Guest blog from Germana Barba

Public Affairs advisor, University lecturer and Machiavelli "admirer"

The format for this guest blog series is quite simple: During 2026, 12 of the best and most interesting PA Pros in Europe will be invited to contribute with one blogpost each here on my Substack, in which they answer 10 questions about their experiences from working in Public Affairs and what they have learned along the way.

So the ambition with this initiative is to provide readers with a realistic view of what Public Affairs is really about: honest and hard work! It is about learning from good or bad habits from some of the best in the business.

So remember to subscribe to the blog, so you don’t miss out on the upcoming guest blogs.

The January blogger was Mette Kahlin McVeigh, Senior Vice President of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs at Stora Enso, which you can read here.

The February blogger is Vera Heitmann, Head of Public Affairs, IKEA Germany, which you can read here.

The March blogger was Milos Labovic, the author of “EU Superlobby: Winning in Brussels”, which you can read here.

So, this months blogger is… Germana Barba, independent Public Affairs consultant & University lecturer in Public Affairs and Business Ethics. Read her interesting perspectives on Public Affairs below.

1. For how long have your worked in/with Public Affairs, and what drove you in this direction?

I’ve been in the Public Affairs world for 21 years. Since a very young age I was interested in the intersection of business, politics, and societal debates. After studying political science in Italy, France, and the UK, and spending a few years in journalism, I joined the Government Affairs team of Philip Morris International in Italy and later the Corporate Affairs function in the company’s HQ.

Over the past four years, I have worked as an independent Public Affairs consultant, primarily supporting non-profit organizations on sustainability-related policy change. Alongside this, I teach Public Affairs and Business Ethics at the University of Pavia and at the Rome Business School, and I have recently started a PhD focused on the ethical conditions under which lobbying can serve democracy. I’ve also co-founded Public Affairs & Careers, a start-up offering coaching and orientation to young and mid-career professionals interested in undertaking or transitioning to a Public Affairs career.

2. How big is your PA department (PA employees), and where is the PA department placed in your organization?

Earlier in my career, in corporate environments, Public Affairs teams typically ranged from 7 to 35 people, with the head of function reporting directly to the CEO both at market and HQ level. Today, as an independent consultant, I work alone but in close collaboration with clients and broader ecosystems of stakeholders. In that sense, the “department” becomes more fluid: less about hierarchy and more about networks.

3. What is the split between internal and external meetings for you?

As an independent consultant, most of my meetings are external by definition. Earlier in my corporate career, the split varied significantly. At affiliate level, internal and external meetings were roughly balanced. At headquarters level, internal coordination could exceed 80%, given the need to align across markets. However, external meetings, with regulators, policymakers, or advocacy groups, were fewer but significantly more demanding and high-stakes.

4. How many external lunches do you have per week?

Not many, typically one or two. They are usually with clients, prospective clients, or long-standing professional contacts. I tend to prioritize depth over frequency when it comes to relationship-building.

5. Where do you keep up to date on Public Affairs?

A mix of sources: media (social and traditional, covering different geographies and political orientations), LinkedIn, podcasts, etc. Recently, I have been focusing on AI as both a Public Affairs issue, and a Public Affairs tool. On the former, I closely follow regulatory and multilateral developments, from the UN’s Independent International Scientific Panel on AI national frameworks such as those being currently explored in Switzerland. On the latter, I actively experiment with large language models and other tools, and follow leading AI practitioners to understand how these technologies are changing advocacy, stakeholder engagement, and campaigning. The potential is significant, particularly in campaigning, but so are the risks.

6. Name a PA Pro in the industry you respect and why

There are many, but if I were to mention just a few, they would be Anne Edwards (Head of Corporate Affairs at Glencore), for her ability to navigate complex environments with consistency, composure, and sound judgment, Michele Ziosi (Chief Global Affairs & Sustainability Officer at Iveco), for his political and institutional acumen, and Mariella Palazzolo, one of the most accomplished lobbyists in Italy and a pioneer as a female founder in the field. They represent different models of excellence, but all combine strategic clarity with credibility.

7. What is your favourite book in relation to Public Affairs, campaigns or politics?

One of the best books I’ve ever read on the topic is Lobbying and Policy Change: Who Wins, Who Loses, and Why by Frank R. Baumgartner et al., because it offers a rare data-driven and realistic perspective on lobbying. Currently I am engaging with academic work mostly, a very good one is the Research Handbook on Public Affairs edited by Arco Timmermans, particularly the contributions on the analytical and normative foundations of Public Affairs (by Timmermans himself), and on public accountability of lobbying in democracies by Alberto Bitonti and Jean-Patrick Villeneuve.

8. Who do you follow on social media in relation to Public Affairs (if any)?

Lately I am following Tina Fordham (Fordham Global Foresight). Her work is a strong example of how to translate geopolitics into actionable insights for business audiences, something I see as fully within the scope of modern Public Affairs.

9. Who would you love to read a guest blog from?

If we stretch the definition a bit: Niccolò Machiavelli. Few thinkers have been as lucid (and honest) about power, influence, and the realities of political engagement. His perspective would probably still feel uncomfortably relevant.

10. What is the biggest challenge for the discipline of Public Affairs? And how do we solve it?

Public Affairs is still fighting a legitimacy battle. The debate is often framed in simplistic terms: corporations are either portrayed as corrupting democracy or as indispensable partners compensating for state failure. Neither narrative is sufficient. The ‘villain’ narrative cannot explain why some forms of corporate engagement are clearly legitimate. The ‘partner’ narrative cannot explain why others are clearly problematic. The real issue I think is that we still lack a widely accepted framework to distinguish legitimate from illegitimate forms of corporate engagement with public institutions. Other professions have this. We don’t. As long as that gap exists, Public Affairs will remain vulnerable to suspicion, regardless of how many transparency registers we create. To address this, we need stronger 1) formalization of the discipline, which means more structured academic pathways and clearer standards to access the profession, and 2) a more honest conversation about power and responsibility. Until then, we will keep debating symptoms instead of addressing the core issue.