 Amber Roberts |
Vested has appointed Amber Roberts chief executive officer of its professional services operation in the US. Roberts comes to Vested after serving as senior partner at Finn Partners. She opened the New York office of LANE PR in 2008 and grew the agency’s east coast presence and client base until its acquisition by Finn in 2016. She previously led business, trade and consumer PR campaigns for Microsoft at Waggener Edstrom Worldwide. At Vested, Roberts will focus on expanding the firm’s programs and services, new business development, and staff leadership. Reporting into Vested Group President Binna Kim, she will work alongside U.K. CEO Elspeth Rothwell, hired in January, to jointly coordinate and maximize the growth of Vested’s service offering across both regions.
 Kate Krane |
Edelman has hired Kate Krane as brand practice lead for the Pacific Northwest. Krane joins Edelman from SapientRazorfish, where she was most recently a managing partner, overseeing a portfolio of West Coast-based businesses including T-Mobile, Taco Bell and Nordstrom. Previously, she was a senior client partner at Seattle marketing and advertising firm POP, serving as an integral member of a team that launched several high-profile Windows phone apps. In her new post, Krane will leverage her traditional and digital agency experience to drive the brand practice’s growth.
 Philip Betbeze |
Lovell Communications has brought on Philip Betbeze as senior advisor. Betbeze comes to Lovell from HealthLeaders Media, where he had been senior strategy editor. Before that, he was an editor at the Nashville Business Journal. In his new role, Betbeze will lead and support communications strategies for the firm’s national health care client base. Lovell president and CEO Rosemary Plorin said that Betbeze’s “deep knowledge, keen insights and vast industry relationships would be an asset to our firm and our clients across the country.” Lovell also recently promoted Alli Finkelston and Bailey Wimmer to account executives.
Seven Letter hires Allie Raffa, who was most recently White House correspondent for NBC News, as a senior director... Points of Light, an organization founded by President George H.W. Bush that is dedicated to volunteer service, names Jeff Zanelli as CMO... Frontieras North America, an energy and environmental technology company, appoints Nora Shepard as VP of communications.
Alcoa has named Emily Olson, who has more than 20 years of experience working in capital-intensive industries in the Americas, Europe and Asia, EVP & chief external affairs officer, effective April 6.
Longacre Square Partners has named Humza Vanderman partner and head of its London outpost as the financial communications firm expands into Europe.
FGS Global adds former Pfizer EVP and chief corporate affairs officer Sally Susman to its global executive board as an independent member, effective April 1... Codeword brings on Kim Baffi, who was previously Salesforce VP and creative director, as executive creative director... Amperity, an AI-powered customer data cloud, appoints Bridget Perry as CMO.
MOIA America, a Volkswagen Group of America subsidiary that develops and tests autonomous, all-electric ride-pooling vehicles, names Marcus Gamo head of U.S. communications... Continental Strategy brings on Francisco Petrirena as VP in its Miami office. Petrirena was previously chief of staff to former Miami city manager Art Noriega... MSQ Sport + Entertainment brings on Lauren Weil as EVP, Max Hirsch as VP of sponsorship, and Brooke Losee as VP.
