Elliot Jackson

Business & Financial Consultant

Fourteen years ago I stepped in to the world of public relations and succeeded in understanding what makes account staff tick. For a finance guy, I learned that this was a pretty unusual skill. During that time I have worked for one of the most successful PR agencies in England as their commercial financial consultant with PR firms amongst my clients.

These clients have tended to be the small to medium-sized firms who are growing rapidly and who would welcome advice from someone who has a grasp of what their business is about. My role within these companies has been one of providing strong support to all levels of staff, from director to account executive, and to encourage and help them improve their efficiency and effectiveness in all things commercial.

I am now based permanently in the US. My background is that of an accountant and in 1987 I joined Countrywide Porter Novelli, one of the largest Public Relations companies in the UK who later became a major player within the US-based Omnicom group who own Porter Novelli, Ketchum and Brodeur amongst others. What distinguished this position for me, from that of working in other industries, was the challenge of pitting the creative brain of the PR practitioner with the need for strong commercial awareness and performance.

Not long after I joined CPN, I formed the first-ever finance directors' forum within the PR industry and I also became a member of the Consultancies Management Committee that provides a wide range of advice to agencies of all sizes.

Recognizing a need within the industry for good business and financial advice I set up on my own in 1998 to develop a client-base in the UK, primarily from PR firms. I work with these companies to help develop the controls and systems that allow them to improve profitability without hampering their prime need to provide high-level client focused work - this is what I call "working smarter".

There are many different ways of doing business, not all of them conventional, and I have found that my understanding of the industry helps bring things out into the open. I want to work with people who want to make a difference.

I would very much welcome the opportunity to speak with you and also to show you how I believe that I can help you to improve the profitability of your business by working smarter.