SEC Newgate launches landmark PR2030 report on the future of global communications and opens office in Kyiv, Ukraine

This week, we published ‘PR2030: The Future of Global Communications’, a major research and thought leadership initiative exploring how communicators and advisors must adapt to accelerating technological, societal, and macroeconomic change.

The report, based on insights from 500 colleagues across the group, examines the forces reshaping the communications industry, from the rise of AI and misinformation to shifting stakeholder expectations, and outlines how communicators can lead with purpose, ethics and strategic foresight in a high-risk, low-trust world.

Crucially, the report identifies two possible future scenarios for the industry - one optimistic, one pessimistic - and outlines what they mean for communicators and corporate affairs teams as they navigate towards 2030. Key findings of the report are:

• AI is reshaping roles: communicators must blend creativity, data fluency and AI literacy to become both strategists and technologists.
• Trust is critical: in a world of deepfakes and misinformation, communicators must lead with ethics, transparency and purpose.
• Human-AI collaboration: AI enhances speed, but human judgment, empathy and oversight remain vital.
• Scenario planning: the report outlines both optimistic and pessimistic futures, urging firms to prepare for both.

Commenting on the report, SEC Newgate CEO, Fiorenzo Tagliabue, said: “Today’s communicators must fuse classic rhetoric skills with data fluency and ethical judgment as well as a full understanding of global affairs. In an era defined by misinformation, volatility, and rapid global shifts, only those who act as 'guardians of truth' will shape a resilient and credible communications landscape. Teams are poised to transform into a mix of ‘organisational strategists’ and ‘communications technologists’.”

Last week, SEC Newgate opened an office in Ukraine as part of the group’s strategy to expand its business in Eastern Europe. SEC Newgate Ukraine will become a partner both for international companies planning to enter the Ukrainian market and for Ukrainian businesses expanding their presence abroad. The focus will be on corporate communications, crisis and reputation management, government relations, and in support of M&A and IPOs.

SEC Newgate CEO, Fiorenzo Tagliabue, said: “We are proud to expand our global offering into Ukraine. We want to play an active role towards a new future of peace and prosperity for Ukraine. We are here to help all companies and organisations who are willing to support Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts and we will be providing them with world-leading crisis management, corporate communications and advocacy advice.

“Our strong European roots drive us towards this new effort to support a transition of Ukraine towards its natural continent of belonging.”