Connecting You With Senior Corporate Affairs Leaders
Hanson Search is a specialist Corporate Affairs executive search and recruitment firm. Since 2002, we have placed senior Corporate Affairs leaders for FTSE 100 boards, sovereign-backed entities, private equity sponsors, global agencies and high-growth scale-ups across the UK, Europe, North America and the Middle East.
The Corporate Affairs remit has expanded dramatically. Today, a senior Corporate Affairs leader navigates regulatory scrutiny, ESG disclosure, investor narrative, AI policy, crisis response and brand reputation — frequently simultaneously, across multiple jurisdictions. Consequently, the senior Corporate Affairs talent pool capable of operating at this level is small, well-networked and rarely on the open market.
Our Corporate Affairs Executive Search practice is led by Katie Simpson, Managing Partner and Global Head of Corporate Affairs, supported by senior consultants across London, Dubai, Paris, Berlin and New York. We headhunt directly. We do not work from databases. 90% of our placements come from direct headhunting, because the best Corporate Affairs leaders are never looking.
Our Corporate Affairs Recruitment Expertise
We deliver senior Corporate Affairs recruitment for permanent, interim and advisory mandates across the full breadth of the discipline. Our consultants understand how Corporate Affairs functions are designed, resourced and measured at the most senior level, and we advise clients on the right structure as well as the right hire.
Senior Corporate Affairs Roles We Recruit
Our Corporate Affairs executive search mandates span the full senior bracket. We place Chief Corporate Affairs Officers, Chief Communications Officers, Group Heads of Corporate Affairs, Directors of External Affairs, Heads of Public Affairs, Heads of Investor Relations, Heads of Sustainability and ESG, Heads of Media Relations and Heads of Government Relations. Equally, we lead retained Corporate Affairs recruitment for specialist senior hires in financial communications, crisis and issues management, policy strategy and executive communications.
Sectors We Cover For Corporate Affairs Recruitment
Corporate Affairs hiring looks different in every sector. Our specialist consultants cover financial services and asset management, technology and digital, energy and sustainability, healthcare and life sciences, consumer and FMCG, government and public sector, professional services, defence, mobility and industrials.
What Makes the Senior Corporate Affairs Mandate Distinctive in 2026
The Corporate Affairs role has changed more in the past five years than in the previous twenty. Several structural shifts now define the senior brief.
ESG and sustainability disclosure has moved from a specialist function to a board-level reputation issue. AI regulation has created a new policy and reputation frontier. Private equity has professionalised its approach to reputation, hiring senior Corporate Affairs leaders into portfolio companies with sharper commercial focus. Geopolitical complexity has reshaped the multinational Corporate Affairs brief.
Consequently, the strongest candidates combine traditional communications craft with policy fluency, financial literacy, ESG expertise and the leadership presence to advise CEOs and boards at moments of consequence.
How Hanson Search Approaches Corporate Affairs Executive Search
A senior consultant owns every Corporate Affairs Executive Search end to end. There are no handoffs to junior researchers. Notably, we resist the volume-agency habits — long databases, light shortlists, quick handovers — that erode quality at the top of the market.
Three principles anchor every Corporate Affairs recruitment mandate.
Firstly, we map the market exhaustively across listed corporates, agencies and consultancies, PE portfolio companies, sovereign-backed entities and scale-ups, because the strongest senior Corporate Affairs leader often sits in the segment the client had not initially considered.
Secondly, we benchmark every shortlisted candidate against four dimensions sophisticated clients prioritise: strategic communications track record, regulatory and stakeholder fluency, leadership credibility at board level, and the cultural intelligence to operate inside the specific business.
Thirdly, we prioritise diverse and inclusive shortlists on every Corporate Affairs Executive Search mandate. Our B Corp certification reflects a settled commitment to responsible search.
Interim Corporate Affairs Leadership
In addition to permanent appointments, Hanson Search places interim Corporate Affairs leaders for transformation, crisis management, maternity cover and bridge appointments. Interim leadership is particularly valuable during M&A, restructuring, IPO preparation and reputation incidents where senior capability is needed within days rather than months.
Why Choose Hanson Search for Corporate Affairs Executive Search
- 23 years of senior executive search. Hanson Search has been placing senior Corporate Affairs talent since 2002, combining deep industry knowledge with international reach.
- Over 5,000 senior leaders placed globally. Our consultants have delivered more than 5,000 senior placements across Corporate Affairs, communications, public affairs and adjacent disciplines worldwide.
- A network of 100,000+ senior leaders. Hanson Search directly approaches the most senior Corporate Affairs and communications professionals globally, building a network that no database can replicate.
- 90% direct headhunting. The best Corporate Affairs leaders are not on the open market. 90% of our placements come from direct, discreet approach rather than advertised roles.
- Global delivery across 20+ countries. We run Corporate Affairs recruitment across London, Paris, Berlin, Brussels, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, New York, Washington DC, San Francisco and the wider international market.
- Senior-led search. Every Corporate Affairs Executive Search mandate is owned end to end by a Partner or Principal Consultant. No handoffs to junior researchers.
- Trusted by category leaders. Our clients include FTSE 100 corporates, global agency networks, PE portfolio companies and sovereign-backed entities — trusted advisors to communications leaders at Brunswick, Weber Shandwick, MHP Group, McKinsey, KKR, DP World, BASF and beyond.
- Certified B Corp. Hanson Search is a certified B Corp, reflecting a settled commitment to ethical, responsible search practices at the top of the market.
- Diverse shortlists by design. We build diverse, inclusive shortlists on every Corporate Affairs Executive Search mandate, not by exception.
Speak To Our Corporate Affairs Executive Search Team
For a confidential conversation about Corporate Affairs Executive Search and recruitment, our team welcomes a direct introduction. We advise on permanent appointments, interim leadership and confidential succession planning across FTSE 100 corporates, global agency networks, PE portfolio companies, sovereign-backed entities and the wider international Corporate Affairs community.
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