Former Vice President of Colombia Ambassador Francisco Santos Joins Global Situation Room
The Global Situation Room®, Inc. (GSR) today announced the addition of Ambassador Francisco Santos to its leadership team. He comes to the public relations agency having served as Vice President of Colombia and most recently, Ambassador to the United States. As Executive Vice President of Global Affairs, Santos will work with GSR’s expanding portfolio of clients from around the world on their most Complex Communications® challenges.
His arrival comes at a time of rapid growth for the firm, which just purchased a new headquarters in Alexandria, VA and tripled the size of its staff in the last year. Santos joins a number of former American ambassadors, senior White House officials, and veteran journalists at GSR. The agency has seen demand for its proprietary Counter-Crisis Strategies surge in the last several years, as companies look for more sophisticated reputation management solutions to navigate the regularity and severity of the risks they confront.
“Ambassador Santos’ extraordinary experience at the highest levels of government and journalism will further enhance our team’s capacity to provide clients with exceptional counsel,” said GSR President Brett Bruen. “With his help, we plan to accelerate our growth in key foreign markets over the coming year. I believe there is an enormous opportunity to disrupt some of the standard, static public relations services currently being offered.”
During his tenure as Vice President, Santos led Colombia’s promotion of international trade, investment and tourism. He was also integral in implementing policies combating corruption, extortion and kidnapping. Prior to his political and diplomatic roles, Santos had a distinguished career in journalism and held several positions at El Tiempo, one of Colombia’s leading newspapers. He also worked at El País, Spain’s most prominent newspaper and was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.
“The Global Situation Room has really become the industry leader in supporting companies with their most difficult communications situations and objectives,” remarked Santos. “There is an urgent need to bring these skills and strategies to more places. I look forward to being part of a team that is truly changing the paradigm of the possible in public relations.”
GSR’s clients include Fortune 100 companies, large philanthropies, and high-profile individuals. In addition to crisis and reputation management, the firm also specializes in thought leadership and global campaigns. It is a fully integrated partner of the multinational public affairs consultancy Porter Novelli and was the agency selected by PR News to write its monthly crisis communications column.