Strategic Communications for High-Stakes Moments
Stratavance advises CEOs and leadership teams navigating growth, change and scrutiny. Led directly by Sophia Y. Marshall, the firm provides senior communications counsel and, where needed, embedded leadership to strengthen stakeholder confidence and enable business execution.
Governing Point of View
A sound business decision can still encounter resistance when leaders underestimate stakeholder expectations or the organization's ability to execute. Stratavance helps leadership anticipate stakeholder response and develop an enterprise narrative grounded in business strategy, with communications that provide clarity and build confidence.
How Stratavance WorksSophia Y. Marshall has spent more than 23 years leading communications through high-stakes moments at Fiserv, Comcast, Wellstar Health System and GE. Her experience spans financial services, telecommunications, healthcare and industrial transformation.
When Stratavance Is Called
Each engagement begins with the business challenge or opportunity and the support leadership needs. That determines the communications strategy and whether the work calls for senior counsel, a defined project or embedded leadership.
A new CEO needs to establish direction and confidence. Leadership needs a communications strategy that builds stakeholder confidence in the new leader and the direction of the business.
A merger, acquisition or divestiture is being planned or completed, and leadership needs stakeholder confidence to support the transaction. The work spans communications strategy before, during and after close.
A transformation needs buy-in and managers equipped to translate strategy into results. Leadership needs a communications strategy that supports commitment and implementation.
An active issue or sustained scrutiny is weakening confidence in the business. Leadership needs senior judgment and a crisis communications strategy for response and recovery.
The business has evolved, but communications has not kept pace. Leadership needs a function equipped to advise on business decisions and lead communications strategy. The CEO may also need senior communications leadership without a full-time CCO appointment.
The Stratavance Perspective
Stratavance examines the decision, its stakeholder implications and the organization's readiness to carry it forward.
01
How leadership choices create or prevent communications risk before anyone drafts a word.
02
How the same decision lands differently across employees, investors, customers, regulators and communities.
03
Whether functions and leaders are carrying one coherent story or several competing ones.
04
Whether words, actions, timing and proof are telling the same story.
The Stratavance Enterprise Alignment Framework™ applies these lenses to identify gaps that could weaken trust, credibility or execution.
See the FrameworkFounder
Sophia Y. Marshall is a strategic communications advisor and former global communications executive. Across senior roles at Fiserv, Comcast, Wellstar Health System and GE, she has advised leadership on growth strategy and through transformation, transactions and scrutiny while building or rebuilding communications functions.
23+
Years advising leadership through defining moments
Founder-led
Every engagement is led directly by Sophia.
Insights
Perspectives by Sophia Y. Marshall, drawing on senior communications leadership and advisory experience to examine how business decisions affect stakeholder confidence and execution.
Projected returns depend on people staying, adopting new ways of working and maintaining confidence. Those assumptions deserve scrutiny alongside the financial case.
Read on LinkedIn
Leadership agreement does not settle how employees, customers and investors will understand a decision. The questions to examine before announcing it.
Read on LinkedIn
Stakeholder mapping reveals who can influence a decision, affect implementation or shape its credibility.
Read on LinkedIn
Before making a statement, leadership needs to assess the issue's relevance and whether it can defend the position as circumstances change.
Read on LinkedIn
After a crisis, leaders need to examine how concerns were handled and what prevented the organization from acting sooner.
Read on LinkedInStrategic Communications Advisory
Share the business opportunity or challenge and where leadership needs support. The conversation can cover stakeholder confidence, communications strategy or the capability your business needs.
