BrazilDiplolicy joins public affairs practice of LLYC in Spain
International communications and public affairs consultancy LLYC has beefed up its presence in home country Spain with the acquisition of Diplolicy, a Barcelona based public affairs consulting firm.
With over 600 consultants across 16 offices in 13 countries, Madrid-headquartered LLYC (formerly Llorente & Cuenca) is one of the larger specialised global communications consultancies in Southern Europe (Spain and Portugal) and Latin America.
The acquisition of Diplolicy adds a small team of senior advisors to its Barcelona office, lifting LLYC’s headcount in the city to over 60. Commenting on the acquisition, Joan Navarro, a partner in LLYC’s Public Affairs practice: “This deal constitutes an important step forward in the growth of our department and will allow us to provide our customers with consultancy in technological and regulatory issues.”
Founded in 2016, Diplolicy adds an established team comprising of among others Roger Montañola, Luis Ayllón, Román Escolano, Carmen Muñoz, Cristóbal Herrera and Carlos Ruiz to LLYC’s footprint.
Company founder Montañola was between 2010 and 2015 part of the political party Convergència i Unió, at the time becoming the youngest legislator in the Catalonian Parliament. Before that, he was co-founder of Diplodat Technologies, a political-risk analysis firm, and worked as a political analyst for TVE and Radio Nacional de España.
Meanwhile, Ayllón is specialised in political affairs, Escolano in economic affairs, Herrera in reputation intelligence, Muñoz in corporate diplomacy, and Ruiz in public affairs.
Speaking of the joining of forces, Montañola said, “Working with top professionals in a firm such as LLYC is a great personal and professional achievement and will allow us to offer better solutions and services to our Catalonian customers and the world.”
The deal comes six months after LLYC tied a partnership with counterparts Finsbury, Glover Park Group and Hering Schuppener in a move that gives the consultancy access to a global network of more than 500 consultants across offices in the US, Europe and Asia. The trio of partners can as part of the collaboration tap LLYC’s capabilities in Southern Europe and Latin America.
