Responsible businesses must engage with activism

Our expert knowledge of activist campaigning issues, policy, and discourse helps to bridge the gap between business and civil society and supports responsible business practices.

“SIGWATCH has provided invaluable insights in helping us map the key areas of activist focus and the key groups targeting our company over a given timeframe.”

Mission statement

At SIGWATCH, we believe activists are some of the most influential actors in society, capable of driving significant change. We also believe that is it vital that businesses engage with activism in a constructive, open-minded way, rather than seeing activists as a force to be avoided.

Who are we?

SIGWATCH is the leading consultancy and data provider on activism, working with many of the world’s major companies, investors, and professional advisors. It provides a unique dataset on campaigning covering every major economy which is brought to life by a team of specialists who provide the relevant political, social and legal context.

SIGWATCH was founded by Robert Blood, an expert in corporate reputation management, to help companies understand and engage with activist groups. Robert realised the value of objectively quantifying NGO campaigning, in order to identify trends and emerging issues, and predict the impact of NGOs on public and political opinion.

The Team

Charlotte MooreManaging Director
Charlotte is a specialist in global activism trends, with experience researching, writing, and speaking about campaigning policy and tactics across a broad range of issues. She is driven by a desire to help people connect the dots and grasp complex issues, and believes strongly in SIGWATCH’s position as a bridge between business and activism. Charlotte’s research and thoughts have been published in Investment Week, Business Green, Feedinfo, Financier Worldwide, and others.
Robert BloodFounder Chairman
Robert is considered one of Europe’s leading experts on NGOs and activism. He was inspired to create SIGWATCH after spending his earlier career advising companies on managing reputational risk, when he observed how much more effective campaigning groups were at strategizing and communicating. Robert has since built SIGWATCH into the world’s leading research and strategy consultancy on understanding the impact and potential of activism.
David HamonHead of Research
David is a public policy specialist with experience working across a range of core sustainability issues. Originally from London, he studied for a BA in Philosophy and German in Nuremberg, Germany, before returning to complete an MSc in International Public Policy at UCL, where he focused on international conflict and security. Prior to joining SIGWATCH, David worked in diverse fields including market research, teaching, and sales, and has also published academic articles in literary studies. David is fluent in German, and is learning Russian and Chinese.
Catalina Becerra TrujilloResearch Associate
Catalina is a qualified attorney from Colombia, where she advocated for victims of state-perpetrated human rights violations, as well as practising as an in-house commercial attorney. She specialises in public international law, primarily the intersection of international economic law and human rights. She recently completed an LLM from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she focused on human rights clauses imposed on foreign investors in international investment agreements for her dissertation. Catalina is fluent in English and Spanish, and is learning French and Portuguese.
Max BarnesBusiness Development Lead
Max is a business development professional with 5 years of experience facilitating the management of reputational risks across the media landscape. In his previous roles, he has worked with multinationals on managing reputation drivers within ESG and stakeholder groups such as NGOs, and he brings a wealth of practical knowledge to SIGWATCH. Max also holds a Finance and Business degree from Bournemouth University.
Arpita RajEditorial and Marketing Manager
Arpita is an English literature graduate and former journalist from India, with over 4 years of experience in print and digital news. She has an MSc in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, where she focused on policy analysis and development practice. Her Masters dissertation was on the declining welfare state under neoliberalism in India and its related policy and execution challenges.
Richard BloodProduction Supervisor
Richard trained as a Chartered Accountant, and has worked in banking, engineering, retail, B2B communications and freight-forwarding insurance brokering. Additionally, he has worked as a consultant on quality management, including a spell at Denton Hall solicitors, and as a manager/analyst for Manifest proxy voting agency. Richard has a degree in Business and Commerce from Birmingham, UK.
Etienne MahlerSenior Editor
Etienne completed an apprenticeship in hotel management, and worked in hospitality and retail before he caught up with his Abitur and started studying Chinese and Social and Cultural Anthropology in Göttingen. Between 2014 and 2024, Etienne lived, studied, and worked in Vietnam, where he completed his BA and MA degrees in Vietnamese Studies and became an editor for two social sciences journals and senior editor for the largest national business and investment newspaper. Etienne is fluent in German, English, and Vietnamese, and is learning Spanish.
Thomas WardenEditor
Tom has over 15 years’ experience in the business information sector, working in a variety of research, content and strategy roles. His specialism is consumer goods insight and he has spoken and written regularly on product innovation and consumer trends. Tom holds a modern languages degree from the University of Leeds.
Leandro Vargas LlosaEditor and Researcher
Leandro is a researcher, writer and editor with experience working in human rights, econometric modelling and data analysis. Prior to joining SIGWATCH, Leandro completed a BA in Economics at Durham University, where he wrote a dissertation on the scholastic origins of monetary theory in 16th century Spain, and an MA in European History at UCL, where he wrote a dissertation on crosscurrents between European and Latin American Marxism. He has a Peruvian, American and Spanish background, is fluent in English and Spanish, has a reading knowledge of French, and is learning Russian.
Daniel ClareEditor
Daniel worked in the oil and gas industry for several years before training as an editor. He has master’s degrees in Geophysics and Marine Science.
Polly ErnestEditor
Polly has worked in marketing and sales promotion agencies before running a Marketing Services company for over 15 years, fulfilling complex projects for clients, including Unilever, Coca-Cola, Penguin Books, and many national newspapers. The roles have included all aspects of marketing, from project creation and management, copywriting, print procurement and fulfilment. She also has extensive experience with senior clients and media contacts, writing and editing copy, content, press releases, fundraisers, blog posts and websites. In addition, she has been an occasional political contributor to BBC Radio 2.

A bespoke service

SIGWATCH’s analysis of the impact of activism is tailored to your business needs. Our team has experience working with clients across all sectors on the full spectrum of issues – from human rights to biodiversity loss to alternative energy sources.

What our clients say

What our
clients say

“In our experience, SIGWATCH is one of the few sources of ESG data we can absolutely trust to be reliable.”

“Our company is based in Japan. Most employees are Japanese and we don’t really know what is happening around the world. SIGWATCH gives us visibility of the global ESG issues and trends we need to have on our radar.”

“With SIGWATCH, we’re able to absorb NGO data in an awesome way that
simply wouldn’t be possible otherwise. We can hear the NGOs’ voice, to better
strategize and get ahead of trending issues.”

“With social listening, we’re limited to knowing what people are saying only about OECD. With SIGWATCH, we see not only what is being said about us, but also what is being said about everyone else.”

“A lot is said and written about sustainability and ESG every day but no one,
apart from SIGWATCH, provides the big picture, SIGWATCH offers a comprehensive overview of what’s happening in the corporate sustainability
world rather than just a narrow snapshot.”

“SIGWATCH is a good source to show that NGOs are watching us and watching our clients, and we definitely need to be aware of the issues they are bringing up.”