Former SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman to Chair Global Risk Advisory Council
Launch of the Reputation Risk Index
On April 15, Guzman will unveil the results of the first Reputation Risk Index alongside PRWeek Executive Editor Frank Washkuch and GSR's Brett Bruen.
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Washington, D.C., April 14, 2025 – Global Situation Room Inc. (GSR) announced that Isabel Guzman, who led the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and is now Founder of Avenida Advisors, will serve as Chair of the Global Risk Advisory Council (the Council). Made up of more than 100 preeminent public affairs leaders from former heads of state, ministers, and current CEOs, the Council represents an extraordinary breadth of experience across countries and sectors. It will produce a quarterly Reputation Risk Index, which will help enhance executives’ ability to track and analyze emerging threats. In accepting the role, Guzman highlighted the need for more mechanisms to identify emerging issues earlier.
“I have seen the challenges facing companies of all sizes in navigating conditions that become more complex and challenging each day,” she remarked. “As Administrator, my job was to support their growth in the face of enormous challenges from the pandemic to supply chain disruptions, inflation and cyber attacks. My goal for the Index and the conversations we have around these risks is helping to empower founders and executives to move and make decisions with a clearer picture of the threat environment. I am honored to help lead this work with my distinguished colleagues on the Council.”
Guzman is the Founder and President of the Los Angeles-based Avenida Advisors, a strategic advisory and consulting firm empowering businesses and communities for economic growth. She is an entrepreneur, government innovation leader, economic policy expert and former Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration during the Biden-Harris Administration. Guzman has founded several businesses and served under Governor Newsom, President Biden and President Obama in the areas of small business, innovation, procurement, and capital access.
“Isabel is a truly transformational business leader,” said GSR President Brett Bruen. “Her work helping America’s small businesses achieve exceptional growth, despite unprecedented upheaval and uncertainty, deservedly won praise from both parties. We are fortunate to have her at the helm of the Council, where she will play an instrumental role in elevating these risks and a better understanding of how businesses can address them.”
The quarterly Index begins with research of news stories by the GSR’s Situation Room team, which monitors coverage in real time. The Council then reviews the data, assessing which issues are most impacting companies and organizations. They also look ahead to potential problems that are beginning to percolate and provide relevant case studies and insights from their region and sector. As Bloomberg highlighted in its preview of the data, the Index will serve as an invaluable tool for corporate decision-making in the months and years to come.
Guzman joins a distinguished group of those who have served as ministers and top government officials now working with GSR. From Colombia’s former Vice President Francisco Santos, the firm’s Executive Vice President, to former CIA Director Leon Panetta and MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove, who co-hosts Situation Room Studios’ hit world affairs podcast One Decision. The Alexandria-based agency has recently received recognition as a Top 100 Agency by PR News and will celebrate its tenth anniversary next month.
Learn more about the Reputation Risk Index and the Global Risk Advisory Council at www.ReputationRisk.org.
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Global Situation Room® (GSR), Inc. is an elite, full-service public relations firm offering our clients sophisticated solutions for their most Complex Communications® challenges. Core practices include cutting-edge counter-crisis management strategies, thought leadership that pushes the paradigm of possible, and global campaigns that connect across cultures. Its award-winning content creation division has produced some of the most popular podcasts in the world. Clients include Fortune 500 companies, celebrities, and leading foundations. The agency has distinguished itself by ensuring clients are able to not only survive but thrive amidst the regularity of today’s risks, drive the debate on key issues, and effectively engage on global and local levels. GSR has prominently placed clients on every major national and international media outlet, helped them navigate through their most complex crises, and gained strong, sustainable support for their brand within the most influential circles around the world.
