Earned First

Holding groups, CMOs & Cannes with Charlotte Mceleny

Charlotte Mceleny has seen the PR and marketing industry from both sides, through 15 years as a journalist, then inside a holding group at MediaMonks. In this conversation, she and Arun Sudhaman work through what's actually happening to the holding group model, why PR keeps failing the measurement test, what the CMO role is becoming under CFO pressure, and whether Cannes still means what it once did.

Mazen Nahawi on conflict, communications and courage in the Middle East

Mazen Nahawi, founder and group CEO of CARMA and RAIYN, joins Earned First to assess the communications landscape of the ongoing US-Iran conflict. Drawing on CARMA's media intelligence data, he argues that the largely neutral view of Gulf countries reflects a deficit in terms of incomplete storytelling rather than active hostility, and one that Iran's disciplined communications strategy is effectively exploiting. Nahawi also reflects on building two global holding groups out of the Middle East, the cultural and operational advantages that emerging-market businesses bring to the industry, and why the gap in communications today is less about capability than courage.

AI and the future of women in the workplace

Christine Fellowes, founder of NINEby9, and Jane Morgan, chief client officer at Ashbury Communications, join Earned First to discuss Nineby9's latest research report, AI and the Future of Women in the Workplace. The conversation covers the exposure women face as AI reshapes the workforce, with women overrepresented in the roles most at risk of displacement and underrepresented in the roles being created. Fellowes and Morgan also examine how women's more measured approach to AI adoption, while a genuine organisational asset, can go unrecognised in workplaces that reward speed over outcomes. The episode looks at the structural changes needed in how organisations design learning, align HR and technology functions, and rethink entry-level talent investment, and what individuals can do in parallel.

QI Group's Ramya Chandrasekaran on AI, culture & the evolving role of the CCO

Ramya Chandrasekaran, chief communications officer at QI Group, joins Arun Sudhaman to discuss how AI has moved from experiment to embedded practice inside her team, why geopolitics has fundamentally expanded the scope of the CCO role, and what it takes to build communications that actually land across 17-plus markets. She also shares an honest account of how she won a seat at the table, and why building relationships with the lawyers might matter more than you think.

Mary Njoki on PR transformation in Africa

In this episode, Arun Sudhaman speaks with Mary Njoki, founder and CEO of Glass House PR in Nairobi, about the findings of the State of PR in Africa report — a survey of 54 agencies representing over 6,500 professionals across the continent. The discussion covers AI adoption across the industry, the structural training gaps that are shaping how tools are being used, and the growing challenge of algorithm opacity for practitioners trying to reach targeted audiences. The conversation also explores the broader trajectory of African PR: how the industry has evolved from being conflated with events and press releases into a recognised strategic discipline, and what Njoki is trying to achieve through Africa PR Week — both in terms of building a continental professional community and placing African communications on the global stage.