R&A Strategic Communications (R&A) is a communications consultancy niched in the natural resources sector – mainly mining.
Over the past 24 years, R&A (formerly Russell and Associates Investor Relations) has grown into a leading southern African communications and reporting agency with more than 50 clients – big and small, listed and unlisted.
Russell and Associates Investor Relations was established in May 1999 by Charmane Russell. Having spent more than a decade in a corporate communications environment, Charmane was well-positioned to establish an agency providing superior service with a personalised touch. Over the years, Charmane has built an expert team with enviable experience and expertise with young, energetic and highly competent communications professionals.
“R&A Strategic Communications is a multi-faceted communications consultancy”

We are a team of thinkers, problem-solvers, writers, communicators, designers, and technologists

R&A’s approach is holistic and can broadly be segmented into:
- Reputation management
- Media and investor relations
- Internal communications
- Social media management
- Integrated and sustainability reporting
- Human rights practice
- Creative (Design and Digital)
Centrally located in northern Johannesburg, South Africa, R&A has a network of contacts in New York, London, Sydney and Perth, and is able to provide access to international expertise and a global audience

How we work
We assist clients in navigating complex media and investor relations issues, in building and preserving their corporate reputations, always guided by a strong ethical base. We offer an integrated communications approach, implemented strategically.
We work with our clients to establish their communication strategy and plans, and the messages, channels and skills that are required to thrive in a global marketplace, and a local environment.
To do our jobs effectively, we need to know and believe in your business, in your brand and in your ability to deliver on your promises. It is our responsibility to ensure that your audiences do too.
Our values
LOVE WHAT WE DO
RESPECT FOR ALL
CHANGE IS GOOD
LEARNING, ALWAYS
ALL IDEAS DESERVE TO BE HEARD
LIFE BEYOND WORK
ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
DO THE RIGHT THING
WE ARE A TEAM
EVERYONE POURS TEA
We are South African

While R&A and its principals have experience of working all over the world, we are firmly rooted in South Africa.
We are committed to the principles of black economic empowerment and subscribe to the Department of Trade and Industry’s codes of good practice for black economic empowerment, as well as the mining industry’s Mining Charter. R&A is now rated at Level 3 on the DTI scorecard, with a procurement recognition level of 110% towards BEE spend. In terms of the Mining Charter III, we are a BEE-compliant supplier as well as being both HDP- and women-owned. In early 2017, R&A embarked on an exciting new path, entering into an agreement with Kisten Stern as a part–owner of the business. Following the conclusion of this black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction on 1 October 2018, R&A has a 26% black shareholding – 15% by Kisten Stern and 11% by the R&A Women’s Empowerment Trust.
We are proud of our South African heritage and determined to contribute to the transformation of the industry and country, including as a whole through the inclusion of historically disadvantaged people in the business. We believe we can make a difference – through our procurement practices, recruitment and development policies, and regular internships.