Overcoming a business crisis

Beth Leytham is a self-described fixer.

She's advised mayors and business titans. The Lee Roy Selmon Expressway lane collapse? Leytham crafted the message to help move the story forward. Hillsborough County Commissioner Victor Crist, whom Leytham has battled with on issues, called her “the best PR and media relations person in town” in a 2015 Tampa Bay Times story. Leytham's bona fides in crisis management are so strong, The Maddux Report, a now-defunct regional business magazine, once dubbed her the Queen of Damage Control.

Leytham thought she had seen it all in her field. Or close to it.