Author:
Lebo Madiba
Managing Director, PR Powerhouse & Speaker at Davos Communications Summit 2025

Power is shifting. Influence is no longer concentrated but dispersed. Narratives unfold across boardrooms, browsers and borders. The old boundaries separating politics, business and diplomacy are increasingly blurred. As the global conversation fragments, the pressure on corporate leaders to respond with clarity, credibility and strategy is intensifying. In this new environment CEOs need to understand and speak the evolving language of leadership.

In this new global order, policy can be shaped by hashtags. Trade can be disrupted by one presidential tweet. Reputations, built over decades, can unravel in days. Diplomacy itself, once the preserve of statesmen and envoys, has been redefined. In this volatile landscape the corporate leader is increasingly called to play a diplomatic role. Not because they want to. But because they must.

While diplomacy has long been part of the CEO’s remit, often quietly negotiated in back channels, the modern version is more exposed, more urgent and more politically charged. CEOs must now operate not through handshakes and protocol, but through influence, clarity and foresight. Their voice is increasingly relevant in debates on war, climate disruption, social justice, migration and national sovereignty. Silence is no longer safe. Neutrality is often interpreted as complicity.

The World Communications Forum Association (WCFA) held its Annual General Assembly on May 15, 2025, via Zoom. As the highest decision-making body of the organization, the General Assembly brought together members from around the world to elect new leadership, approve changes to the Statute, and plan the Association’s future.

A key highlight of the meeting was the election of the new Executive Committee, reinforcing WCFA’s commitment to strong and globally representative governance. The newly elected and returning members include experienced professionals from around the world: the newly elected Lars Voedisch (Singapore) – Founder & CEO, PRecious Communications, and the returning members Mary Beth West (USA) – Senior Strategist, #PRethics Community Founder, Stuart Bruce (UK) – Co-Founder, Purposeful Relations, Thabisile Phumo (South Africa) – Executive VP Stakeholder Relations, Sibanye-Stillwater.

All Executive Committee members will also act as Regional Presidents for their respective continents.

The General Assembly also re-elected Mina Nazari (Iran), General Director of PR at the Power Distribution Company of Tabriz, as WCFA Controller for another term, following the newly approved amendments to the Statute.

In addition, Maxim Behar, CEO of M3 Communications Group (Bulgaria), was re-elected as WCFA President, continuing his long-standing leadership and global influence in the communications industry.

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The Davos Communications Awards 2025 celebrated excellence in global public relations and communications at a prestigious Gala Dinner held in the heart of the Swiss Alps. Organized by the World Communications Forum Association (WCFA), the event took place during the annual Davos Communications Summit and recognized outstanding campaigns, strategies, and leadership from 18 countries across 4 continents.

This year’s awards spotlighted achievements across 24 categories, with entries submitted by PR agencies, in-house teams, and independent professionals. The full list of winners is available at: www.davosawards.com.

Maxim Behar, President of the World Communications Forum Association, expressed his excitement: “This year’s in-person celebration in Davos brought a whole new level of energy and connection to the Davos Communications Awards. The winning projects demonstrate not only technical excellence, but the transformative power of communications to unite people, ideas, and purpose across borders. It was an honour to witness such global talent in one room.”

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WCFA is pleased to welcome SRPR as its newest Corporate Member. Based in Switzerland, SRPR is a strategic communications consultancy supporting startups, scaleups, and innovation-driven companies in the tech, biotech, and AI sectors. Founded by Sophie Reymond, a seasoned PR and communications professional with a passion for building bridges through strategic storytelling, SRPR specialises in media relations, executive positioning and AI-powered storytelling.

The firm helps emerging companies shape their narratives, build credibility, and secure impactful coverage across European and US media. With a tailored, agile approach and deep market insight, SRPR bridges business strategy and high-impact communication to accelerate visibility and long-term reputation in competitive, fast-moving industries.

To become a WCFA member, please apply here.

With over two decades of experience in corporate communication and leadership positions across various organizations, making significant contributions, Thabisile Phumo made waves with her expertise and innovative approach to corporate communications.

Today as the Executive Vice President: Stakeholder Relations at Sibanye-Stillwater and Executive Committee Member of the World Communications Forum Association, Thabisile leads from the forefront.

Let us learn more about Thabisile’s professional life.

The Journey Begins

Thabisile Phumo had always planned on pursuing an academic career after qualifying as a corporate communications practitioner 27 years ago. This because her career began at the University of South Africa where she was exposed to academics leading in the communication field. However, with limited experience, she decided to venture into the industry first, believing it would benefit her future academic aspirations.

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Article by Zsofia Lakatos, Managing Director at Emerald Public Relations (Hungary) and WCFA Global Advisory Board Member.

I was recently judging a prestigious communications competition and was shocked to find that there is still no healthy link between the advertising and PR professions. What’s more: there is no relationship at all.

Better and better communication solutions are submitted to the jury - but all of them are sorely lacking something to make them truly effective, truly rounded. I suspect this is because many advertising professionals have no idea what PR people do. Years ago, when I worked for a large communications agency, my colleagues and I used to have a lot of fun being cautiously eyed by people in other divisions. They would come and look at us like we were bazaar monkeys.

Being interesting to others would not be a problem. If they would take - and we would take - that one step to bring us closer to the other. I'm genuinely interested in what goes on in the mind of a creative director, how a digital professional works and what a media buyer does all day. I'd like to believe that there are people who are genuinely interested in what a PR professional does all day and why clients pay more or less for their work.

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My business – interview with Zsófia Lakatos, owner-CEO of Emerald PR, former President, and Member Emeritus of the Hungarian PR Association

- What do you consider the highlight of your career so far?
I can't name one thing, because a career path is not a mountain you climb and enjoy the view, it's more like a mountain range, with ups and downs. It meant a lot to me when I was elected President of the Hungarian PR Association ten years ago, the same year my book on sustainability was published in London and I was the first person in Hungary to receive the "Professional Ambassador of Sustainability" award. An important highlight beforehand, back in 2008 was when I became the Managing Director of Hill+Knowlton Hungary - at the age of 33 - and again in 2015 when, at the age of 40 and having 3 children, I had the courage to give it all up and founded my own agency Emerald PR, an affiliate of Burson Cohn&Wolfe. One outstanding moment for me was being elected Member Emeritus of the Hungarian PR Association on its 30th anniversary and when - as an international success - I was invited to the Advisory Board of the World Communications Forum Association.

- How far ahead are you planning?
In the current polycrisis period, it is almost impossible or very difficult to plan, so I prefer to think in terms of Plan B. And plans C and D. In addition to Emerald PR, I founded a crisis management company Crisis112, a sustainability consultancy BSP and most recently, a training broker agency Emerald Academy. And these are just my professional adventures.

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Since its creation in 2000, Datawords Group has established itself as a leader in e-multicultural technologies, forging the term Multicultural Ingenuity to reflect its capacity to support brands in the deployment of their digital marketing and technology strategies on an international scale.

Multicultural at its core, Datawords has developed a unique know-how and expertise in adapting its clients' technologies, strategies and digital content to a local audience, while respecting their brand image. The deployment of international campaigns poses a real challenge for major global brands, with linguistic and technical constraints, as well as cultural preferences, that can make a single global campaign impossible. Datawords relies on both MULTI digital expertise and CULTURAL adaptation of brand content across more than 50 languages and countries to capture local relevancy.

To reinforce its position in the Chinese market, Datawords announces the acquisition of the award-winning integrated communication company Switching-Time, founded in Shanghai, China. Established in 2012, Switching-Time serves a prestigious set of clients in the fashion, beauty, luxury and lifestyle industries. Over the years, it has expanded its offering to cover the full breadth of digital marketing services, including public relations (e-PR), influencer digital marketing and social media.

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