The Office of Marshall Comins – Integrated Solutions for a Complex World

THE OFFICE OF

Marshall Comins

Expertise: Crisis management, strategic consulting, integrated problem-solving, Russia and Eurasia, Sub-Saharan Africa

Profile

Marshall Comins is a senior advisor, specializing in strategic consulting, international advocacy, crisis management and complex issue resolution.

A Russia and Eurasia specialist, Marshall works with clients to resolve the most complex issues, advance their interests and build the right arguments before the public. He has a track record of executing integrated programs for clients that add value to their agenda.

Some important information about Marshall:

+ Marshall has a trusted relationship with clients in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. A fluent Russian and Ukrainian speaker, he has time and again secured for clients solutions to their most problematic issues. In recent years, he has spent increasing time in Sub-Saharan Africa.

+ Marshall was a senior advisor (technical, digital and strategic communications) to one of the world’s most prominent international electoral campaign managers for more than five years, collaborating on a broad array of political and issue campaigns and other initiatives from the Middle East to Sub-Saharan Africa to Eastern Europe.

+ Marshall has established over the years a strong personal network of political and business stakeholders from Russia and Eurasia to Africa to the United States to Central and Western Europe, allowing him to swiftly identify and mobilize the required resources for clients.

Qualifications

Education

+ MA, International Relations (Concentration in Strategic Studies) and International Economics, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University

Key Appointments, Affiliations and Activities: Past [-] and Present [+]

– Senior Advisor for International Affairs (External), H.E. Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, Former Governor and Presidential Candidate, Forbes-Listed Entrepreneur, Founder of SLOK Nigeria Ltd.

– Special Advisor for Russia, Eurasia and East Asia (External), Forbes-Listed Entrepreneur in Nigeria, with Global Interests Spanning Telecommunications, Oil and Gas and Retail

– Senior Advisor for Strategy (External), Ambassador of Zimbabwe to the Russian Federation

– Special Advisor for International Strategy (External), Former Head of State in CEE Country

+ Senior Advisor for International Affairs, Global Petroleum Group (Grenada)

+ Founder and CEO, Global Executive Outcomes Group Limited (UAE)

– Partner and Executive Vice President of Global Affairs, Stone Strategic Solutions

+ Co-Founder and Non-Executive Director, H5 Strategies

– Member, Euro-Atlantic Security Initiative (EASI) Next Generation Leaders Network, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

+ Vice President, Strategic Consulting, Romanian-American Business Council

+ Special Advisor to the President, African Judo Union

– Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Russian Softball Federation, and, Executive Director of Global Communications, Romanian Baseball Federation

– Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Washington East West Political Strategies

Case Studies

Campaigns – WorldwideMarshall served as a senior advisor to one of the world’s foremost international campaign managers and political consultants for more than five years. The work spanned the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe. Marshall provided technical, strategic communications and digital insight on a variety of campaigns and initiatives, and also led special projects.
Strategic Advocacy – The BalkansMarshall served as an advisor on a project to garner support for an adamantly pro-American former public official amid a multiyear, politically motivated attack against him, which was initiated largely as a result of his historically unprecedented crackdown on illegal narcotics trafficking while in office. The project included high-level meetings with and outreach to the State Department, Department of Defense, Congress, and the Intelligence Community.
Politics & Sport – Russia & EurasiaMarshall frequently seeks out non-profile projects. One such initiative included managing the career transition of a UFC legend and former American mixed-martial-artist from the ring to politics in Russia. The client became an integral part of Russia’s media and political scene and more visible than any foreigner in domestic politics since the country’s independence in 1991, leading processions with prominent figures on Red Square and rising to the status of a national superstar. The campaign was covered by national, regional and international media.
Politics & Business – Sub-Saharan AfricaAs part of a crisis management program to help a former politician and one of Africa’s most successful businesspersons safeguard his interests amid a politically motivated campaign against him, Marshall co-led a campaign to secure hundreds of publications in international media, while implementing regional and international advocacy, business development and strategic partnership-building activities. The work mobilized stakeholders and led to alliances with leading brands, helping the client add leverage to his effort to fight off opposing forces.
Crisis Management – Russia & EurasiaMarshall led a multiyear crisis management program to assist an acclaimed entrepreneur whose business was subjected to a raid in Eastern Europe. The integrated program included national and international government relations and strategic communications activities, extensive collaboration with legal teams, and the mobilization of targeted stakeholders.
Energy Sector – Russia & EurasiaMarshall’s experience in the energy industry is significant and includes executing a strategy campaign for Russia’s first large-scale waste-oil refinery project. He has worked with one of Ukraine’s largest private natural gas companies and assisted two Eurasian diversified energy giants in developing multiyear national and international communications strategies. He presently serves as a senior advisor for international affairs with Global Petroleum Group (GPG), a company implementing offshore oil and gas projects in the Caribbean.
Crisis Management – Central EuropeMarshall consulted a major telecom company amid highly publicized, politically motivated accusations against its CEO and board. The integrated advocacy program included crisis management, strategic communications and government relations activities, as well as interfacing with legal teams. It also included a corporate image campaign that centered on an advertisement, which became the most viewed in the company’s history, tallying over 1 million views in days. The program played an integral role in the positive resolution of the crisis situation.
Investor Relations – Russia & EurasiaMarshall managed an international communications and investor relations campaign for Russia’s best-known female entrepreneur. The campaign resulted in extensive global coverage of her and her company and played a crucial role in her securing a multimillion investment from an Abramovich-Abramov investment vehicle. It also included business development and strategic partnership-building activities, such as meetings with the CEO of Tesco and other major corporations, and engaging influencers such as rock legend Bryan Adams.
Diplomacy – Russia & AfricaAs part of his work with Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Russia, Marshall managed an initiative to bring Russia’s global promotional newspaper, Russia Beyond The Headlines (RBTH), to Africa. Successful negotiations were held between Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Information and Publicity, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the former publisher of RBTH, and Zimbabwe’s flagship state newspaper, The Herald. Although a principle arrangement was reached, RBTH changed ownership, with the new owners deciding to drop all print versions worldwide amid the shifting media landscape.
Strategic Partnership – Sub-Saharan AfricaAs part of his work for a Nigerian oil magnate and publisher, who owns the country’s largest daily tabloid and one of its most popular political broadsheets, Marshall organized a strategic partnership with The International New York Times, its first-ever in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Campaigns – Central EuropeMarshall opened, managed and successfully exited a public affairs firm in Central Europe, which managed and/or advised national and EU parliamentary and presidential campaigns in the late 2010s.
Media Projects – Eastern Europe & EurasiaEarlier in his career, Marshall worked as an editor with, managed and consulted an assortment of media in Eastern Europe and Eurasia in Russian, Ukrainian, Azerbaijani and English. He published a city newspaper in Poland, which he sold, and a cultural magazine in Ukraine.