People on the Move

Mark Veverka

Abernathy MacGregor has hired Mark Veverka as a senior VP. Most recently, Veverka was head of Sitrick and Co.’s San Francisco operations, leading financial, crisis and litigation communications programs for such companies as Toyota, TPG, Jawbone, Yelp, Khosla Ventures and Dolby Laboratories. Before that, he was west coast editor and technology columnist at Barron’s. He has been a financial columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and held positions at the Wall Street Journal, Crain’s Chicago Business, the Orange County Register and other publications. Early in his career, Veverka was an on-air reporter for the NBC affiliate in Tulsa, OK.

Greg Schumann

Birmingham, AL-based Markstein has brought on Greg Schumann as vice president and Jessica Lumsden Black as director. Schumann most recently served as group president of Time, Inc. Sales & Marketing, where he led seven industry-focused advertising units. Prior to his corporate sales role, Schumann oversaw the Southern Living, Coastal Living and Sunset brands. Black previously was director of integrated marketing for Peach Bowl, Inc. During her seven-year tenure, she served as the brand manager for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Challenge and The Dodd Trophy. Before joining the Peach Bowl, Inc. team, Black served as assistant director of communications and marketing for James Madison University. “The addition of Greg and Jessica further distinguishes the high-caliber team that defines this agency,” said Markstein managing director Eileen Markstein.

Thom Fladung

Hennes Communications announced that agency VP Thom Fladung has become a minority owner of the agency and assumed the role of managing partner. Bruce Hennes, who founded the firm in 1989 and is still majority shareholder, is taking the title of CEO. Fladung, who came to Hennes in 2015, worked for more than three decades in newspapers and digital media. He held the position of managing editor at the Plain Dealer, the Detroit Free Press and the Akron Beacon Journal. In addition, he served as editor of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Fladung is "intimately familiar with the relentless content requirements of the 24/7 news cycle, and he understands how to use Facebook, Twitter and other social media — places where reputations can be burnished.”

Ellen Schneidau

Allison+Partners has hired Ellen Schneidau and Rebecca Harbin as senior vice presidents in its corporate practice. Based in Atlanta, they will be responsible for building the agency’s B2B communications hub in the southeast. Before coming to Allison+Partners, Schneidau worked at MSL Atlanta, co-leading its corporate practice and establishing a B2B specialty area. She has worked with clients such as Samsung, VF Corporation, Kimberly-Clark Professional, Randstad, Novelis and the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Harbin was also a co-lead of the corporate practice at MSL Atlanta, and served as a senior vice president. She led the agency’s relationship with UPS, working with the company across six vertical industries. “Adding talent like Ellen and Rebecca, who have a wealth of knowledge and expertise in this space, will help Allison+Partners capitalize on this trend and drive continued growth and evolvement of our capabilities,” said Matthew Della Croce, president, Europe + Global Corporate.