Nick PropperNick Propper

Following the news that PR powerhouse Porter Novelli has appointed North American president and senior partner Brad MacAfee to succeed Karen van Bergen as CEO amid an agency-wide restructuring of Omnicom’s PR properties, OMC unit PN today announced that it has named a new global chief operating officer and president of its North America region.

Nick Propper, former president of The DAS Group of Companies unit Emanate, has joined PN’s senior leadership team as global COO. At Emanate, Propper led that agency’s business development and global operations. Prior to that, he held the role of Emanate London CEO and was responsible for launching that agency in the U.K. (Emanate was spun off from Ketchum in 2006.) Propper previously was deputy CEO of Ketchum London and was responsible for finance, human resources and IT functions.

Jennifer SwintJennifer Swint

As Porter Novelli global COO, Propper will now serve as strategic counsel for the agency’s top clients, and will oversee its integrated client service offerings while driving business growth and value, and guiding the agency’s innovation efforts. Propper will be a member of PN’s executive committee and will relocate to New York from London later this year. He reports to newly-christened CEO Brad MacAfee.

Jennifer Swint, meanwhile, has been named Porter Novelli president, North America. Swint, former managing director and executive VP of PN’s Washington, D.C. office, was a senior director of regional business development at APCO Worldwide before joining PN in 2013. She also previously served on Atlantic Media Company’s executive leadership team, was executive director of policy council for the National Journal, and was an executive VP at Powell Tate/Weber Shandwick. In January, she was appointed partner of Porter Novelli's leadership team.

In her new role, Swint will continue to lead the agency’s D.C. office and will also be charged with guiding growth, talent development and profitability of Porter Novelli's offices throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Swint succeeds former North America president MacAfee, who was appointed Porter Novelli CEO, succeeding Karen van Bergen. van Bergen has been named CEO of newly formed Omnicom Public Relations Group and is charged with leading growth across Omnicom’s newly restructured PR portfolio.