Hearts & Minds: Managing reputation when the CEO turns political powerbroker

Elon Musk denies he is preparing to donate $100m to nigel farage’s reform uk party. But the story refuses to go away and continues to have ‘traction’. Meanwhile, Reform’s new finance chief, property developer Nick Candy, stokes the flames by saying he intends to discuss tactics and funding with Musk. This, after Candy has pledged a ‘seven-figure sum’ to Reform and has spoken about securing hefty donations from other contacts. Labour and the Tories are plotting their response, which will mean trying to fight back in kind.

We appear to be entering a new era of business and politics blurring, of successful entrepreneurs stepping out of the shadows and taking a centre-stage role – not least with Donald Trump, himself from business, back in the White House.

Business chiefs backing political parties is not new; similarly, the path from the corporate to ministerial chair is well-trodden. What’s changed are the amounts of money involved and the willingness of some of those involved to go public, to put themselves firmly in the media spotlight.

Partly too, there has been a shift, in that business stars schooled in KPIs were reluctant to commit large sums without a clear idea of how effectively it was being spent. With the switch from traditional campaign advertising to social media, that is more easily attainable.

This has implications for comms professionals. By no means all, as most business leaders will continue to stay well away. More, however, will enter the fray. The challenge is to keep company and politics separate, to try and stop the corporate brand being harmed by the fallout. That’s relatively straightforward if the donor does not enjoy a high public profile and restricts their interventions.

Where possible, the lines of communication should be kept distinct. There is the company and there is the personal office When they do merge, it is important to appreciate that politics is not like business; it is entirely divisive. Every action will be met with a reaction. Politicians do not say sorry, theirs is a binary existence. They ride the brickbats and they push on. Their comms advisors are the same. They know how to deflect and not answer the question, to carry on getting their point across. It is second nature. Hard hats and thick skins are going to be required.

Chris Blackhurst is one of the UK’s foremost business journalists. He was previously Editor of The Independent and City Editor of the Evening Standard.