The Penta Podcast Channel

Today on What's at Stake, Bryan DeAngelis, partner at Penta based in Washington, D.C., is in London to interview two of the leaders of Penta's international financial services work, partners David Cook and Victoria Walsh. David and Victoria share how their experiences helping government institutions and businesses in Europe communicate around the biggest financial services developments in recent history–including the 2008 Financial Crisis–inform their thinking about stakeholder engagement.  The group discusses the outlook for inflation, the recent turmoil in the banking sector, and the potential for changes in financial regulation around the world. Bryan, Victoria, and David also talk about how Penta's strategy and intelligence services can support financial services companies during these turbulent times.

On today's Macrocast, Ylan Mui, Brendan Walsh, and John Fagan discuss this morning's "Goldilocks" March jobs report and the not-too-hot, not-too-cool labor market. Later, the group explores the impact of OPEC's production cuts on gas prices, which are rising just in time for spring break season, and examines the potential risks associated with de-dollarization. Finally, this week's episode wouldn't be complete without a discussion of former President Trump's indictment and the subsequent market reaction. Read Penta's March Jobs Day Fact Sheet here.

In this edition of What's at Stake, Andrea Christianson hosts Emily Duncan, senior vice president of federal affairs at American Electric Power (AEP), for a conversation on how AEP is taking on the complex challenges and opportunities facing the energy industry today.Emily's career has spanned a range of key areas within the industry. Though she began her career in energy law; over the past 15 years, she has worked on legislative and regulatory issues in sectors like natural gas, nuclear, and electric power. In today's episode, Emily and Andrea discuss AEP's partnerships with communities and local stakeholders in the company's rural operating regions and how a diverse energy supply is key to guaranteeing reliable energy access across the U.S. Emily also outlines the potential of a new technology called bidirectional charging to transform the country's electric vehicle infrastructure.Where does Emily see opportunities for more efficient use of the power grid? How is the CHIPS Act impacting energy supply chains? And for which energy source does Emily have a soft spot? Listen now to find out. 

The takeaway: the news is affecting consumer behavior, as indicated by major drops in confidence in the job market and in the overall U.S. economy. On today's Macrocast, Ylan, John, and Brendan host John Dick from Civic Science discuss the latest economic sentiment index, which shows that layoffs and banking crises in the headlines could be driving pessimism and lower spending among consumers. Later on, the group delves into tightening bank regulations as the Fed and FDIC tackle a shaken landscape. Take a look at Penta's latest ESI analysis here.

On March 10, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed after what many are calling a bank run, triggering the second largest bank failure in U.S. history. Since then, regulators and policymakers have searched for answers, mid-sized banks across the country have struggled to assuage fears over their stability, and Swiss investment firm Credit Suisse has been taken over by UBS as the SVB fallout has rippled through the economy.On this episode of What's at Stake, Bryan DeAngelis, a partner at Penta, and Ylan Mui, a managing director at the firm, are joined by Aaron Klein to discuss the impacts of SVB's collapse and–as Aaron sees it–the failure of our banking regulatory system. Aaron Klein is currently a senior fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution, focused on financial technology and regulation, payments, macroeconomics, and infrastructure finance and policy. Between 2009 and 2012, Klein served as the deputy assistant secretary for economic policy at the Department of Treasury, where he helped develop and secure the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.The group discusses how the Fed failed to implement proper oversight of SVB, Michael Barr's pre-written testimony, and if we should be allowing more banks to fail. They also answer the question: Was this the first bank run of the social media ageRead more from Aaron Klein here.

On today's Macrocast, our new host Ylan Mui, managing director at Penta, sits down with John Fagan and Brendan Walsh of Markets Policy Partners to break down the Fed's latest 25 basis point rate hike. The trio points out that it was unique that Chairman Powell spoke so candidly about the Fed's uncertainty on how to adjust rates moving forward. Ylan, John, and Brendan discuss the state of the U.S. economy more broadly, including with respect to how the current commotion in the banking sector might spill over to other countries and sectors. The group finishes the episode by chatting about the odds of regulators taking action in the  banking sector, Yellen's testimony on Capitol Hill, and the state of the U.S. bond market. 

This week, Penta acquired Copperfield Advisory, a communications, brand, and strategy consulting firm based in New York, further cementing Penta's position as the world's first and foremost comprehensive stakeholder solutions firm. Andy Whitehouse, senior partner at Penta and former managing partner and founder at Copperfield, joins Penta President Matt McDonald on this week's episode of What's at Stake to break down what this acquisition means for Penta and its clients. Andy joins Penta with over 20 years of experience in strategic communications. Before joining Copperfield, he was chief communications officer at IBM, Willis Towers Watson, and McKinsey & Company, and worked to tackle poverty and social exclusion as a UK government policymaker.The Copperfield team brings extensive C-suite experience and issue fluency to Penta, deepening the firm's expertise and offerings in disciplines including brand positioning, transaction communications, talent strategy, and crisis preparedness. Matt and Andy start out the conversation by discussing Copperfield and Penta's complimentary outlooks on the importance of data-driven decision-making and insights. Later, they dive into Andy's extensive experience advising major companies and developing public policy in a range of key sectors including financial services, private equity, tech, healthcare, and philanthropy.Read more about Penta’s acquisition of Copperfield here.

On today's Macrocast, hosts Bryan DeAngelis, Ylan Mui, Brendan Walsh, and John Fagan are joined by Penta's Oliver Edelmann to unpack another big week of macroeconomic news. The group unpacks the latest turmoil in the banking sector, saga of Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic Bank, and the banking sector more broadly, and discusses the potential reactions from the Federal Reserve. They also explain why consumer sentiment might impact the Fed's response, delving into insights from Penta and Civic Science's latest ESI analysis.

On February 27, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a new trade agreement between the UK and European Union (EU) called the Windsor Framework. This comes after years of confusion and empty shelves resulting from the post-Brexit Northern Ireland protocol, which has been criticized for making it difficult to import goods to Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom. Penta Partners Kevin Madden and Rory O'Donnell sit down to decipher some of the nuances surrounding the Windsor Framework, the Northern Ireland protocol, and why these trade agreements have such a charged history. The two outline how the Windsor Framework will change the current Northern Ireland Protocol, particularly with respect to the Irish sea border. They also explain what the new "red lane, green lane" system will look like for the movement of goods on the Irish isle.Kevin and Rory then outline some of the political responses to the new framework in the region. How will Stormont–the Northern Ireland Assembly–respond? And if the Windsor Framework is implemented, how might it positively impact the future of investment and opportunity in Northern Ireland and beyond?

There's been no shortage of gripping macroeconomic developments this week. On today's Macrocast, hosts Bryan DeAngelis, Ylan Mui, Brendan Walsh, and John Fagan dive into the February jobs report and what it can tell us about women in the workforce, before breaking down some key takeaways from Fed Chair Jerome Powell's semi-annual testimony before Congress. In the second half of the show, the group takes on this morning's astonishing meltdown at Silicon Valley Bank.  Read Penta's February Jobs Day Fact Sheet here.