 Shawna Seldon McGregor |
Grasslands, which represents clients in the cannabis, tech, entertainment and hospitality industries, has brought on Shawna Seldon McGregor as managing partner. McGregor will lead the firm’s PR department, in its new Denver office. McGregor comes to Grasslands from The Rosen Group, where she served as senior VP. She established TRG’s Denver office in 2012 and became one of the first PR pros working in the legal cannabis industry. She began her career at Porter Novelli’s pharmaceutical practice, working on accounts including SmithKline Beecham and Pfizer. Grasslands was established in 2017 by Ricardo Baca, former marijuana editor of the Denver Post and the original editor-in-chief of news site The Cannabist. “With Shawna’s arrival at Grasslands, we’ve finally completed the transition into a legitimate full-service agency,” Baca said.
 Lisa Halliday |
ID has hired Lisa Halliday as chief communications officer. For over a decade, Halliday was head of communications and brand strategy for Oprah Winfrey and Harpo Inc., serving on Winfrey’s executive leadership team and spearheading the launch of such brands as OWN, O Magazine, Harpo Films and Harpo Productions. Prior to Harpo, she held senior positions in PR at Walt Disney Studios, Twentieth Century Fox and Columbia Pictures. In this new position, Halliday will complement ID’s team in Los Angeles and New York across all facets of the agency’s business. ID has also recently promoted several longtime executives to senior VP including Allison Elbl, head of ID Music, and Sara Serlen and Harlan Gulko, co-heads of ID Film, TV and Content.
 Itay Filiba |
Blink has added Itay Filiba to its executive team as VP of product and development. Filiba comes to Blink from London-based Channel 2 News, where he was head of digital products, managing the channel’s technology integrations. He also oversaw the production of major news events, including the 2012 Olympic Games and the 2011 Royal Wedding. Before joining Channel 2 News, he was a TV director for the Parliament Channel and Entertainment Channel, both in Israel.
 Amy Sedeño |
Carolyn Izzo Integrated Communications has promoted Amy Sedeño to Director. Sedeño currently oversees several travel and tourism accounts at the agency, including Barbados Tourism, Cancun/Riviera Maya Tourism Board and Cala Luna Hotel in Costa Rica. Before coming to CIIC, she was an account executive at Newlink Group. In her new position, Sedeño will spearhead the agency’s operations out of Miami, helping to develop communication strategies focused on the travel, real estate, food & beverage and lifestyle industries. She will also drive new business opportunities and prioritize the growth of the agency’s services in the U.S., Mexico and Latin America.
Netflix has hired Instacart’s Dani Dudeck as chief communications officer, effective Jan. 12. She also handled communications at Zynga and MySpace.
Deborah Sierchio, who was at Coyne PR for over two decades, has moved to Krupp, where she is taking on the role of EVP, managing director.
Bastion appoints Jody Sowa as managing director, PR in the US, strengthening the company’s growing presence in Los Angeles and New York... The Davis Companies, a Boston-based real estate developer, appoints Andrea Simpson as EVP of creative, brand and communications... CBIZ, a professional services advisor, appoints Christopher Sikora as VP, investor relations and corporate finance.
Nick Clegg, who was global affairs president at Meta in a seven-year run, has joined London's Hiro Capital investment firm as a general partner.
Burson brings on Bruce Haynes, who served as global co-chairman of the crisis communications and issues management unit at FGS Global, as U.S. head of public affairs.
