 Amanda Bialek |
Konnect Agency has promoted Amanda Bialek to executive vice president. Bialek has been with the agency since 2014, most recently as vice president. Before coming to Konnect, she served as group manager at Rogers & Cowan and an account executive at 5W Public Relations. At Konnect, she has been instrumental in initiatives that include over a dozen nationwide market openings for Dave & Buster's, a national rebrand of ONE Bar, and the relaunch of the popular Teletubbies. As executive vice president, Bialek will continue to lead staff development across all agency offices and will be charged with further developing the agency's approach to professional growth and mentorship strategies.
 Annemieke Nol |
Hill+Knowlton Strategies has appointed Annemieke Nol as strategy director at H+K Netherlands. Before coming to H+K, Nol was director of global public affairs and CSR at AkzoNobel, which manufactures paints and performance coatings for industry and consumers. She had responsibility for the company’s global government and stakeholder relations, as well as societal programs. Nol also was a founder of Edelman Holland, where she served as general manager. In addition, she has been a board-level advisor to such multinationals as Shell, Unilever, DSM, ING, UPS, Heineken, Starbucks and Nike. In her new post, she will work across a variety of practices, including corporate and brand reputation, creative and digital.
 Chuck Norman |
The Public Relations Society of America’s Counselors Academy has named Chuck Norman, owner and principal of S&A Communications in Raleigh, N.C., as its 2019 chair. Norman has been active in Counselors Academy since 2008 and joined the Executive Committee in 2013. He has held leadership roles within PRSA, the PRSA North Carolina Chapter and the Raleigh Public Relations Society. The other new members of the executive committee are Kate Snyder, APR, owner and principal strategist of Piper & Gold Public Relations in Lansing, Mich.; Darolyn Davis, principal-in-charge of Davis & Associates Communications, Inc., in San Francisco, Calif.; LaTricia Woods, president and owner of Mahogany Xan Communications, LLC in Phoenix, Ariz.; Rory Carlton, principal of Arketi Group in Atlanta, Ga.; and Janet Tyler, president and founder of True Depth in Detroit, Mich. Founded in 1960, the Counselors Academy is PRSA’s first professional interest section, dedicated to helping PRSA members succeed through access to collaborative peer relationships, meaningful professional development and education programs.
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.
