Sydney Ann Neuhaus will transition to Vice Chair
New York, 23.09.2024 – Christine Graeff will join FGS Global (“FGS”), the leading global communications and public affairs consultancy, as Global Chief Growth Officer and member of the Global Executive Committee, effective January 1st, 2025. Graeff succeeds Sydney Ann Neuhaus, who will be transitioning to a new operational role supporting Partner development alongside her client work, advising on strategy and reputation, as well as high-stakes crises and issues.
As Global Chief Growth Officer, Graeff will be responsible for expanding the firm's client roster and driving growth worldwide. She will be based out of the firm’s Zurich office, where she will also take on a leadership role.
“Christine brings three decades of international leadership experience across private and public sectors, with deep expertise in navigating the intricate and fast-evolving challenges of the stakeholder economy. Her exceptional blend of geopolitical insight, strategic communications, and crisis management expertise uniquely positions her to steer FGS’ growth trajectory on a global scale,” said Alex Geiser, Global CEO of FGS.
Graeff is a transformational global leader and seasoned communicator with well-known strategic clarity and high business acumen. She has extensive C-Suite experience and a strong track record of advising top executives and officials that will be invaluable to FGS’ clients.
“I am thrilled to join the FGS team at this pivotal juncture and look forward to driving FGS’ growth and further strengthening our market position globally, in Europe, and Switzerland. FGS provides a unique offering to its clients who are seeking to navigate and succeed in the increasingly complex stakeholder environment,” said Graeff.
Geiser continued: “As FGS Global was formed, Sydney recognized the need for a unified business development and growth framework for the business and willingly took on the challenge. We’re incredibly grateful to her for helping to establish and build the foundational elements needed to drive our strategic growth, which Christine will now build on and accelerate.”
About Christine Graeff
Graeff most recently served on the Executive Board of Credit Suisse as Global Head of People, where she initially led the communications function before fully focusing on People from 2022 onwards. She played a pivotal role during the acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS driving HR integration.
From 2013 to 2020, Graeff was Director General Communications at the European Central Bank (ECB), where she advised both President Draghi and President Lagarde on all aspects of monetary policy communications during critical periods. Before joining the ECB, Graeff was Managing Partner at Brunswick, where she launched and scaled the Group’s German operations, focusing on the firm’s global financial services practice.
Graeff is actively engaged in cultural and social initiatives. She chairs the Board of Trustees of the English Theatre in Frankfurt and serves on the boards of the Ringier Equal Voice Initiative, Mona AI and of the Frankfurt Opera. She was recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
About FGS
FGS Global is a leading global communications and public affairs consultancy, with approximately 1,400 professionals around the world, advising clients in navigating complex stakeholder situations and reputational challenges. FGS was formed from the combination of Finsbury, The Glover Park Group, Hering Schuppener and Sard Verbinnen & Co to offer board-level and C-suite counsel in all aspects of strategic communications — including corporate reputation, crisis management, and public affairs and is also the leading force in financial communications worldwide.
FGS offers seamless and integrated support with offices in the following locations: Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Boston, Brussels, Calgary, Chicago, Dubai, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Houston, Kingston, London, Los Angeles, Munich, Paris, Riyadh, San Francisco, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Toronto, Washington, D.C., South Florida, Vancouver and Zurich. The firm is headquartered in New York.
FGS is consistently ranked a Band 1 PR firm for Crisis & Risk Management and for Litigation Support by Chambers and Partners. For the second year, FGS was ranked #1 Global M&A PR firm by Deal Count and Value in 2023 by Mergermarket.