LONDON—Ketchum has formed an alliance with Kenyon International, one of the world’s leading crisis management firms, to deliver an integrated global crisis, disaster management and communications offer. The partnership pairs Kenyon’s disaster management expertise, which includes on-the-ground, post-disaster response, with Ketchum’s global crisis communications experience.

According to David Gallagher, CEO of Ketchum's European operations, in the event of disasters that include casualties and even fatalities, integration and collaboration between operations and communications is critical to a rapid and effective response that keeps all vital stakeholders informed and that lack of alignment can be disastrous for an organization’s reputation and operations.

Adds Robert Jensen, Kenyon CEO, “Many organizations believe they are ready to manage complex and sudden events involving people. But recent history has shown that, in reality, most aren't. They have not identified the surge resources of people, equipment and systems immediately needed to manage and respond to these events. It is only when an event occurs that organizations discover the shortfalls in planning, training and response.”

The partnership will be led out of London and is global in reach. Kenyon and Ketchum will support industries in evaluating the processes, procedures, and partners they have in place to support them during major and often tragic events involving people.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, it has offices and facilities in Sydney, Australia; London, UK; Beirut, Lebanon; and Hong Kong.