Boeing: Too Big to Fail?
Reputational damage rarely stems from a single incident, but from patterns of failure that expose deeper cultural issues. In 2024 a door blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight and,…
Posts by Polpeo
WJH Shorts: The BrewDog Controversy
After going into administration on 2nd March, the fallout for BrewDog’s investors, employees and reputation has been rapid and calamitous. The collapse led to the company being acquired by US…
WJH Shorts: The Anthropic Trump Feud
On 27th February, President Donald Trump ordered the US Government to stop using technology from AI company Anthropic, developer of the Claude LLM. “We don’t need it, we don’t want…
My CEO Did WHAT?!
The Coldplay kiss cam incident in July 2025 was a great example of what can happen when a CEO is inadvertently caught in the line of fire for behaviour that…
The M&S Cyber Attack
In April 2025, Marks & Spencer suffered a significant ransomware cyber attack that severely disrupted its operations for several months and cost the company an estimated £300 million in lost profit. Among…
Del Monte Deaths
Del Monte is a globally recognised brand that has been in existence for nearly 140 years. But in 2023, The Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism uncovered allegations that…
Disney “Don’t Say Gay”
In March 2022, Florida’s Senate passed a bill to ban discussions of sexual orientation or gender identity in primary schools. The so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill stirred up major controversy…
Everything is NOT Awesome: Greenpeace v LEGO
Until 2014 Shell had enjoyed a 50-year-long brand partnership with LEGO. But it came to an abrupt and high profile end after Greenpeace’s “Everything is Not Awesome” campaign, which targeted…
Spanish Football on Trial: Sexual Assault at the World Cup
During the medal presentation at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Luis Rubiales, then-president of the Spanish Football Federation, forcibly kissed Spanish player Jenni Hermoso on the lips. The act,…
Miracle on the Hudson River
In January 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 suffered a dual engine failure shortly after take-off from LaGuardia Airport due to a bird strike. Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and First Officer…
Culture of Fear: Lessons from the Harrods Abuse Scandal
This episode of “What Just Happened?” explores the widespread abuse committed by former Harrods owner Mohammed Al Fayed and its lasting impact on the Harrods brand. Decades of sexual assault…
The Arup Deepfake Scam
This episode of “What Just Happened?” explores the growing threat of deepfake technology in corporate settings. In 2024, a major incident involving engineering company Arup saw a finance employee tricked…
SBM Offshore: Corporate Corruption, Whistleblowing, and the Fight for Justice
In this episode of “What Just Happened?”, hosts Kate Hartley and Tamara Littleton talk to the whistleblower at the heart of one of the biggest corporate bribery scandals in history,…
The TalkTalk Cyber Hack
The TalkTalk data breach of 2015 was one of the most high profile cybersecurity incidents in the UK. Initially attributed to sophisticated hackers and feared to have exposed the personal…
The Wells Fargo Fraud Scandal
In 2011 Wells Fargo bank was thrown into the centre of a scandal that resulted in it being fined $185 million for creating over 2 million fraudulent accounts without customers’…
Malaysia Airlines: The Disappearance of MH370
In March 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 completely disappeared and became one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history. The Boeing 777, carrying 239 people, lost contact with air traffic…
BP Deepwater Horizon
This week’s show discusses the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, the largest marine oil spill in history. Hosts Tamara Littleton and Kate Hartley, along with special guest Zaiba Malik, look…
The Nestlé Deforestation Backlash
In this episode of “What Just Happened?,” hosts Kate Hartley and Tamara Littleton, with special guest John Brown, explore the enduring relevance of the Nestlé versus Greenpeace controversy over palm…
The Bud Light Boycott
In this episode of “What Just Happened?,” hosts Kate Hartley and Tamara Littleton, with special guest Aby Hawker, talk about the 2023 Bud Light controversy involving trans rights activist and…
United Airlines Passenger Removal
In this episode of “What Just Happened?,” hosts Kate Hartley and Tamara Littleton, with special guest Mark Fritz, discuss the 2017 United Airlines crisis, where passenger Dr. David Dao was…
The Tylenol Recall
In this episode of “What Just Happened?,” hosts Kate Hartley and Tamara Littleton, with special guest Jonathan Hemus, discuss the 1982 Tylenol murders in Chicago, where seven people died after…
What Just Happened? Introduction
In What Just Happened? hosts and co-founders of Polpeo, Tamara Littleton and Kate Hartley, delve into a different corporate crisis, what it meant for the brand, and how it shaped…