When strategy, leadership behavior, and stakeholder expectations move at different speeds, organizations lose clarity and control.

In these moments, communication is not a messaging exercise. It is a structural discipline.

Left unresolved, gaps between leadership intent, organizational action, and stakeholder perception create risk.

My work focuses on restoring clarity, alignment, and executive control during consequential moments.

The need usually presents in one of two ways.

Organizations that need senior communications leadership — when a CCO has exited, when a crisis is accelerating, when growth has exposed alignment gaps, or when the board needs confidence in the company's voice. These are interim and fractional engagements, embedded at the executive level.

Individual leaders — CEOs, board chairs, senior executives, business owners — who need a trusted, independent advisor in their corner. One person who is completely outside the organizational structure, focused entirely on helping them think more clearly and communicate more precisely when it matters most. Most leaders have advisors for finance, legal matters, and investments. Few have a trusted advisor focused on judgment, communication, and stakeholder implications. 

These are different engagements serving different needs. Both begin with a conversation.

• Interim / Fractional Chief Communications Officer / Head of Corporate Communications

• Corporate narrative and positioning

• Executive and leadership communications

• Crisis, risk, and reputation advisory

• Change, culture, and employee engagement

My work begins with communications and often extends into broader leadership and strategic advisory.

The objective is not activity. It is durable clarity, alignment, and confidence in moments where getting the message right truly matters.

I've operated in complex, regulated, and high-visibility environments where misalignment carries real consequences.

Former senior communications leader at:

• Travelers

• AIG

• Citigroup

• Take-Two Interactive (yes — I was the CCO and spokesperson for Grand Theft Auto. Reputational complexity at its most literal.)

• Robinson Lerer & Montgomery (now FGS Global)

Experience spans executive positioning, regulatory scrutiny, enterprise transformation, investor communication, and leadership transition. I understand how narrative intersects with governance, power, and risk.

Leadership clarity is rarely urgent — until it is.

If your communications function is between leaders, under strain, or misaligned with strategy, let’s discuss how to stabilize and strengthen it. Or if you're a leader who needs a trusted advisor before a consequential moment — let's talk. 

Schedule a Confidential Diagnostic → CALENDAR

Direct. Discreet. Practical.

Email: anknerj@gmail.com | Phone: (917) 763-4175 | LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jamesankner  

All conversations are treated with the highest level of discretion, and every inquiry is treated with strict confidentiality. Trust is the foundation of effective communication — and effective leadership.