Bradley Akubuiro Joins Bully Pulpit Interactive as a Partner
Bradley, the Former Chief Spokesperson for The Boeing Company will Strengthen and Expand Corporate Communications and Lead Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Counsel
Chicago, Illinois (May 13, 2021) — Bully Pulpit Interactive (BPI) announced today that Bradley Akubuiro is joining the agency as a Partner, based in BPI’s Chicago office. As Chief Spokesperson and Senior Director of Global Media Relations at The Boeing Company, Akubuiro has navigated some of the most challenging and well-known corporate crises while re-building trust in the largest aerospace company in the world. Akubuiro’s addition follows an expansion of BPI’s leadership team including former DNC spokesperson, Xochitl Hinojosa, joining as a Managing Director in Washington, D.C. as well as BPI being named Public Affairs and Specialist Agency of the Year by PRovoke Media.
As Chief Spokesperson at Boeing, Akubuiro played a key role in the company’s response to COVID-19, the national conversation around race, and several news-making challenges and milestones in its effort to return the previously grounded 737 MAX to commercial service. In this role, he was responsible for leading Boeing’s team of media relations, media research, and communications insights professionals enterprise-wide in their efforts to advance and protect the company’s interests around the world. Previously, Akubuiro headed the global corporate media relations and public affairs functions for United Technologies Corporation (UTC). At BPI, Akubuiro will use his years of experience at the intersection of corporate, cause, and political communications to strengthen BPI’s corporate communications offering, alongside BPI Partner Ben LaBolt and Senior Counsel Robert Gibbs, and counsel clients through change, crisis, and high visibility media challenges.
“Bradley is a star who has already been battle-tested at the highest levels of communications.” said BPI President Andrew Bleeker. “We are thrilled to add him to our growing leadership team, especially as so many global brands and leaders are finally ready to redefine not just how they communicate, but how they behave as well.”
“BPI has built a smart, integrated approach to corporate communications — I’ve admired them for a long time and couldn’t be more excited to join the team and help lead that practice,” said Akubuiro. “Few moments in corporate history have required as much transformation in how and where companies communicate as the one we face now, between COVID-19, the increasing threat of misinformation, and the societal reckoning around race and identity following the murder of George Floyd and so many others. I’ve been privileged to help Boeing navigate these challenges and I look forward to expanding that work with a broad array of corporations, candidates, and causes.”
At Boeing, Akubuiro was a founding member of the enterprise-wide Racial Equity Task Force which provides counsel to Boeing’s CEO and leadership team on how to create sustainable systemic inclusion and racial equity within the company and the communities in which it operates. Earlier in his career, Akubuiro was an advisor to Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. and Rainbow PUSH, Jackson’s Chicago-based non-profit pursuing social justice, civil rights, and political activism. At BPI, he’ll help companies, organizations, and CEOs navigate this fast moving landscape by bringing Equity, Diversity & Inclusion counsel. This builds on BPI’s work to help brands embrace societal change through meaningful impact.
“Bradley brings a rare trifecta: a skilled crisis counselor, a communicator that understands how to help brands project their broader purpose while achieving their business objectives, and an advisor that understands how companies and CEOs should operate in the midst of massive societal changes,” said BPI Partner Ben LaBolt. “Helping companies down this path is core to BPI’s mission, and Bradley will greatly enhance our offering with his deep experience at the highest levels of corporate communications.”
Akubuiro will also help build out BPI’s Midwest presence, along with spearheading integrated strategic communications projects as a co-lead of the Chicago office for clients nationwide.
