5 November 2025
Ithaca is excited to unveil its FTSE 100 Corporate Affairs Benchmarking survey
Ithaca is very excited to unveil its FTSE 100 Corporate Affairs Benchmarking survey – showing how Britain’s biggest listed businesses are responding to global instability and sluggish growth in their markets.
We surveyed 51 FTSE 100 companies – including 17 of the FTSE 20 – and the headline finding is stark: 54% of Corporate Affairs teams now prioritise company strategy and growth over stakeholder trust (34%).
Our team has spent decades working with clients and candidates, and our research confirms what we’ve been observing: the best people doing the job have always been super-commercial. And the positioning of the role has changed – the specialist adviser has become a core strategic decision maker. 64% of Corporate Affairs chiefs now report directly to the CEO, and circa 50% sit on executive committees.
These aren’t cosmetic changes – they reflect how geopolitical volatility, trade tensions and regulatory uncertainty have become business-critical issues demanding senior leadership attention.
The implications for how the Corporate Affairs function is structured in these volatile times are profound. Please get in touch for more information at laura.williams@ithacapartners.co.uk.
