Founded in 1997 by Sergey Zverev, CROS built on his connections within the Kremlin to establish itself quickly as one of Russia’s leading public relations firms. In its early days, much of the work was conducted on behalf of the state, helping to educate the Russian people about democracy and the workings of the free market economy, but it soon broadened its focus to include public affairs on behalf of corporate clients—helping large western multinationals navigate state government and other institutions—and then to broader corporate work, handling media relations for a number of other blue-chip brands and developing impressive financial communications and corporate social responsibility practices.
In the process, the firm has grown to be one of the two or three largest firms in Russia, with 100 public relations professionals working out of its Moscow headquarters. But CROS has the ability to draw on the expertise of about 400 group employees who specialize in research and analysis and other support disciplines, in the capital and in major cities around the region. The firm continues to handle some state work—major assignments over the past 12 months have included continued work on the Soichi bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics and communications support for the giant Expo 2020—but today the majority of its revenues come from the corporate sector.
The firm is led by president Sergey Zverev, executive vice president Dmirty Kantor and vice presidents Oleg Solodukhin, Olga Peskova, Yuriy Kobyakov, Ilya Politkvsky, and Vladimir Pletuykhin.
CROS has the ability to work across the Commonwealth of Independent States through affiliates and partners.