Former ITV communications director and freuds CEO Nicola Howson struck out on her own in 2014. She advises corporations and high-profile individuals (including one Kevin Spacey for the past 15 years) on their reputations. ‘I’ve always believed that, in the end, we always get the reputations we deserve,’ she says, offering her thoughts on the ‘stark’ differences between now and her early career: ‘What’s changed is the pace… it used to be that you didn’t relax until 6pm on a Saturday, because only then did you know your client wasn’t on the front page of a newspaper.’ Social media has transformed all that: ‘It’s impossible now to take a path that is anything other than transparent.’