About RI
Reputation Institute (RI) is the leading international organization devoted to advancing knowledge about corporate reputations and to providing professional assistance to companies interested in measuring and managing their reputations proactively. Founded in 1997, Reputation Institute has been and remains a pioneer and global leader in the development of measurement tools and in offering advice and counsel to leading companies around the world.
Our Approach
Through systematic research and analysis, Reputation Institute helps companies build comprehensive strategies and make operational decisions that are designed to align stakeholders with corporate objectives and thereby create tangible economic value.
In 2006, Reputation Institute launched the Global RepTrak™ System to identify and assess the world's most respected companies. The annual survey interviews more than 30,000 consumers in 29 countries using a standardized measurement system to rate the overall health of 600 of the world's largest companies. The results were featured in numerous publications around the world, and most prominently in Forbes in the US. The study is being repeated annually and enables us to provide unprecedented benchmarking capability for our clients.
Reputation Institute also conducts extensive internal analysis of employee alignment to assist clients in building increased support for their corporate strategies. We rely on proprietary methodologies embodied in our EcQ® System to identify internal weaknesses that prevent companies from building genuine ambassadorship and that limit their strategic capabilities. EcQ® has proven its value in both large global companies, as well as in smaller entrepreneurial firms.
Senior managers of leading companies around the world have come to trust Reputation Institute for our ability to draw on our extensive knowledge and research, sophisticated analysis, rigorous methodologies, and on our international network of experienced partners and advisors to help them develop robust and actionable reputation strategies. We invite organizations and individuals to take advantage of our proven and proprietary analytical tools, and work with our experts to manage, grow, and protect your organization's reputation.
Our Team
Reputation Institute's global network of local offices, associates, academics, and practitioners regularly produces thought leadership about corporate reputations that is shared in our conferences and workshops, and gets featured in our newsletters and in our peer-reviewed quarterly journal, Corporate Reputation Review. Our team consists of well-known thought leaders such as Reputation Institute founders Drs. Charles J. Fombrun and Cees B.M. van Riel, authors of acclaimed books such as Reputation: Realizing Value from the Corporate Image, Essentials of Corporate Communication, and Fame & Fortune: How the World's Most Successful Companies Build Winning Reputations. Reputation Institute also brings together a team of Senior Advisors with extensive hands-on knowledge and experience in specific areas that are critical to effective strategic development and execution of reputation management programs.
Reputation Institute is led by three main groups:
(1) Board of Directors, (2) Executive Group, (3) Leadership Team
Charles Fombrun, Chairman is Chairman and co-founder of Reputation Institute. Dr. Fombrun is a former Professor of Management at NYU's Stern School of Business where he was on the standing faculty from 1984 to 2004. He was also Professor of Management at The Wharton School from 1979 to 1984. Dr. Fombrun is the author of numerous books, including the path-breaking best-seller Reputation: Realizing Value from the Corporate Image, first released by Harvard Business School Press in 1996. Dr. Fombrun has published hundreds of articles in leading management journals, and is the creator of reputation management systems used by many companies around the world.
Cees van Riel, Vice-Chairman is Vice-Chairman and co-founder of Reputation Institute; and RI Director for The Netherlands. Dr. van Riel is also a Professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam and head of its Corporate Communication Centre. His most recent book, co-authored with Charles Fombrun, is Essentials of Corporate Communication. Cees is the author of numerous books and articles, creator of the EcQ® Alignment Monitor, and co-author with Charles Fombrun of Fame & Fortune: How the World's Leading Companies Build Winning Reputations.
Kasper Nielsen is Managing Partner of Reputation Institute responsible for North America. Kasper has been engaged in international reputation management since 2000 helping companies in a range of industries such as Pharmaceuticals, Information Technology, Food and Beverage, Public Transportation, and Financial Services.
Kasper has made numerous presentations at international conferences on reputation management, as well as published a number of articles in Corporate Reputation Review as well as Journal of Marketing Communications. Kasper is also the co-author of the book Introduction to Organizational Theory published in 1999. Kasper is a graduate from Copenhagen Business School and holds an MBA from McGill University in Canada.
Nicolas Trad is Managing Partner of Reputation Institute and responsible overall for RI's office and partner network. Nicolas earned his MSc in Intercultural Management from Copenhagen Business School and holds an MBA from UADE, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Nicolas has helped companies and countries improve within areas such as Corporate Reputation, Country Reputation, City Reputation, Corporate Branding, Employer Branding, CSR, Sustainability and HR. He has worked with companies around the world within industries such as Pharmaceuticals, Telecommunications, Financial Services, Energy, Transportation, Consumer Goods and Electronics.
Nicolas has published articles in numerous publications including Corporate Reputation Review and Journal of Marketing Communications and is a frequent speaker at international conferences.
Majken Schultz Majken Schultz, PhD and Master of Organization, is Professor at Copenhagen Business School and partner in Reputation Institute. Her research interests are located at the interface between culture, identity and image, corporate branding and reputation management. She has published more than 50 articles in international journals. Among her books are The Expressive Organization and Organizational Identity with Oxford University Press. Her most recent book also with Hatch is Taking Brand Initiative: How Companies Can Align Their Strategy, Culture and Identity Through Corporate Branding with Jossey Bass. She serves on several company boards and is also active in the public debate.
Kasper NielsenManaging Partner
Nicolas TradManaging Partner
Ana Luisa de Castro Almeida — Managing Director RI Brazil, Partner
BioAna Luísa Almeida is Managing Director and Academic Representative for the Reputation Institute in Brazil. On the academic field she has a doctorate in Business Administration at the UFMG in Brazil and Erasmus University in Holland and currently lectures at PUC Minas and FDC, two of the most renowned education institutions in Brazil. As a consultant, she has an experience of more than 20 years in the field of Corporate Communication, developing projects for companies such as Cemig, Vale, Petrobras, Gerdau, Samarco, ArcelorMittal, Holcim, amongst many others.
Dominik Heil — Managing Director RI South Africa, Partner
BioDominik Heil is managing director of RI South Africa as well as senior lecturer in strategy at the Wits Business School in Johannesburg, South Africa. He holds a PhD (University of the Witwatersrand) and a Diplom Kaufmann (Ludwig-Maximilian Universität, Munich/Germany). Prior to joining Wits Business School in 1999 he held numerous positions at different companies as follows: Corporate Analyst, Economist and Business Developer at Hypo-Vereinsbank (1993-1994); was responsible for the management and turnaround of Cheetah Airtools Engineering (Pty) Ltd (1994 -1995); Senior Consultant at Andersen (1996-1998) and Principal at the Centre for Innovative Leadership (1998). Dominik is Chairman of the Board of Junior Achievement South Africa, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the entrepreneurial education of the youth.
Anthony Johndrow — Managing Director RI US, Partner
BioAnthony Johndrow is responsible for RI's U.S. Advisory practice. In this role as well as his previous role as COO of an international Corporate Brand consultancy, Anthony has been involved in reputation management and strategy consulting in Consumer Products, Financial Services, Pharmaceuticals, Biotech, Media, and Information Technology. Anthony has spent more than 14 years in a combination of brand management, general management, corporate communications, and public affairs roles, including stints at Procter & Gamble and The Coca-Cola Company (as founder of The Coca-Cola Think Tank).
Since teaching Economics and Statistics as an undergrad at Harvard, Anthony has regularly spoken and written about Branding and Corporate Reputation.
Henrik Stroier — Managing Director RI Denmark, Partner
BioHenrik Stroier is Managing Director of Reputation Institute Denmark, where he and his team assist leading Danish companies in building and leveraging strong corporate reputations. Henrik has held national and international positions within communication and marketing—with more than 15 years of experience in fields such as Food & Soft drinks, Pharmaceuticals, Technology, and Healthcare. He brings a strong ability to activate insights, strategize and create cross-organizational communication platforms. Henrik holds a BA in strategic planning and an Executive MBA from Henley Management College.
Matthew Pan — Managing Director RI China, Partner
BioDr. Matthew Pan is the Managing Director of RI Greater China. His 20 years of professional experiences cut across three distinctive career paths, academic research, investment management and foreign service. Matthew’s prior positions include Deputy Director of China Venture Capital Research Institute (HK), Researcher of the United Nations University (Tokyo), Managing Director of Xiangcai Securities International (Shanghai & HK), and Investment Manager at RBC (Toronto). Dr. Pan taught development economics in York and Trend Universities. He co-founded the Institute of Social Development and Public Policy (Beijing). Matthew began his career as a diplomat and worked in 26 countries in the areas of international education and development assistance.
A student of John Butterfield at University of Cambridge and Reg Revans at University of Manchester, Matthew earned his Ph.D. in regional economics at the University of Sheffield in 1999 under the supervision of Ian Gow and Ippei Yamazawa.
Leonard Ponzi — Managing Director RI Research, Partner
BioLeonard's 15+ years of multi-industry experience is a unique blend of qualitative and analytical research. Prior to joining Reputation Institute, Leonard spent three years with GfK as a Sr. Research Director managing clients interested in improving customer satisfaction and loyalty, entering new markets, developing new products, and conducting competitive analyses. He also was adjunct faculty member for 10 years at City of New York University, Baruch College and later Pace University where he instructed graduate courses in marketing, marketing research, and consumer behaviour. Leonard has been a speaker at various conferences and has several publications in the area of management and statistics. Leonard holds an MBA and a Ph.D.
Seth Kerker — Director, Knowledge Center
BioSeth Kerker is responsible for RI's Knowledge Center, oversees the Corporate Communication team, and manages the RI membership community. He also directs RI's annual conference. Seth has 15 years of experience in the communication and marketing space working for The Economist Group, among others, having overseen projects in more than 15 countries. He has a Masters degree in Marketing Communications & Advertising from Emerson College in Boston.
Fernando Prado — Managing Director RI Spain, Partner
BioFernando Prado is Managing Director of Reputation Institute Spain. Previously, Fernando worked for WPP Group for 10 years (1997-2006) serving in different functions and locations related to brand strategy development including: CEO and Founder of Kantya Brand Strategies, Spain, J. Walter Thompson Madrid (Head of Strategic Planning), WPP New York (Brand Strategy Consultant), Millward Brown Chicago (Worldwide Coordinator of BRANDZ), OgilvyOne New York (Strategic Planner), and Bassat Ogilvy & Mather Madrid (account service). Prior to WPP Fernando worked in marketing for diverse companies such as L'Oréal (Madrid), Pescanova (Vigo) and Unisys (London). He has developed award winning advertising and brand management strategies, including two "Grand Prix" in Spain: Viajes Iberia (2002) and BBVA (2005). Fernando holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) degree in Business Administration from ICADE (Madrid) and Middlesex University (London), and an MBA from IESE (Barcelona). He is fluent in Spanish, English and French.
William Pullen — Managing Director RI Chile, Partner
BioWilliam Pullen directs the RI office in Chile, were he directs both, the membership and the consulting area. Prior to joining the Reputation Institute, he was General Manager of Generación Empresarial, a network of more than 40 companies committed to develop ethics and best business practices in Chile. Previously William worked as export manager of several companies, acquiring global experience in diverse cultures, markets and products. He has a background on business administration, holds an MBA from Universidad Adolfo Ibañez and complementary studies as Philosophy and Leadership.