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POLANSKY TAKES WEBER SHANDWICK HELM
Andy Polansky, president of Weber Shandwick since 2004, has been promoted to the CEO spot. He succeeds Harris Diamond, who moves to chair Interpublic’s flagship McCann Worldgroup ad network.
Polansky, Diamond
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Interpublic CEO Michael Roth called Polansky a “key driver” in Weber Shandwick’s success, a valued strategic counselor and “someone who creates a great work environment for the firm’s people.”
Polansky, who did a two-year stint as chairman of the Council of PR Firms, said he looks forward to continue partnering with Weber Shandwick chairman Jack Leslie. He told O’Dwyer’s it’s a “privilege” to take Weber Shandwick’s top spot. His goals are to expand the firm’s footprint, foster its collaborative culture to serve clients and keep the double-digit growth rate on track.
Diamond, who also held the CEO position of IPG’s constituency management group, succeeds Nick Brien at McCann.
He joins a newly created office of the chairman with Luca Lindner (president of Middle East, Africa, Americas) and Gustavo Martinez (president of Asia-Pacific, Europe).
NEW FED FINANCIAL AGENCY ENGAGES F-H
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the year-old federal regulator led by Richard Cordray, is working with Fleishman-Hillard.
The Omnicom firm is handling project work for the CFPB, which is a key piece of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act overhauling the nation's financial sector.
The CFPB brought its first enforcement action in July, a $210M move against Capitol One for pushing customers to buy credit card products. It has since cracked down on American Express and Discover on behalf of consumers.
Last month, the CFPB said will add debt collectors to its oversight, starting in January.
The CFPB’s architect, Elizabeth Warren, was elected to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts this month.
Raj Date, the No. 2 official at the fed agency whose Wall Street resume helped quiet fierce opposition from the financial sector , announced his exit last week, effective Jan. 31, following the CFPB’s release of mortgage rules mandated by Congress.
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TRANSIT RESEARCH ENTITY SEEKS PR PLAN
The Transportation Research Board, the federal, state and private sector-backed organization which studies major transportation issues in the U.S., is calling for communications proposals as seven major studies are rolled out through 2014.
Issues like climate change and the highway system, changing energy supplies, and long-range preservation and renewal of infrastructure are the topics of the projects, which will be rolled out over the next two years as they are completed.
The TRB, based in Washington, D.C., wants a communications plan to cut through other issues in the sector to reach industry leaders with the results of its seven major research projects. “To gain the attention, creative and innovative means are needed to convey the relevant and actionable information necessary to begin and sustain a dynamic conversation within transportation leadership circles,” reads an RFP issues by the group.
The board anticipates a three-year contract worth $350,000 for the assignment.
The RFP is open for proposals through Jan. 3, 2013. View the RFP: http://bit.ly/ZYZD8Q.
The TRB was formed in 1920 to collect information and research on highway technology and its scope has increased widely to advise the President, Congress and the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, among others.
KEKST WORKS AMF FINANCIAL GUTTER BALL
Kekst & Co. is handling the bankruptcy of AMF Bowling Worldwide as the developer of the automated pinspotter (1946) restructures for the second time.
The Mechanicsville, Va.-based company believes completion of the pre-arranged restructuring will reduce its “burdensome debt load” and provide the financial flexibility to improve its bowling centers.
AMF operates 262 bowling of the nation’s more than 5,000 bowling alleys.
The business has been hurt by the long-term decline in organized leagues, which provided a steady income flow, and is in the process of upgrading facilities to appeal to casual and more upscale players.
AMF has modernized nine of its alleys with lounges and a fresher look. It expects to emerge from Chapter XI in five months.
Kekst managing director Kimberly Kriger handles the AMF filing.
Kekst is owned by Publicis.
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