Christina Pretto, head of communications and PA at Lone Star Funds, has been named chair of the Wisemen, a private PR group started in 1938 by John Hill.

Christine PrettoChristina Pretto

Hill, who founded Hill and Knowlton, started the group at a dinner party at his apartment in 1938. There were no women members for many years. Dinners were held monthly at the University Club and included a speaker of note. It is also known as “The Group.”

Pretto was a senior VP of communications at American International Group from January 2010 until 2015 after serving as VP of corporate media relations at AIG from January 2009 to January 2010. She succeeds Gerard Meuchner, chief communications officer, Henry Schein.

She oversaw all aspects of AIG's corporate media relations, including developing and implementing AIG's media relations strategy, counseling senior management on media affairs, and coordinating media activities with AIG's communications professionals worldwide.

She joined AIG from Citigroup where she served as managing director and global head of PA, serving as chief media spokesperson. She was global head of corporate affairs for Citigroup's corporate and investment banking division, responsible for media relations, internal communications, branding, advertising, digital media, community affairs, and external positioning.

Prior to joining Citigroup in 2001 as deputy directory of PR, she served as the Director of Communications at S&P Global Ratings Inc., and worked as a journalist covering global debt capital markets and U.S. public finance. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin.