Our principALS
Res Publica is a deliberately senior firm. Our principals lead every engagement – bringing the strategic depth, creative ambition and commercial judgement that complex briefs demand.
Our Leadership team
James Tait
Managing Partner
James brings over 25 years of strategic communication expertise - spanning investor and corporate communication, M&A, brand strategy, reputation and crisis management, government relations and sustainability. He began his career as a policy advisor in the UK Government before working in consultancy in London. Moving to Australia, James joined ASX-listed brewer Lion Nathan as Corporate Affairs Director before returning to consultancy as co-owner and Managing Partner of Res Publica, where he leads major accounts while also advising a range of innovative start-ups, scale-ups and family office clients. James has previously served on the boards of the Australian Association of National Advertisers and not-for-profit Uplifting Australia, and was Lion’s delegate to the Brewers Association of Australia.
Aleks Rzadkowski
Partner - Strategy & Creative
Aleks draws on nearly two decades spanning management consulting, agency creative and strategy, and in-house brand marketing. He architects brand, communication and go-to-market strategies for organisations undergoing significant transformation. As co-owner and partner at Res Publica, he leads Australian and international accounts - bringing commercial acumen and creative craft to each engagement, with a particular understanding of driving behaviour change across both marketplace and workplace audiences. He is known for building trusted, energising and enduring client partnerships. Beyond his role at Res Publica, Aleks is a co-founder of non-alcoholic beverage brand Sammy Piquant, a Top 10 finishing student of AWARD School, holds writing and directing certification from AFTRS, and volunteers as a surf lifesaver at Palm Beach SLSC.
Gabriel McDowell
Executive Chairman
One of Australia’s most respected government and public relations professionals. Gabriel’s work has won many accolades from the communication industry - including the top awards in both the UK and Australia. Head of Res Publica’s government relations teams, he has been behind some of the most significant public affairs outcomes in recent Australian history. He advises many of Australia’s leading corporations on reputational activity and through other transformational events and crises. He is a founding member and office bearer of the Australian Professional Government Relations Association and a non-executive director of SpinalCure Australia.
Aki Rothberg
Director - Brand & Creative
Aki leads Res Publica’s creative output across brand identity, campaign design and content production - bringing a designer’s rigour to strategic communication challenges. Before joining in 2018, Aki led the internal design and content production studio at Nordea - Northern Europe's largest financial services group - where he oversaw the company’s comprehensive rebranding. Prior to that, he spent over a decade as a senior designer and art director across Copenhagen and Helsinki-based agencies, leading programmes for global brands including Gucci and technology house Danfoss.
Nathan Quigley
Director - Corporate
Nathan spent nearly a decade on the front line of election campaigns across Australia, establishing himself as one of the country’s leading political communicators. As Communications Director and later State Director of the NSW National Party, he ran innovative, highly targeted campaigns across a range of platforms, and was recognised with a Reed Award for Best International TV Advertisement for his work on the 2016 Federal Election campaign. Nathan has wide networks in government and across regional Australia, and brings particular depth in structured campaign strategy and crisis management.
Gabrielle Brewer
Director
Gabrielle brings over 25 years’ public relations and marketing communications experience across Australia and the UK, spanning the private and public sectors. She led accounts for global brands at Shandwick International and The Ogilvy Group in London for Norwich Union Insurance and ‘smile’ Digital Banking. More recently she has focused on integrated brand marketing and PR campaigns for tourism and lifestyle clients across regional Australia and NSW. Previous roles included Communications Director at Shangri-La Hotels and PR Manager at Tourism Sydney and Destination NSW.
Sean Aylmer
Associate Director
Sean is one of Australia’s most respected journalists, with deep experience across editorial and executive levels. As Editorial Director of Fairfax Media, he was the most senior journalist at the group for over four years and the publisher of iconic mastheads The Age, The Australian Financial Review and the Sydney Morning Herald. Prior to entering journalism he was an economist with the Reserve Bank. Sean’s expertise in Australian financial media is unparalleled, and he has cultivated extensive networks throughout both the corporate and media communities. He brings a rare combination of editorial judgement and corporate understanding to every media engagement.
Our Values
Ingenuity, fervour, candour.
‘Res Publica’ was first coined in ancient Rome by Cicero to describe the relationship between the state’s institutions and its people. It is the precursor of ‘public affairs’ and ‘public relations’.
We named our firm Res Publica to reflect a belief that the fundamental nature of good communication - the ability to
align people around a common ambition and move them to act – is immutable.
In a world of continuous change, heightened accountability,
and ever more connected stakeholders, our senior team helps leaders harness that power – shaping the strategies, narratives and creative platforms that drive lasting organisational impact.
While we care about many things in the course of our work,
we value three above all else:
