Observed Signal · Aug 20, 2026 · Interview · Source: The Drum · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
PR Gains C‑Suite Influence, Says EY's Rachel Lloyd
Rachel Lloyd, director of global media relations and social media at EY and president of the PR jury for The Drum Awards Festival, argues that communications is finally earning a seat in the C‑suite as reputational risk, social media and AI increase organizational visibility. She expects integrated comms teams, greater executive visibility (especially on LinkedIn), growth of the creator economy in B2B, and the use of AI tools to augment — not replace — communicators. Lloyd also outlines what she looks for in award-winning PR work: clear storytelling, measurable delivery, and creativity combined with commercial evidence.
Provides practitioner-level insight on PR trends (C‑suite influence, creator economy, AI in communications) relevant to comms, marketing and agency strategies but is not a major platform policy or technical release.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Rachel Lloyd is director of global media relations and social media at EY.
- Lloyd is heading up the PR jury at The Drum Awards Festival.
- Lloyd led the PR campaign around the launch of EY.ai and has been an early user of Microsoft Copilot within EY.
- She predicts executive profile-building on platforms like LinkedIn and growth of the creator economy in B2B communications.
- Lloyd says AI should be used to make communicators more effective, not to replace them.
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Chief Communications Officers Rise as Strategic Advisors
At an ADWEEK House Cannes Lions Communications Vanguard roundtable co-hosted with Burson, senior communications leaders from major brands argued the chief communications officer role has shifted from crisis manager to strategic, enterprise-level advisor. Panelists — including Damon Jones (P&G), Craig Buchholz (Burson), Gigi Ganatra (eBay), Adam Collins (Reddit) and Jason Schlossberg (SharkNinja) — said communications now informs business decisions earlier, helps protect and build trust and reputation, and must coordinate across functions because audiences no longer occupy separate lanes. The discussion emphasized that reputation underpins customer, employee and investor behavior and that earlier communications involvement improves outcomes for growth and change. The piece was published by ADWEEK and created in partnership with Burson.
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