Bradley Akubuiro

About

Bradley Akubuiro is a nationally recognized expert on corporate reputation and crisis communications, known for counseling Fortune 50 leaders through high-stakes situations where billions of dollars and organizational survival hang in the balance.

As a partner at Bully Pulpit International—an advisory firm founded by leaders of the Obama campaigns and administration—Bradley leads the corporate communications practice, providing strategic counsel to some of the world’s largest brands and leaders across sports, tech, fashion, food, hospitality, and more.

Previously, Bradley served as Chief Spokesperson and Head of Global Media Relations for The Boeing Company, representing the company through the 737 MAX crisis, COVID-19, and national conversations around race following George Floyd’s murder. Before Boeing, he led global media relations and public affairs for United Technologies (now RTX), where he navigated industry-altering M&A, Presidential intervention and other complex stakeholder challenges.

His career includes diverse experiences that shaped his approach to communications: serving as policy advisor to Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., working as a governance reform consultant in post-civil war Liberia under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and providing management consulting at Booz Allen Hamilton.

A prolific writer and commentator, Bradley’s columns appear regularly in Inc. Magazine, where he writes about the intersection of corporate culture and values. His insights have been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Bloomberg, Axios, and The Boston Globe. In 2022, he was named to 40 Under 40 lists by both Crain’s Chicago Business and PR Week.

Bradley is an adjunct lecturer at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, and Integrated Marketing Communications, where he also serves on the Board of Advisors. He serves on the boards of The Institute for Public Relations and The 19th* News and is a member of the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

A Northwestern University graduate, Bradley resides in Chicago with his wife Allison England, also a senior communications leader.