By Greg Hazley
MWW Group president and CEO Michael Kempner has led a management buyout of the agency from Interpublic, 10 years after the advertising and PR conglomerate acquired the New Jersey-based firm.
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“With the support of my management team, we’ve decided to regain our independence by purchasing back MWW and unleashing the talent, creativity and spirit of this great organization,” Kempner said in a statement, adding that the agency will return to its “roots” as strategic management consultants and become more “nimble” in the process.
The deal also includes the Financial Relations Board, which has been under Kempner’s purview since 2005. The firm said the majority of executives involved in the buyout were staffers of the firm during its original sale and during its early growth years.
Kempner said changes in the media and the PR industry made the timing right.
“The media and business landscape is continuing to rapidly change and PR is at the forefront of the revolution, helping brands and companies maintain relevance and build a level of trust that can no longer be earned just through traditional marketing and advertising,” he said.
Kempner founded the firm in 1986 after serving as legislative director for New Jersey Democratic congressman Robert Torricelli, building up a respected public affairs and lobbying shop and branching out to consumer and tech PR.
In addition to its East Rutherford, N.J., base, the firm has offices in New York, Trenton, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, and London. Clients include Nikon, Pfizer and the City of Newark.
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