John Keilthy, the former chief operating officer of NCB, is to head up the Irish arm of UK reputation management consultancy, ReputationInc.

Mr Keilthy, who left NCB late last year, has retained the broker as a client in his new capacity.

ReputationInc was founded in London in 2002 by three partners including John Mahony, former chief executive of Edelman PR in London and chairman of Edelman in the Republic.

Mr Keilthy, who sold his shareholding in NCB when he left the broker, will own the Dublin office equally with the three other partners.

The company's services will be aimed primarily at larger companies, with a special focus on clients doing business in both Britain and the Republic.

"We're a cocktail between a management consultancy firm and a communications consultancy," said Mr Keilthy yesterday.

He is expecting his new role to involve dealings with a company's customers, its employees, its investors, the media and regulators.

A good reputation is based on factors including financial performance, products and leadership, according to Mr Keilthy.

He said ReputationInc has developed tools that can measure the investment return that a good reputation can deliver.

ReputationInc will not compete "head-on" with public relations companies but Mr Keilthy acknowledged that there may be some overlap between the two offerings.