Wendi Shapiro, senior VP for Murphy O'Brien PR, has moved to MWWPR to lead its consumer marketing practice in the Western region from Los Angeles.
Shapiro, who takes a senior VP title, oversaw Murphy O'Brien's lifestyle business like The Cheesecake Factory, Tender Greens, See's Candies and The Andaz Maui and Wailea over 10 years at the agency. At MWWPR, her purview includes restaurants, travel and wine & spirits business.
MWWPR CEO Michael Kempner said Shapiro will play a key role in the firm's ongoing West Coast expansion.
Shapiro started out in book publicity with Hilsinger-Mendelson, touting tomes by Suze Orman and Suzanne Somers.
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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