Jeffrey Sharlach
Jeffrey Sharlach

JeffreyGroup chairman and founder Jeffrey Sharlach is stepping down at the end of March. Before founding the agency in 1993, Sharlach held leadership posts at Carl Byoir & Associates (now part of Hill & Knowlton), Burson-Marsteller (now BCW) and Saatchi & Saatchi. Under his tenure, JeffreyGroup expanded from its roots in Miami to open offices in locations including Buenos Aires, Mexico City and São Paulo. Brian Burlingame, who took over as CEO when Sharlach stepped down from that post in 2015, will continue leading the firm. Burlingame has also served as CEO of H&K Latin America since WPP acquired JeffreyGroup in 2022. “This year seemed like the perfect time to retire from JeffreyGroup,” Sharlach said. “We’ve successfully transitioned from private ownership to proudly being part of WPP and H&K, offering our clients access to an expanding range of world-class resources, especially in data intelligence, and providing exciting career pathways for our staff and additional services for our clients.”

Hugh Taggart
Hugh Taggart

FleishmanHillard names Hugh Taggart CEO of its UK operations, effective Feb. 21. Taggart comes to the agency from Edelman, where he most recently served as UK CEO. He previously served as global chair of issues & crisis and led Edelman’s EMEA corporate affairs practice. Before coming to Edelman, he was managing director and partner at Bell Pottinger. “In addition to his business acumen, Hugh brings a wealth of experience leading integrated teams and advising CEOs and other leaders on a range of business-critical matters,” said FleishmanHillard president and CEO John Saunders. “This will be invaluable to our major clients at a time when brands are faced with an increasingly complex set of issues to navigate.”

B.R. Koehnemann
B.R. Koehnemann

KemperSports brings back agency veteran B.R. Koehnemann as director of corporate communications for KemperSports and KemperSports LIVE. Koehnemann most recently served as director at Buffalo Groupe. From 2006-2019, he held a variety of roles at the KemperSports. In his new position, Koehnemann will be responsible for leading all internal and external communications strategies and tactics for KemperSports and its portfolio of properties. In addition to his work within the golf industry, he will lead communications efforts for KemperSports LIVE’s roster of owned and managed sports events, activations and experiences. “His keen understanding of the industry and shared passion for delivering outstanding service to our clients and guests make him a huge asset to our company,” said KemperSports CEO Steve Skinner.

Vicki Scarfone
Vicki Scarfone

M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment North America promotes Vicki Scarfone to SVP, media relations. Scarfone was most recently a VP at the firm. Over the past year, she has led the development of M&C Saatchi Impact, a proprietary MR impact measurement tool the agency will launch this year. Before joining M&C Saatchi, she worked at Rogers & Cowan. In her new role, Scarfone will oversee the agency's profile and thought leadership strategy in addition to serving as strategic lead for clients across their consumer communications planning.