 Liam Leduc Clarke |
APCO Worldwide has opened an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The new office expands the agency’s presence in the Middle East and North Africa region, where it already has offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Liam Leduc Clarke, a 15-year APCO veteran, will be the office’s first managing director. APCO’s Saudi unit will offer full digital, media, creative and high-level business and management consulting capabilities. The office will work in close partnership with other offices throughout MENA and APCO’s global network. “Saudi Arabia is changing rapidly and, based on the great work of our team to date, we are excited by the opportunities in the market and believe our services will be helpful in the incredible transformation that is taking place as a result of Vision 2030 (Saudia Arabia’s plan to reduce its dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop its public service sector by 2030),” said APCO founder and executive chairman, Margery Kraus.
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Weber Shandwick has opened an owned office in Bogotá, Colombia, to further expand its presence in Latin America. The new office is a partnership with fellow Interpublic advertising and marketing agency McCann. The firm’s network in Latin America now includes owned offices in Colombia, Brazil and Mexico, as well as affiliates in Argentina, Chile and Peru. Paula Restrepo has been named managing director and will lead operations in the Bogotá office. Restrepo joins from influencer marketing technology firm FLUVIP, where she was acting COO. Previously, she was a senior vice president at Edelman. “Colombia is the third fastest growing economy in Latin America and is poised for substantial business opportunity,” said Laura Schoen, chair, Latin America. “Weber Shandwick will meet increasing client investment and interest in Colombia, and our presence in Bogotá anchors our capabilities even deeper in Latin America.”
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Allison+Partners has entered into a partnership with UK-based talent and influencer marketing agency Beyond. The partnership is meant to both enhance Allison+Partners’ consumer capabilities and complement its leadership in influencer marketing. The agency has also added two new senior hires to further strengthen its technology and consumer practice offerings. Harry Ronaldson, who was formerly at Golin, will be a vice president, with responsibility for growing the agency’s B2B technology offering. Katie Rispin, who previously worked with Red Brick Road and Kaper, has joined as a senior account director.
DJE Holdings, parent of Edelman and Zeno, launches RUTH as an independent shop named after Ruth Edelman, mental health advocate, wife and longtime business partner of Dan Edelman.
New York City PR firms make up the largest slice of O'Dwyer's 147 firm overall ranking with 33 of 40 in the New York/New Jersey area either calling Manhattan their home or having a presence there.
Subject Matter+Kivvit, which joined forces in May, has rebranded as Avoq, an integrated shop with more than 200 professionals in Washington, New York, Asbury Park (NJ), Miami and Chicago.
While PR pros stationed at in-house comms. teams and those working for agencies share many of the same objectives, they also have markedly different top priorities, according to a recent report.
Edelman is cutting 240 employees or about four percent of its workforce to cope with the cooling down of the PR sector, according to a memo from CEO Richard Edelman.
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