Develop and invest in your personal brand equity.
It is equity you own yourself, outside any business you run or sit on, and it goes wherever you go.
Your reputation carries the company’s.
- 45%of a company’s reputation, executives say, comes from the reputation of its CEO.Weber Shandwick, The CEO Reputation Premium, 2015
- 44%of a company’s market value, the same executives estimate, is down to the reputation of its CEO.Weber Shandwick, The CEO Reputation Premium, 2015
- 82%of employees will research a CEO’s online presence when considering joining a company.Brunswick Group, Connected Leadership, 2022
- 4 to 1Employees would rather work for a CEO who uses social media than for one who does not.Brunswick Group, Connected Leadership, 2022
- 95%of institutional investors believe a CEO must be an excellent communicator, inside and out, to succeed.FTI Consulting, CEO Leadership Redefined, 2023
- 69%of employees trust their own CEO. CEOs in general: 51%.Edelman Trust Barometer, 2024
Seven places a leader is seen. We work on all of them.
News and television
Podcasts
Documentaries
Content
Conferences
The feed
In print
Chief executives, chairs and founders with a story worth telling.
People we have already put in front of a camera.
Sven GollanChief executive, Teako Minerals
San BArtist, Art by San B
Sifu VikInstructor, Shaolin Academy
- You lead an established company or practice.As chief executive, chair or founder, people already watch what it does.
- You have a story to tell.Years of decisions, most of them never told in public.
- You know one field deeply.Your view carries weight there, and people know the other names.
- You will show up on camera.You do not have to love it. You do have to be there.
Who it is not forAnyone after a big following by next month, or who would rather never be seen. Both are fair.
Four things, held together.
- 01
Values and principles
What you stand for, said plainly and held to in public.
- 02
A perception game
What people believe about you, brought closer to what is true.
- 03
Legacy
What you built and taught, told well enough to outlast any title.
- 04
Front and centre
Features, media and a presence online that keeps growing.
Your field is already talking. We give you a seat at the table.
In the trade press, on the podcasts your peers hear and the stages they book. You bring something only you can say.
When it works- Features
- Quotes
- Invitations
- References
We define your personal brand, then build what carries it.
- Proposition
- Strategy
- Positioning
- Archetype
- One visual identity across everything.
- 01Your bio siteOne place that says who you are.
- 02Your hero filmWhat people watch before they meet you.
- 03Content and socialsStatic and video, run in your voice.
- 04A podcastYour own show, or a seat on theirs.
- 05Campaigns and speakingThe moments, and the stages for them.
- 06News and mediaPress, television and your own byline.
- 07Your own productsWhat you make, write or teach, sold.
- 08Influence, put to workBoards, partnerships, causes, deals.
- 09A brand assistantOne person on it, so nothing waits.
Six steps, from research to growth.
- 01ResearchResearch, analyse, draw insights.
- 02IdeationInspiration and ideation.
- 03The routeChoose the route, hone everything on it.
- 04ExecutionExecution, on all of it.
- 05Go liveLaunched where your field pays attention.
- 06Governance and growthKept consistent, measured, grown.
A chief executive on camera: Sven Gollan, Teako Minerals.
The Sleeping Giant, four documentary episodes with the chief executive on camera. Company work, the same craft.
“WAO helped us communicate the company in a way that feels more transparent, more visual and much closer to what we are building on the ground in Norway.”
Go to the case study
Tell us where you stand today, and we start there.
Two to four weeks. Then a programme you can hold us to.
Tell us what you want to win.
Tell us your role, your field and what you want to be known for. The right people will answer.
