Andy Whitehouse founded Copperfield Advisory as a boutique consulting firm to serve founder-led, owner-run businesses. 

With more than 20 years’ experience helping lead major companies and developing government policy, Andy gives leaders the advice they need to build their businesses, navigate complex public issues and manage crises. He has worked with clients in sectors including financial services, private equity, tech, healthcare and philanthropy. 

Before Copperfield, Andy served as the most senior communications professional in three multinational companies. Most recently, he was chief communications officer of IBM (NYSE: IBM), where he led a team of 600 professionals. Prior to IBM, Andy led marketing, communications and knowledge management globally for Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ: WLTW) and Willis Group (NYSE: WSH), the global risk advisor and (re)insurance broker. In this role, he played a central part in the $18 billion merger of Willis and Towers Watson.

Before Willis, Andy was responsible for building and protecting the reputation and brand of McKinsey & Company. He led the firm’s communications function and co-led its publishing team. Andy worked with a host of public sector and nonprofit clients in his nine years at McKinsey and also led research there on the role of business leaders in public life. 

Prior to McKinsey, Andy was a government policymaker in the United Kingdom. A member of the Civil Service Fast Stream, he led teams in the Prime Minister’s Social Exclusion Unit, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Department of Health. His work focused principally on tackling poverty and social exclusion in England.

Andy is a professor at Columbia University, where he teaches political communications and crisis management to graduate students. A founding member of the NationSwell Council, he is also the treasurer of the Harlem-based Reading Team and a fellow of the RSA. He is an advisory board member for Bindle Systems, a health verification platform. He was an assistant producer on a Grammy-winning Latin jazz album.

Andy is a graduate of Oxford and Harvard, and a recipient of the Distinguished Friend of Oxford University award.

Bianka Patsalos-Fox works with Copperfield clients across the financial services, philanthropy, non-profit, and technology sectors to develop bespoke brand and communications strategies. She helps clients build and protect their reputations through integrated communications, content and media relations strategies.

Bianka started her career in the non-profit sector and for that reason is passionate about helping companies achieve impact through effective storytelling and communications.

Previously, Bianka worked for African Leadership Academy and Touch Foundation in a communications, development, and program management capacity.Bianka holds a bachelor's degree in French from Colby College. She is fluent in English and French.

At Copperfield, Caroline assists clients with brand positioning and communications strategies across multiple industries, including financial services and aerospace.

Caroline received her BA in English from Georgetown University in 2020 and MA in developmental psychology from Teachers College at Columbia University in 2022. Both experiences reflect her desire to unite her love for writing with her interest in understanding how people think and behave, leading to her interest in strategic communications at Copperfield.

While at Columbia, she developed an interest in bridging the gap between research and policies in public education through several education consulting projects. She has also held communications internships across nonprofit, tech, and healthcare industries. Through these experiences, she has realized the value of using rigorous research and analysis to understand the needs and behaviors of a company’s target audience and create context-specific solutions to articulate a company’s value.

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At Copperfield, Christine has served clients in professional services, pharmaceuticals, and the non-profit sector. She is also responsible for overseeing all areas of finance, operations, and administration at Copperfield. 

For her work with client service teams, Christine focuses on research for brand and positioning projects, events, and media outreach. Her professional philosophy centers around the role she can play in helping others find solutions. She leverages her knowledge and experience to develop and implement efficient processes and workflows to meet the ever-evolving needs of our firm. In addition to her client responsibilities, Christine oversees all of the moving parts between our clients and our team to ensure a seamless experience for our clients. 

Christine holds a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at New Paltz in sociology and criminology, and a master’s degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where she specialized in forensic investigative techniques and police administration.

Claire serves Copperfield clients across multiple industries, including education and non-profits, medical technology, and art innovation. She came to Copperfield with a desire to help organizations and brands enhance their positive impact through communications.

As a former teacher, Claire brings with her a love of writing, a desire to help others, and a deep curiosity around how people and brands interact. Her longstanding passion for research and ability to uncover hidden connections help her generate valuable insights and creative, strategic solutions for clients.

At Copperfield, Claire works with organizations on how to compellingly and clearly communicate their unique value proposition. She supports client teams on projects involving brand repositioning, major business and leadership transitions, and other strategic communications challenges.

Prior to joining Copperfield, Claire worked in admissions and taught in humanities departments at a number of secondary schools including Phillips Exeter Academy. She concurrently works as a course associate at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies teaching a digital media & analytics course to graduate students.

Claire graduated cum laude from Smith College with a BA in American Studies, where she also sang a cappella. She holds an MA in English from Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English and an MS in Strategic Communication from Columbia University.

Cosette Gastelu supports client teams on projects that strengthen clients’ branding and positioning among the audiences that matter most to them. 

For Cosette, nothing is so insignificant that it is not worth knowing. She brings this principle in to her work by drawing inspiration, ideas, and insights from diverse sources to contribute to brand strategies, content development, media engagement, and research initiatives that further clients’ commercial and strategic goals.  

At Copperfield, Cosette has served clients in philanthropy, consumer products, technology, financial services, education, media, and non-profits.  

She previously worked with an interior design-focused talent management firm, where she contributed to public relations and marketing strategies for leading interior designers from around the U.S. She was responsible for developing and executing social media plans for clients, writing press releases, and performing media research. 

Cosette holds a bachelor of arts degree, summa cum laude, in history and classical studies from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. 

Jenna Schoen works with Copperfield clients to refine their brand, strengthen their reputation, and communicate their core values. Her work as a teacher informs her consulting strategy, as she helps clients isolate their unique perspective and relay their viewpoint effectively.

Jenna earned a PhD in English literature from Columbia University, where she currently teaches Contemporary Civilization. Her academic research focuses on medieval theology, genre, and popular audiences. She has done extensive work in the digital humanities, particularly working with medieval manuscripts and digital tools. Throughout her time at Columbia, she has taught courses in writing, philosophy, and medieval literature.

Jenna also holds a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University.

Julia Bails works with clients across a range of industries, including technology, media, and non-profits. She joined the Copperfield team straight out of college, eager to explore the ways in which meticulous research, strategic communications, and narrative-building can help to generate valuable insights, solve problems, and bring forward positive change for clients.

Julia’s desire to work in strategic communications was born out of her deep-rooted passions for diplomacy and global strategy. While at NYU, she received the Dean’s Undergraduate Research Fund to support her empirical research on Central Eastern European populism. She additionally served as the Editor-in-Chief of IRInsider, the university’s premier international affairs undergraduate journal. Prior to Copperfield, Julia worked as a communications intern at both the Council on Foreign Relations and the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data. 

Julia graduated cum laude from New York University with a BA in International Relations.

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Liza McIntosh works with Copperfield clients across the professional services, media, philanthropy, and technology sectors to develop bespoke brand and communications strategies. Recognizing that good storytelling draws together deeply-researched detail with bold, original narrative, Liza uses her insight as a literary critic to help companies discern which words hold the most value for the audiences that matter.

Liza earned her PhD in English Literature from Columbia University, where she received the Marjorie Hope Nicolson Fellowship in support of her research on early modern poetry and environmental politics. At Columbia, she taught sections of Literature Humanities and University Writing, and was selected as a Lead Teaching Fellow for the English Department. Previously, she served as a Communications Manager at the Center for the Study of Social Difference, where she coordinated research initiatives and partnerships between Columbia’s Schools and Global Centers.

Liza earned her BA in English and Art History from Johns Hopkins University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Maisie Anderson-Davis is an experienced external affairs practitioner with a career spanning a range of sectors including health, finance, and social policy. As well as holding roles in public affairs, campaigns and advocacy in the UK, Maisie also spent 4 years serving as an elected Councillor in the inner-London Borough of Southwark.

Her experience as both an advisor and frontline decision-maker gives Maisie a sharp eye for reputation, brand and the importance of well-crafted communications. At Copperfield, Maisie serves clients across a variety of sectors including finance and insurance. She enjoys working in partnership to craft unique and impactful communications strategies.

Maisie earned her BA in History at Clare College, Cambridge University and her Master’s in Public Policy at Princeton University where she was honored to attend as a Fulbright Scholar.

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A creative problem-solver at heart, Marcus Miller leverages strategic communication, brand management, and research and analysis to influence strategy and advance organizations towards their vision. Marcus’ work has supported organizations confronting food and housing insecurity, securing broadband access for rural America, empowering at-risk youth, rehabilitating those suffering from addiction, and advocating for the funding of public transit systems across the nation. Marcus has also worked on engaging low-propensity voters and maximizing Black voter turnout in key states.

Marcus firmly believes in harnessing the power of exceptional storytelling to promote the health of our planet and its inhabitants.

A lover of good conversation and even better whiskey, you can catch Marcus at his friend’s distillery bottling, or sampling, everything from smoked bourbon to absinthe.

Marcus holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from George Mason University and earned a master’s in strategic communication from Columbia University.

At Copperfield, Miriam Laytner helps clients build their reputations and develop communication strategies that reflect their core values and mission.

In addition to her role at Copperfield, Miriam is a PhD student in cultural anthropology at the CUNY Graduate Center, where she is also a Mellon Humanities Public Fellow. In her role as a Mellon Fellow, she helps research institutions across New York City to develop events and agendas that raise public engagement with social science research. In the spring of 2022, Miriam was named an Open Knowledge Fellow at the Mina Rees Library, where she will develop open educational resources for undergraduate students at the Lehman Lab for Social Analysis. Her dissertation research focuses on the intersection of faith-based movements, environmentalism, and the climate crisis in the United States.

Miriam holds a BA in History from Barnard College and an MA in Oral History from Columbia University. Prior to attending graduate school, Miriam worked for many years as a scuba instructor in the Caribbean, Alaska and Australia. She is a proud New Yorker.

Myra Oppel is a seasoned communications strategist who works with organizations and individuals to build and protect their brands and reputations. With experience as a journalist, in-house corporate strategist and communications and political consultant, she brings expertise in mediarelations, crisis communications, reputation management and turnaround, and integrated communications to help clients leverage opportunities and navigate challenges.

At Copperfield, she has worked with executives and organizations in retail, technology, education, law, finance, utilities, consulting, and non-profit sectors. Prior to Copperfield, she served as a senior vice president for Washington, D.C.-based strategic advisory firm Smith & Company and headed media and analyst relations for Accenture’s Federal Services subsidiary. She worked as a political media consultant and managed media relations and communications for two major electric utilities. She began her career as a reporter and editor for newspapers in Mississippi and as a newswoman for the Associated Press.

An accredited public relations professional by Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), her work has been recognized with a number of awards, including a PRSA Silver Anvil award for integrated communications, a PR News Platinum Award for media relations and gold Pollie awards by the American Association of Political Consultants. She was named Media Relations Professional of the Year in 2013 by PR News.

Oppel earned a master’s degree in strategic communication from Columbia University and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Mississippi. She serves as an associate professor at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies.

Russ Ollis serves Copperfield clients across multiple industries, including financial services, professional services, consumer goods, and enterprise technology.

At Copperfield, Russ has helped senior leadership navigate digital transformations, develop go-to-market strategies and build brand reputation through designing and implementing integrated communications, content, and media relations. He has deftly used his management consulting experience to bolster Copperfield’s unique approach to communications strategy and brand positioning engagements.

Previously, Russ was a senior consultant at the Beacon Group, a growth strategy consulting firm. In this role, Russ worked with Fortune 500 companies across the aerospace and defense, healthcare, industrials, and technology industries. He advised business decision makers on their growth strategy needs, such as adjacent and whitespace market entry assessments, market entry strategies, strategic planning and commercialization of innovations. Russ also helped with the firm’s aerospace and defense business development efforts and assisted in driving the practice’s thought leadership content.

Russ holds a bachelor’s degree in government and history from Colby College. While at Colby, Russ was a member of the varsity lacrosse team and a writer for The Colby Echo.

Yolande Daeninck is a seasoned communication professional who is passionate about reputation building, corporate and executive positioning, and crisis communications. For more than 15 years, she has worked with leading organizations both in an agency setting and in-house in Europe and the U.S.

At Copperfield, Yolande is serving clients in professional services, financial services, technology and the non-profit sector. She also helps lead the firm, with a focus on recruiting, people management and professional development.

Prior to Copperfield, Yolande worked at McKinsey & Company for a decade, starting out in the Brussels office where she managed communications for the firm’s operations in Belgium and Luxembourg. She then transferred to New York to handle media relations, first across North America and later globally.

Yolande started her career at a leading communications agency in Brussels, serving local and international clients on a wide range of communications issues.

Yolande is also a photographer and spent a year at the International Center for Photography concentrating on documentary photography.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in romance languages from the University of Louvain, a degree in business economics from the University of Leuven and a master’s in corporate communications from Boston University. She has lived in Brussels, Amsterdam and New York, and is currently based in the Boston area with her husband and young daughter.