Barbara Bates, North America CEO of Hotwire, has been named group CEO of the global tech PR agency.

She succeeds Hotwire group CEO Brendon Craigie, who stepped down from the global leadership position in March.

Barbara BatesBarbara Bates

Bates has held the North America CEO title since October, after her former agency, bio-coastal tech firm Eastwick, was acquired by Hotwire last year. Bates was CEO of that 25-year-old firm, which she founded in 1991.

She was previously a vice president at PR agency the Benjamin Group and an advisor to San Francisco-based software platform Traackr. Earlier in her career, she led marketing communications for Acuson and Calma.

As group CEO, Bates will now oversee Hotwire’s global leadership team, which consists Andy West, Adrian Talbot, Alex MacLaverty and former Eastwick president Heather Kernahan. Kernahan has been elevated to the position of Hotwire president, North America, and will now lead Hotwire’s US operations.

Bates will report to Matthew Melhuish, CEO of Australia-based marketing and communications network Enero Group Limited, to which Hotwire is a subsidiary.

New York-headquartered Hotwire was the largest gainer out of all of the 121 PR firms ranked by O’Dwyer’s this year, increasing more than 322 percent year-over-year in 2016 to account for $13.2 million in net fees, according to O’Dwyer’s rankings of PR firms.