The business landscape is shifting

Leaders need a new perspective

Leaders require new skills and intelligence to navigate a myriad of different stakeholder viewpoints and expectations. Even the smallest business decisions have the potential to alienate or inspire a particular stakeholder group, which can have a direct impact on reputation, resiliency, and valuation.

Myriant by United Minds is a management consultancy that applies a stakeholder lens to business decisions, leveraging industry exclusive, AI-backed analytics and insights to help leaders address issues and opportunities.

 

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Business and Stakeholder Resiliency

Our experts decode the stakeholder landscape to advise you on the business decisions that will earn you confidence, goodwill and trust – increasingly important factors for resilient and successful businesses.

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Emerging Risk Management 

Crises have always created challenges and uncertainty, but they are now exacerbated or caused by misinformation, new technologies and rising geopolitical tensions. We enable you to better prepare for, respond to and succeed amidst these challenges. Learn more

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Capital Markets Advisory

Effective investor engagement connects insights, narratives and financial data to manage expectations around opportunities and risks. Learn more

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ESG Advisory 

We equip organizations to deliver an effective ESG strategy that will gain buy-in from stakeholders in order to strengthen governance, organizational structure and culture.

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The Futures Media Lab

We investigate the cultural and media effects of new technologies and the resulting business challenges faced by the C-Suite. Immersed in generative AI, immersive experiences, distributed influence and beyond, Weber Shandwick Futures, our media lab, advises on implications and applications of new technology.

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Myriant Team

Chair

Chris Deri 

Leadership Positioning / Executive Coaching / Organizational Transformation

Chris has advised multinational companies, government and NGOs in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East around corporate positioning, public diplomacy, organizational design, digital transformation, and ESG. He oversees The Weber Shandwick Collective’s advisory practices and brands in corporate & public affairs, management consulting and research & insights.

Managing Director

Ben Kalevitch 

Business strategy / organizational design / stakeholder engagement 

Ben has over 20 years of experience counseling executives on business strategy, organizational design and competitive positioning. Prior to leading Myriant, Ben led United Minds’ employee experience offering, supporting clients on their journey to becoming employers of choice. Prior to that, he led strategic planning for a number of Weber Shandwick clients and was an Associate Partner at Monitor Group where he helped clients develop competitive growth strategies.

Senior Principal

Ethan Bauley 

Geopolitical conflicts / public health / cyberattacks 

Based in New York, Ethan leads analytics and strategic planning, including our AI-powered Narrative Intelligence offering. He also directs the group’s Media Security Center, working with a global network of technology companies and academics to help clients counter mis- and disinformation. He brings more than 20 years of expertise convening diverse specialists and data sources to solve clients’ biggest challenges from geopolitical risks to stakeholder relations, new product launches, public health issues, cyberattacks and ESG programs.

Senior Principal

Cheryl Cook 

Executive communications / consumer media relations / crisis management 

Cheryl brings more than 20 years of public relations expertise overseeing campaigns and earned media for household-name brands as well as developing and implementing leadership communications strategies for high-profile individuals, perhaps most notably Bill Gates and Howard Schultz. By focusing on strategic storytelling and aided by her background as a broadcast journalist, she helps clients craft their own narratives in a way that captures the media and the public’s imagination.  

Senior Principal

Marc Drechsler 

Event-driven capital markets issues / financial communications / investor relations 

With a career spanning three decades in financial communications and services, Marc advises clients on event-driven capital markets issues as well as long-term corporate positioning and investor relations programs. He’s advised hundreds of clients across North America, Europe and Asia, giving trusted counsel to senior executives on critical, high-stakes business decisions.

Senior Principal

Jim Meszaros 

Geopolitics / ESG & climate policy / global technology 

For more than two decades, James has worked as Executive Vice President for global public affairs in Washington with Weber Shandwick, during which time he’s advised clients in more than 30 countries, working with sovereign governments, multinational corporations, industry coalitions, multilateral organizations, foundations and civil society teams. His specialties include geopolitical counsel, public policy analysis, speechwriting, stakeholder relations, and political & economic trends and forecasting. 

Principal

Christine Beggan 

Capital markets and financial communications / financial events and transactions / shareholder activism 

Working with clients across CPG, retail, hospitality, wellness, fintech, industrials, insurance and beyond, Christine is a highly specialized adviser with particular experience developing effective communications related to financial events and transactions. She’s led the strategy on many notable projects and her work covers events including quarterly earnings, IPOs, spin-offs, M&A, investment rounds, divestitures, shareholder activism and executive transitions.

Principal

Ross Kleinrock 

Business strategy / product strategy and development / tech, data privacy & AI  

Ross has strong operations, consulting and entrepreneurial experience. Before joining Myriant, he led Growth & Integration for the Business & Society Futures group at Weber Shandwick. Prior to that, he worked on building a complex sports gaming company and web app. As a consultant at EY, he advised senior-level stakeholders on product, go-to-market and general business strategy, in addition to designing and launching internal processes and software systems. 

Principal

Tiffany Yeh 

Narrative intelligence / communications strategy / research and insights 

Tiffany brings more than a decade of professional experience to Myriant, leading teams through research, insights and implications phases to comms planning, strategies, tactics and stakeholder intelligence. During her career, she’s worked across a variety of industries and Fortune 500 clients, including automotive, food service, healthcare, technology and CPG. She is currently the VP for Integrated Project Management with Weber Shandwick.

Associate Principal

Milan Khatami 

Communications strategies and campaigns / corporate reputation / crisis & issues management 

Milan’s experience advising on financial and corporate issues spans a range of industries, with a focus on the consumer and technology sectors. Working with some of the world’s most recognizable brands, she develops and executes comprehensive, global strategies and campaigns for public listings, media relations, leadership transitions, crisis issues and cybersecurity incidents. Her expertise has been critical in allowing companies and their leaders to optimize their reputation and positioning with employees, investors, customers and the media.

Associate Principal

Shiwei Yin 

Financial communications / capital market intelligence / geopolitical dynamics 

With a keen understanding of the economy and capital markets, Shiwei is passionate about applying analytics-driven insights to help client companies improve visibility and valuation. He has strategized and executed financial communications programs for companies across sectors and market caps, with a track record for aiding international businesses seeking access to U.S. markets. Shiwei started his career in equity sales and trading, and speaks English, Chinese and Japanese.

Myriant Advisor Network

Our external Senior Advisors come from senior roles in business, government and politics, civil society and academia.

We also draw on relevant expertise from across The Weber Shandwick Collective.

Executive Director, Coalition for Rainforest Nations

Kevin Conrad

Coalition for Rainforest Nations Executive Director

Kevin Conrad served as Papa New Guinea’s Special Envoy for Environment and Climate Change from 2005 to 2014. A leader of global efforts to quantify the value of tropical forests, he spearheaded the United Nations’ REDD (“Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries”) initiative and the establishment of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility at the World Bank.

Senior Vice President, Head of Research, Advisory & Specialty Solutions, S&P Global Market Intelligence

Sarah Cottle

S&P Global Market Intelligence Research, Advisory and Specialty Solutions Head Sarah Cottle oversees a suite of content and capabilities that leverage proprietary data and insights to conduct rigorous analysis and risk management of global sectors and trends across sustainability, supply chain and financial services.

Senior Executive Vice President for Social Impact, Growth & Policy, National Hockey League

Kimberly Davis 

With many years of experience, Kimberly currently stands as Senior Executive Vice President of Social Impact, Growth Initiatives & Legislative Affairs for the National Hockey League. She is a pioneer of groundbreaking initiatives to attract and retain fans, focusing on diverse cultural audiences and spearheading the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative to advance gender diversity and pay equity.

Former White House Communications Director

Mike Dubke 

As Former Assistant to the President for Communications in the White House, Mike has a wealth of expertise with communications and advocacy efforts on the relationship between media strategy and public policy. He works across industries and with nonprofits, advocating for digital security and child safety online.

Former Head of Communications, Vice President Kamala Harris

Ashley Etienne 

A veteran communications strategist and trusted advisor to Presidents and Vice Presidents, Ashley works with our clients on a wide range of societal, reputational and public affairs issues. She specializes in high-impact integrated communications and digital strategies for high-stakes social and political campaigns.

Former North American Chair, APCO Worldwide

Nelson Fernandez 

As founder of Crosby Street Consultants and the former Chair of APCO North America, Nelson has advised top management on executive leadership communications, internal alignment, brand and marketing communication, issue and crisis management, corporate positioning, thought leadership and stakeholder engagement.

Leadership Expert, C-Suite Coach, Non-Executive Director, DEI Strategist

India Gary-Martin 

India is a sought-after leadership strategist and expert on leading diversity, equity and inclusion best practices. Formerly the Global Chief Operating Officer for Investment Banking Technology and Operations with JP Morgan Chase, she now serves on the coaching faculty at Georgetown University and the New York City Bar Association.

Former Chairman/CEO of Yum! Foundation

Jerilan Greene 

As the former Yum! Brands Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer, Jerilan led global strategy and governance for the company’s ESG, global communications and government affairs functions. She also served as Chair and CEO of the Yum! Foundation, shaping the foundation’s philanthropic, grantmaking and social impact investment priorities. 

Former Managing Director, Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum

Adrian Hodges 

Adrian is a highly respected expert voice on the impact of corporate strategy and business operations on society. He brings more than 25 years of experience working closely with senior business leaders to create responsible value chains and brands with social purpose, helping to build competitive advantage and meeting sustainable development goals.

Executive Director, National Minority AIDS Council

Paul Kawata 

As Executive Director of the National Minority AIDS Council, Paul brings us many years of experience confronting racial justice, health equity, and LGBTQ+ community development & relations. He’s collaborated with Congress and governments at local, state and national levels to help work towards ending the HIV and AIDS epidemics.

President, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

Kerry Kennedy 

Kerry is the longstanding President for Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, and has worked internationally to advance child labor issues, women’s rights, disappearances, indigenous land rights, judicial independence, freedom of expression, ethnic violence issues, criminal justice reform, immigration, impunity and ESG investing.

CEO and Co-Founder, Blackbird.AI

Wasim Khaled 

CEO and co-founder of Blackbird.AI, Wasim leads a multi-disciplinary team within the AI-driven Narrative & Risk Intelligence Platform, dedicated to advancing the company’s mission to empower trust, safety and integrity across the global information ecosystem, raising awareness of the ever-escalating information war arms race threat.