United Minds Expands Its Global Management Consultancy with a New C-Suite Advisory, Myriant, Focused on Business Resiliency & Stakeholder Management

-  New consultancy tackles business resiliency across the stakeholder landscape – combining United Minds' deep organizational transformation heritage with Myriant's external stakeholder expertise

-  Myriant by United Minds provides insights and counsel for an integrated approach to complex business decisions and stakeholder management strategies.

-  New stakeholder study by Myriant and the University of Southern California Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism reveals business leaders and their stakeholders agree that societal dynamics have a material impact on business performance and value creation.

NEW YORK, May 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In the not-so-distant past, business leaders took separate and siloed approaches to setting business strategy, managing different stakeholder expectations and assessing their company's impact on society. Today, business resiliency and stakeholder relationship management are intertwined. 

Enter Myriant by United Minds, a business resiliency consultancy which applies a stakeholder lens to advise their clients on various risks and opportunities which often arise against a backdrop of geopolitical fractures, social and political polarization and misinformation.

Myriant's management consultants utilize a network of advisors from business, government and politics, civil society and academia, along with industry exclusive, AI-backed analytics and insights. Myriant's advisory areas include: Emerging Risk Management, Capital Markets Advisory, ESG Advisory and The Futures Media Lab.

"United Minds' organizational transformation work over the last five years gives us unique insight into the myriad business challenges facing leaders today. Not only are executives bombarded by information and misinformation, but they are also confronted by a complex and rapidly changing attitude about the role of business in society today. Against that backdrop, leaders need access to the best data sets and the best minds in order to make the most effective decisions," said Kate Bullinger, CEO, United Minds.

New Stakeholder Study Reveals Alignment with C-suite Perspectives
A new Myriant study, conducted in partnership with the University of Southern California Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, found that a company's understanding and management of societal impacts has a direct effect on decision making and behavior among employees, consumers and investors:

• Nine in 10 investors consider social and environmental impacts important when buying a company's stock.
• Seven in 10 consumers and employees consider social and environmental issues when buying a product or service and joining or leaving a company, respectively.

Additional Myriant research found that CEOs & C-suite leaders believe societal issues are now directly connected to commercial performance.

• In anticipation of a recession and increased market volatility, the majority of business leaders aim to proactively focus on navigating social headwinds, understanding risks stemming from misinformation, addressing societal disruption and economic displacement.
• However, less than half of the executives feel equipped to lead in areas such as political and social issues (49%), geopolitical issues (47%) and climate change (45%).

Collectively, these findings suggest that business leaders should not be distracted by debates about 'woke companies' or the false choice of whether or not companies and investors should 'choose' an ESG strategy. Instead, every part of the C-suite must recognize they can and should navigate business opportunities and risks with the objective of both achieving high commercial performance and maintaining a social license to operate.

"Myriant applies the same rigor to the external stakeholder environment that United Minds as a culture change consultancy brings to the internal business environment," said Ben Kalevitch, managing director, Myriant. "In both cases, we believe business decisions should integrate and align an individual company's specific commercial objectives, resiliency considerations and the expectations of their specific stakeholders – which requires applying a multi-stakeholder lens to business strategy."

Myriant launches with several client engagements including supporting a Fortune 100 company in spinning off one of its key divisions, providing stakeholder insights to the Board of Directors of a logistics company surrounding an operational crisis and counseling a top consumer brand on how to address a bot-driven attack on its reputation that has had a negative impact on its valuation.

To learn more about Myriant and its capabilities, visit: myriant.com

About Myriant
Myriant by United Minds is a management consultancy dedicated to helping organizations navigate the risks and opportunities in today's increasingly complex world. By bringing a stakeholder lens to business decisions, we help leaders safeguard reputation, improve valuation and build business resiliency.

Leveraging proprietary AI technology, robust data sets, stakeholder advisors and a highly specialized partner network, Myriant delivers actionable intelligence and practical ideas that help leaders develop stakeholder fluency and forge a more confident path forward. 

About United Minds
United Minds, part of The Weber Shandwick Collective, is a global management consultancy dedicated to making business more human. Our team of 70+ management consultants, business strategists, communicators and HR professionals know how to harness the power of your people to solve your most critical business challenges as you transform. This includes culture change, employee experience, DEI, change management and leadership impact.

The Weber Shandwick Collective
The Weber Shandwick Collective (TWSC) is the earned-first strategic communications and consulting network built for the convergence of society, media, policy and technology. In addition to Weber Shandwick, TWSC brands include Cappuccino, Current Global, dna, Flipside, KRC Research, Powell Tate, Prime Weber Shandwick, Resolute Digital, Revive, ThatLot and United Minds. The Weber Shandwick Collective is part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). For more information, visit https://thewebershandwickcollective.com.

CONTACT: Ross Kleinrock, [email protected]

SOURCE Weber Shandwick