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| Craig Buchholz |
The LAGRANT Foundation has added General Motors communications executive Craig Buchholz to its board of directors. Buchholz will replace Tony Cervone, whom he is also succeeding as GM’s VP of global communications. Buchholz will serve on the foundation’s talent acquisition committee, working to connect companies with job candidates from racial and ethnic minority groups. Before coming to GM, he was chief communications officer at Procter & Gamble, and has also served as VP, global communications at Merck and VP, worldwide communications at Johnson & Johnson. Founded in 1998, the LAGRANT Foundation has provided $2.7 million and 643 scholarships to increase the number of ethnic minorities in the advertising, marketing and PR professions.
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| Armel Leslie |
Peaks Strategies, a financial & corporate specialist PR consultancy, has brought on Armel Leslie as partner. Leslie comes to Peaks from Sloane & Company, where he was a senior VP.. He previously served as a senior director at Peppercomm, and was a partner with Peaks founder Tom Walek at Walek & Associates. “Armel has unparalleled experience and domain knowledge across the capital markets and financial services landscape and has a proven track-record fostering long-term client relationships,” said Walek. Peaks has also promoted Matt Yemma to senior vice president. Yemma came to the firm as a senior consultant in 2018. He has executed high level media relations campaigns for Peaks’ clients across such industries as asset management, fintech, ESG, real estate and professional services.
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| Mark Canavan |
Rebuild Group has hired Mark Canavan as executive creative director. Canavan comes to Rebuild Group from McCann Detroit, where he was executive vice president and executive creative director. He has also led advertising and brand building programs for health care, financial and automotive clients at agencies including Ross Roy and Young & Rubicam. Canavan was creative lead on the State of Michigan’s “Pure Michigan” campaign, involving more than 120 TV, radio and video segments for the brand. “Adding Mark to our team instantly elevates our creative capabilities,” said Rebuild Group president and CEO Josh Gershonowicz.
Whit Clay, who exited the Co-CEO slot at Sloane & Co. 18 months ago to head Longacre Square Partners’ New York office, has been promoted to serve as the first CEO of the financial communication shop.
Global Strategy Group names Claudio Taratuta as an EVP of the L@B, its in-house creative and media agency. Taratuta joins GSG from Praytell, where he was a founding team member... ROKK Solutions appoints Kris Havens as EVP of intel and insights. Havens was most recently a partner at Penta Group... Cliff House Maine brings on William Courtney Lowe as chief business development and brand strategist. Lowe joins Cliff House Maine from Chatham Bars Inn on Cape Cod, where he was VP of marketing & business development. 
Eitan Bencuya, who has more than 20 years of technology PR experience, has signed on with Brunswick Group as a partner in its San Francisco office.
DGA Group has lined up the former US ambassadors to Qatar and Saudi Arabia as senior advisors to help clients navigate that politically complex region.
Narrative Strategies names Adam Silverstein as managing director in New York. Silverstein was most recently head of media relations & thought leadership at Scient Public Relations... Mission North brings on Alex Hunter as EVP of health and innovation... Baird & Warner, a family-owned independent real estate services company that serves the Chicago area, appoints Jeanette Cutler as CMO.
