Bradley Akubuiro
Partner &
Corporate Communication Lead
Chicago
Bradley Akubuiro is an internationally recognized expert on corporate reputation and crisis communications, known for counseling Fortune 500 leaders and boards through high-stakes situations that threaten business resilience. He is the author of Faster. Messier. Tougher. Crisis Communications in the Era of Populism, AI, and Distrust.
As a partner at BPI, Bradley leads the corporate communications practice, providing strategic counsel to some of the world’s largest brands across sports, tech, fashion, financial services, food and beverage, manufacturing, and more. He also guides clients on inclusion-related strategy and communications, helping organizations navigate complex cultural, reputational, and stakeholder expectations.
Previously, Bradley served as Chief Spokesperson and Head of Global Media Relations for The Boeing Company during the 737 MAX crisis and COVID-19. Before Boeing, he led global media relations and public affairs for United Technologies (now RTX), navigating industry-altering M&A, presidential intervention, and other complex stakeholder challenges.
His career includes 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 operating as a management consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton.
A prolific writer and commentator, Bradley’s columns appear regularly in Inc. Magazine, where he writes about corporate leadership and communications. His insights have been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Bloomberg, Axios, and The Boston Globe in the US. And internationally in publications including The Economic Times of India, The Star of South Africa, The Globe and Mail (Canada), and the Irish Independent. In 2022, he was named to 40 Under 40 lists by both Crain’s Chicago Business and PRWeek. He is the author of Faster. Messier. Tougher. Crisis Communications in the Era of Populism, AI, and Distrust.
Bradley is an adjunct lecturer at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, and Integrated Marketing Communications – his alma mater – where he also serves on the school’s 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. He is based in Chicago.
