The principal
Stephen Fleming
Reputation & Strategic Communications Adviser
Stephen Fleming is a reputation and strategic communications adviser and former national newspaper journalist.
He founded FlemingPR to provide businesses and individuals with straightforward, senior-level communications advice focused on achieving an objective rather than generating publicity for its own sake.
From journalism to reputation
Before moving into communications, Stephen enjoyed a successful career in national newspapers, including working as a journalist at The Times and Daily Mail.
That experience remains central to the way he advises clients today.
Understanding how journalists think, how information becomes a story, what makes an issue escalate and how the media is likely to respond provides an important perspective when managing reputation.
Stephen subsequently moved into public relations and strategic communications and has spent more than 25 years advising organisations and individuals.
Strategic counsel
His work has encompassed major corporate transactions, litigation, crisis communications, financial services, professional sport and highly sensitive personal reputation matters.
Assignments have ranged from communications surrounding multibillion-pound corporate transactions to advising individuals facing intense national and international media scrutiny.
His approach starts with a simple question:
What is the client trying to achieve?
Only then does the communications strategy follow.
Sometimes that requires publicity and engagement.
Sometimes it means preparing for a problem before it occurs.
And sometimes good reputation management means keeping a client out of the media altogether.
Sport
Stephen's background as a sports journalist gives him a particular understanding of the relationship between sport, media and reputation.
Today his work increasingly considers the reputational issues surrounding sport as a commercial asset — including investment, ownership, governance, disputes and executive reputation.
He advises sporting figures and organisations and participates in discussions around investment and risk within professional sport.
Working with other advisers
Complex reputational issues rarely belong to a single professional discipline.
Stephen regularly works alongside lawyers, corporate advisers and other specialists, providing the communications and media perspective as part of the client's wider advisory team.
Where an assignment requires expertise outside FlemingPR's core capabilities, he can also draw upon an established network of specialist advisers.
Background
Stephen holds an MA (Hons) in Philosophy and Economics.
Talk to Stephen
For a confidential discussion about a reputational issue, potential risk or communications opportunity:
Stephen Fleming
FlemingPR
stephen@flemingpr.com
07718 756615