#WeLeadComms: Andrei Philip Iacob

London-based communication leader Andrei Philip Iacob is today’s #WeLeadComms honoree.

In his words:

“Unlike many people in PR today, I always knew this was where I wanted to be.

“Part of that came from growing up around media. My mum owned a local radio station and later led a newspaper back in Romania, so conversations about headlines and public perception were never far from the dinner table.

“I was equally fascinated by the larger-than-life characters I saw on screen. From Keanu Reeves’ ad exec in Sweet November to Samantha Jones’s PR guru for celebs in Sex and the City, they made the industry look fast-paced, creative and exciting. The reality turned out to involve fewer glamorous parties and more deadlines and strategy decks.

“More than a decade later, that’s still what I love most about communications. No two days are ever the same. One day you’re helping shape the narrative around a major acquisition. The next, you’re building a thought leadership programme, launching research, dealing with a crisis or coaching an exec before a big interview.

“Today, as an Account Director at Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, I’ve had the privilege of working with some incredible brands across tech and media. That includes helping organisations like Ericsson and Avid strengthen their market position, supporting Valtech through its merger with Kin + Carta, working with Seismic during its acquisition of Highspot, and building global visibility programmes for Smart Communications.

“I’ve also spent a lot of time helping ambitious challengers take on much larger competitors. Some of the work I’m proudest of has been with RtBrick, where we developed a campaign that helped reshape industry conversations around broadband infrastructure and network disaggregation. The ‘State of Disaggregation’ campaign went on to earn recognition at the Bell Ringer Awards, proving that the strongest ideas don’t always come from the biggest brands.

“And these experiences have reinforced something I’ve believed throughout my career: it doesn’t matter if you’re a billion-dollar company or a scrappy start-up, communications is at its best when creativity and strategy work hand in hand.

“I’ve always been drawn to work that challenges conventional thinking rather than simply adds to the noise. We produce more research than ever as an industry, but too often we stop at the headline statistic. The real opportunity lies in asking what sits behind the numbers. What does it mean for customers? For businesses? For society? What assumptions does it challenge?

“That’s what keeps me excited about this industry more than a decade later.”

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