Who We Are - Lighthouse PR Agency

The quality of the advice depends on the people providing it.

When communication carries commercial, reputational or leadership consequences, clients need more than an agency name. They need to know who is thinking about the problem, what that person has managed before and whether the advice will survive scrutiny beyond the marketing department.

Lighthouse PR was built around experienced people with unusually complementary careers. Our leadership combines political analysis, investigative and business journalism, international communications consultancy, corporate transformation, brand stewardship and commercial management. Our wider team adds specialist expertise across public relations, media, content, digital communication, events and crisis response.

We do not treat communication as an isolated promotional activity. We examine the decisions behind the message, the audiences capable of changing the outcome and the operational reality the organisation must defend.

Two different careers. One standard of advice.

The founding partnership gives Lighthouse PR two essential perspectives on the same challenge. Ana Maria examines the political, media, stakeholder and reputational forces around an organisation. Steve tests the commercial logic, strategic priorities and delivery model behind the proposed response.

Together, they can identify the problem that a narrower agency brief may miss: a positioning issue presented as a media request; a leadership problem disguised as a content problem; an operational weakness about to become a reputation problem; or a strong business case that has never been expressed in language the market will believe.

This combination is not reserved for occasional executive meetings. Senior involvement shapes the diagnosis, strategic direction and critical decisions throughout the mandate.

Ana Maria Gardiner – Managing Partner.

Political intelligence. Journalistic instinct. Senior communication counsel.

Ana Maria Gardiner brings more than two decades of experience across journalism, strategic communication and consultancy. She graduated first in her year in political science, then chose journalism rather than diplomacy—beginning a career that placed her close to the institutions, public figures and decisions shaping Romania and the wider region.

Over seven years, she worked across political, investigative and business journalism, including newspapers, magazines, news agencies and radio. The experience taught her to interrogate evidence, recognise the gap between a formal statement and the real story, and understand how journalists, officials and informed stakeholders test an organisation’s credibility.

She later worked within six PR agencies in Bucharest and Dubai, including agencies ranked among the world’s leading international networks. Her mandates extended across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, giving her direct experience of managing communication across different media systems, cultures and commercial environments.

Counsel for moments when judgement matters

Today, Ana Maria advises senior leaders on corporate communication, reputation management, media relations and crisis communication. She combines rigorous analysis with an editorial understanding of how narratives form, why certain arguments gain traction and where an apparently small inconsistency may create disproportionate risk.

Her crisis work includes high-pressure mandates in which leadership decisions, media scrutiny, stakeholder confidence and operational realities must remain aligned. She also designs simulations and prepares executives to communicate credibly when questions are hostile and facts are incomplete.

Clients value her directness. Ana Maria will not protect a weak assumption because it is internally convenient. She identifies what the organisation can credibly say, what it must be ready to prove and what leadership needs to decide before communication can succeed.

Steve Gardiner – Senior Commercial Adviser.

Communication viewed through the reality of business performance.

Steve Gardiner brings more than 30 years of international experience in commercial leadership, business transformation, marketing strategy and brand management. His career includes senior work with Accenture, Electronic Arts, Virgin Media, Telekom and Etisalat across competitive, rapidly changing industries.

As Vice President of Business at Etisalat, he held responsibility for a business generating approximately US$1.8 billion in revenue. His perspective was formed where strategy had to become execution, customer promises had operational consequences, and leadership decisions were judged by commercial results.

Steve holds an Executive MBA and brings the discipline of management consulting and corporate leadership into Lighthouse PR’s work. He challenges communication plans against the business objective: what must change, which audience can influence that change, why the proposition should be believed and how success will be measured.

His contribution is particularly valuable where communication must support growth, market positioning, leadership visibility or complex integrated communication programmes. It ensures that creative and editorial work remains connected to commercial reality.

Experience earned with demanding organisations.

The careers of Lighthouse PR’s founders and consultants include work for JPMorgan, Franklin Templeton, HSBC, BNP Paribas, XTB, Bitget, Coca-Cola, HEINEKEN, Carrefour, Electronic Arts, Telekom, Siemens Energy, ExxonMobil, Pfizer, EssilorLuxottica, EGGER and Lexus, among other organisations.

This experience crosses financial services, energy, technology, healthcare, retail and FMCG, manufacturing, transport and other complex industries. It gives the team a practical understanding of regulated markets, technical propositions, international approval structures and the expectations of very different stakeholder groups. Explore our market expertise and selected case studies.

A prestigious client name is not presented as a substitute for performance. Its relevance is the standard of work such organisations require: accuracy, discretion, speed, senior judgement and the ability to operate effectively with demanding leadership teams.

A team chosen for judgement as well as technical skill.

Strong communication requires specialists, but specialisation alone is not enough. Lighthouse PR selects people who can understand context, listen carefully, make sound judgements and explain complex issues with precision.

Across the team, academic credentials include MBA, MA and BA qualifications in marketing, business economics, political science and international relations. Professional experience spans corporate and B2B communication, earned media, editorial strategy, content, social media, influencer engagement, digital campaigns, events and crisis support.

The disciplines work together around one brief. The responsible team understands the central objective, the agreed narrative and the standard each deliverable must meet.

Senior people remain accountable.

Many agencies sell access to senior leadership and deliver through a largely junior structure. Lighthouse PR is deliberately senior-led. The people introduced during the decision process remain involved in diagnosis, strategy, quality control and the moments that carry the greatest consequence.

Specialists lead work matching their qualifications. Senior advisers challenge assumptions, resolve priorities and protect consistency. The client knows who owns the mandate and the recommendation.

The strongest evidence is not our own description of the model. It is what clients say after working with it. Read the client testimonials and review the complete range of PR and communication services the team delivers.

International capability built on trusted professional relationships.

Lighthouse PR extends its own team through two carefully developed international networks. As the exclusive representative for Romania and the Republic of Moldova within Eurocom Worldwide and the Crisis Communications Network Europe, we can bring trusted local and specialist expertise into international mandates without surrendering strategic control.

Through Eurocom Worldwide, clients gain coordinated communication support across international markets. Through Crisis Communications Network Europe, they can access more than 100 crisis professionals. Lighthouse PR remains the lead relationship, selecting the relevant expertise and keeping the work aligned around one brief.

These are working relationships between professionals who know one another—not names added to a credentials slide. That matters when a client needs reliable intelligence or rapid support in another market.

Clear. Concise. Convincing.

Those words describe more than our writing style. They define what clients should expect from the people advising them: a clear diagnosis, a concise recommendation, and a convincing case that moves the audience that matters.

We value evidence over assumption, candor over reassurance and useful outcomes over visible activity. We protect confidentiality, apply disciplined quality control and tell clients directly when the proposed argument, action or expectation will not withstand scrutiny.

That is the professional standard Lighthouse PR was created to provide.

Frequently asked questions

Who founded Lighthouse PR?

Lighthouse PR was founded by Ana Maria Gardiner and Steve Gardiner. Their combined backgrounds span political analysis, journalism, international communication, management consulting, commercial transformation, marketing and brand leadership.

Will senior consultants work directly on our account?

Yes. Lighthouse PR is senior-led. Experienced advisers remain involved in diagnosis, strategy, critical decisions and quality control, while specialists lead the work matching their expertise.

What sectors has the Lighthouse PR team worked in?

The team’s experience includes financial services, energy, technology, cybersecurity, healthcare, retail and FMCG, manufacturing, transport, real estate, construction and other complex B2B and consumer markets.

Can the team manage international communication programmes?

Yes. Lighthouse PR has direct experience across international markets and can coordinate trusted local capability through Eurocom Worldwide and the Crisis Communications Network Europe while remaining the client’s accountable lead agency.

Meet the people before you choose the agency.

Credentials matter, but the working relationship matters too. The clearest way to understand whether Lighthouse PR is right for your organisation is to discuss the business challenge directly with the people who would advise you.

You will receive an honest view of the communication problem, the experience we can bring to it and the result a serious programme should be designed to achieve.

Contact the Managing Partner: anamaria.gardiner@lighthousepr.ro | +40 731 384 549