by Jason Descamps, CEO & Managing Director Global Practice
A recent poll of nearly 200 Public & Government Affairs (P&GA) professionals working in the private sector asked a deceptively simple question: “What function does P&GA report to in your company?” The responses reveal a profession in transition – gaining visibility at the top of organizations, yet still navigating structural fragility and uneven recognition of its commercial value.
The most striking finding is that 39% of respondents report directly to the CEO or C‑suite. The prominence of CEO‑level reporting indicates that many organizations increasingly view P&GA as a strategic function requiring senior‑level oversight. In an era defined by regulatory uncertainty, geopolitical risk, and heightened stakeholder scrutiny, this elevated positioning makes intuitive sense.
Yet this prominence is also not guaranteed. Reporting lines in P&GA are uniquely sensitive to leadership changes. A new CEO with limited exposure to public affairs may quickly downgrade the function to a lower tier, while a CEO with political or regulatory experience may elevate it just as rapidly. In other words, P&GA’s organizational influence is often personality‑driven rather than institutionally embedded, making its status both powerful and precarious.
Another notable trend is the near‑parity between Corporate Affairs/Communications (35%) and the CEO/C‑suite category. This suggests a meaningful shift in how companies conceptualize the role of P&GA. Rather than anchoring it primarily in regulatory compliance or legal risk management, many organizations now see it as part of the broader reputation and stakeholder‑engagement ecosystem. The center of gravity appears to be moving from “legal correctness” to “societal license to operate,” with P&GA increasingly aligned with narrative shaping, external engagement, and trust‑building.
Legal remains a significant but clearly secondary home for the function, accounting for 20% of respondents. This reinforces the sense that P&GA is evolving away from a purely defensive or compliance‑driven identity. Companies are repositioning it as a strategic, outward‑facing discipline that shapes the environment in which the business operates, rather than simply responding to it.
Perhaps the most surprising data point is the very low share reporting into Business Leadership (6%). Many practitioners would expect this number to be higher, given the commercial implications of regulatory strategy, market access, and political risk. The result suggests that even in 2025/26, P&GA is still not widely recognized as a commercial driver. Companies may continue to treat it as a corporate‑level function rather than a market‑embedded one, leaving a gap between the function’s actual commercial impact and its perceived role.
Taken together, the findings paint a picture of a profession that is more visible and valued than ever, yet still working to secure structural legitimacy within organizations. For Mavence, these insights reinforce the importance of helping companies institutionalize the strategic value of P&GA, supporting talent capable of operating credibly at the CEO/C‑suite level, and demonstrating the function’s tangible contribution to commercial outcomes.
