An Interview with Simon Behrmann
Managing Director
Edelman Global Advisory recently caught up with EGA's new Managing Director Simon Behrmann on his professional experience, what excites him most about his new position at EGA, and advice he'd give to his young self. See our interview below and keep up with Simon on LinkedIn.
EGA: What excites you most about your role at EGA?
SB: The opportunity to collaborate with a talented global team and make a meaningful impact in a rapidly growing practice.
EGA: What would you say is your personal area of expertise?
SB: Translating the language of campaigns and integrated communications across cultures.
EGA: If you could give yourself one piece of advice at the start of your career, what would it be?
SB: Embrace risk, take chances and do not be afraid to fail. Learn from your successes and failures as it is the most important part of your personal and professional growth process. Get out of your comfort zone to allow you to differentiate yourself from others.
EGA: What past work project or accomplishment are you the proudest of and why?
SB: I am very proud of advising Presidents and Prime Ministers throughout Central and Eastern Europe and SE Asia to make real change in people’s lives through the democratic process.
EGA: What would you do if you weren’t doing this?
SB: I would like to travel the world by boat with my family and friends for a year. I think that would be a really cool experience.
EGA: If you could invite 3 people (living or dead) to a dinner party, who would you choose and why?
SB: Tom Hanks, Dalai Lama, and Marie Curie. They all would bring a unique perspective to the table, making for an interesting diverse and fun dinner. I’m not sure if any of them can middle (IYKYK), but I think with such an intimate group it could be a lot of fun. Tom Hanks makes a great addition to any dinner party with his charming personality and stories from Hollywood. Dalai Lama would be a great addition as well to have a spiritual perspective at the table. He could offer his teaching on compassion, inner peace, and mindfulness. To round it out, Marie Curie could share her insights as a physicist and chemist, talk about her discoveries, and discuss the challenges she faced as a woman in science. Most importantly, and you didn’t ask, but in terms of the menu both Marie Curie and the Dalai Lama are vegetarians. Although I am not a vegetarian personally, I could see this working out very well from a food perspective. Veggie skewers and an herb dip to start, stuffed peppers as the main course with roasted vegetables and a tomato sauce, and finally fresh fruit for dessert.
EGA: How do you like to spend your time outside of work? Do you have any special hobbies or interests?
SB: I can typically be found on the weekends hiking in Rock Creek Park with my wife, watching Michigan State sports, or playing poker with my neighbors. I enjoy cooking, especially sous vide.
About Simon Behrmann
Simon serves as Managing Director for EGA. In his role, he specializes in helping clients and teams
navigate complex integrated global campaigns.
Simon is a leading international political and communications strategist with over two decades of experience, advising heads of state and top political leaders globally. Throughout his career, his work has utilized research-based messaging strategies using a wide spectrum of communication vehicles including traditional advertising, digital/social media, and grassroots marketing. His areas of expertise include strategy development, campaign design, crisis communications, media training, and coalition development.
Prior to joining EGA, Simon advised and managed several successful presidential campaigns in Asia and Europe. He has also advised over 25 U.S. political campaigns and organizations, including multiple presidential, senate, congressional, and mayoral campaigns.
Additionally, Simon has counseled corporations, Fortune 500 executives and high-net-worth individuals on social responsibility, crisis communications, emerging market entry, and reputation marketing. He has also worked on various corporate contract disputes and mergers and acquisitions to mitigate risk and identify political/financial pain points to pursue through public affairs campaigns. He has worked with clients in several sectors including financial services, technology, health care, telecom, energy, sports, and defense.
