Our decades-long experience has enriched us with a deep understanding of the media in the U.S. and dozens of other countries, including established working relationships with the largest and most influential media outlets and reporters in those markets. In addition to business and financial media, we have worked on high-stakes matters with reporters specializing in key sectors across key global markets.
The "new normal" of constant change contributes to a variety of crises and special situations, ranging from sanctions and boycotts to shifting supply chains, cyberattacks, acquisitions and divestures to name just a few. The Nexus team has expertise in assisting clients address these matters as well as such highly sensitive and specialized matters as:
We design and implement strategies that are results-oriented, creative and based on decades of experience. In addition to our work with clients in North American, Western European and Asian markets, our deep expertise in the former Soviet countries allows us to provide timely and valuable counsel to clients in the region as they turn to global markets for growth, actively seeking financing, business partnerships and commercial opportunities in the West while overcoming regulatory and reputational hurdles.
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Bankruptcies and Financial Restructuring
- IPOs and Bond Offerings
- Corporate Litigation
- Changes in Management
- Regulatory Issues
- Data Breaches / Digital Security
- Natural Disasters
- Environmental Issues
- Labor Disputes
- Criminal Matters
- Crisis Response Plan Development
We design and implement strategies that are results-oriented, creative and based on decades of experience. In addition to our work with clients in North American, Western European and Asian markets, our deep expertise in the former Soviet countries allows us to provide timely and valuable counsel to clients in the region as they turn to global markets for growth, actively seeking financing, business partnerships and commercial opportunities in the West while overcoming regulatory and reputational hurdles.
We prepare our clients for effective interaction with the media, helping them to develop and deliver convincing narratives, honing practical skills necessary to succeed in high profile media interviews and other press engagements. Tailored to specific client needs, our training may include strategic messaging sessions, Q&A development, and intensive, on-camera practice interviews and critiques.
Leadership
John Dillard
John Dillard is a global financial and crisis communications expert with more than 25 years as a senior consultant for leading financial institutions and companies addressing existential crises and game-changing transactions. He has served as head of public relations for global asset manager Fisher Investments from 2018 to 2023, managing public relations for the firm and its iconoclastic founder Ken Fisher through a period of rapid global growth and reputational challenges.
John previously held senior positions at leading global public relations firms Edelman, Weber Shandwick and Sitrick and Company from 1998 through 2017, leading engagements including M&A support, management transitions, bankruptcies and restructurings, high-profile litigation, regulatory actions and other challenges.
Prior to that, John worked with The PBN Company (later, a subsidiary of Hill & Knowlton) and the International Press Center and Club in Moscow, Russia from 1994 to 1998, where he managed high profile client engagements for U.S., Canadian, Russian, Ukrainian, Byelorussian, Moldovan, Kazakh and Uzbekistani clients, among others.
John holds a Bachelor’s degree with honors from Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
John previously held senior positions at leading global public relations firms Edelman, Weber Shandwick and Sitrick and Company from 1998 through 2017, leading engagements including M&A support, management transitions, bankruptcies and restructurings, high-profile litigation, regulatory actions and other challenges.
Prior to that, John worked with The PBN Company (later, a subsidiary of Hill & Knowlton) and the International Press Center and Club in Moscow, Russia from 1994 to 1998, where he managed high profile client engagements for U.S., Canadian, Russian, Ukrainian, Byelorussian, Moldovan, Kazakh and Uzbekistani clients, among others.
John holds a Bachelor’s degree with honors from Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Alexander Kravtsov
Alexander Kravtsov ran a successful international strategic communications consultancy out of Moscow, Russia, and Singapore for over 10 years. The firm’s clients included Abbott, Astana International Financial Center, Arcelor-Mittal, eBay, Naspers, PayPal, Samruk-Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund and VISA, among others. Client assignments span Russia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, India, the European Union and the US. In 2022, in compliance with the US sanctions over the war in Ukraine, Alexander (being a US resident) divested from his firm.
Earlier, Alexander held senior management positions at APCO Worldwide and The PBN Company — the leading public affairs consultancies in the former Soviet Union. In these capacities, he managed client projects in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and the United States. He also headed international communications at Basic Element, a major Russian industrial conglomerate, and served as Communications Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, the country’s leading international business advocacy association at the time.
Alexander holds a Master’s degree with honors from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and a Bachelor’s degree in Philology from the Moscow State University.
Earlier, Alexander held senior management positions at APCO Worldwide and The PBN Company — the leading public affairs consultancies in the former Soviet Union. In these capacities, he managed client projects in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and the United States. He also headed international communications at Basic Element, a major Russian industrial conglomerate, and served as Communications Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, the country’s leading international business advocacy association at the time.
Alexander holds a Master’s degree with honors from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and a Bachelor’s degree in Philology from the Moscow State University.
Contacts
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