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| Judith Harrison |
New York Women in Communications announces the honorees for its 2021 Matrix Awards. The honorees include Weber Shandwick executive vice president, global diversity equity & inclusion Judith Harrison; New York Times Washington correspondent Maggie Haberman; actor Awkwafina and Spotify chief content & advertising business officer Dawn Ostroff. A private ceremony at the Lighthouse at Pier Sixty in New York City on Sept. 27 will celebrate the winners in person, while the public can celebrate at a virtual event to be held Oct. 18. NYWICI’s 2021 college scholarship recipients will also be honored at the event. To date, NYWICI has awarded more than $1.7 million in scholarships to support young women and their academic and professional pursuits. NYWICI is opening access to the virtual event for anyone who would like to attend, but asks attendees to donate to the organization when they register. Donations from the Matrix Awards go to support NYWICI operations as well as its scholarships and educational programs.
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Origin Digital, a Belfast-based digital marketing and branding agency, enters the US market with the opening of a New York City office. The new office will serve primarily fintech and insurtech companies. Origin’s US operations will be overseen by managing partner Jacqueline Silva, who also consults as a senior strategist for an Origin agency partner, Caliber Corporate Advisers, “The Origin New York office is an exciting development in the evolution of our firm, allowing us to serve our ever-growing roster of U.S. clients and to grow our global footprint in a key strategic market,” said Origin co-founder and managing partner Jerry Staple.
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| Todor Ianev |
The Worldcom Public Relations Group installs its group board and regional committees for 2021-2022. Todor Ianev, managing partner of Janev & Janev in Sofia, Bulgaria was voted in as group chair, his first term in this role. The Pollack Group president Stefan Pollack will serve as vice chair. RLF Communications CEO Monty Hagler will continue as chair of the Americas Committee; Luis Avellaneda, managing director, Realidades, Lima, Peru will chair the LATAM committee; and Serge Beckers, managing partner, Wisse Kommunikatie, Arnhem, The Netherlands will begin his first term as chair of the EMEA Committee. “Todor Ianev, with Worldcom's regional chairs and the new global board members, are poised to build on Worldcom's strong global brand as well as facilitate strong partner interaction," said Worldcom managing director Todd Lynch.
Public Inc., a social impact agency based in Toronto and New York, acquires Rocket Social Impact, an advisory firm that works with nonprofit and corporate social impact organizations... Ruder Finn launches “What’s Next: The Ruder Finn Podcast,” a new platform hosted by CEO Kathy Bloomgarden... Crowe PR joins United Partners Network, a network of independent PR agencies with members across more than 65 markets worldwide.
Ruder Finn launches rf.Voices, an integrated influence offering that brings together AI-powered influencer marketing, customer advocacy and paid amplification under one measurable framework... The Pollack Group is accepting applications through March 31 for The Big Red Grant, a $40,000 pro bono strategic PR and marketing engagement program awarded to a nonprofit organization ready for growth... D S Simon Media releases a report that says almost seven in ten producers (68 percent) are more interested in airing a story when they know it has been optimized for AI.
Precision Strategies, an integrated strategy and marketing agency with offices in Washington and New York, acquires Firehouse Strategies, a DC-based public affairs firm... AVENIR GLOBAL acquires London-based Thinks Insight & Strategy... Good Company, which bills itself as a “cultural engineering firm,” is launched by DJ Hardy, a veteran of Johannesburg-based communications consultancy arxna and M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment and Casey Stickles, who has worked at 5WPR, Rubenstein and MWW.
PSC (Princeton Strategic Communications) acquires Nonprofit Partners... CG Life launches 24/364, a cultural brand platform intended to drive awareness, connection and action aimed at keeping rare disease at the forefront of the health and social conversation... Interluxe Group, which focuses on brand experiences and in-person activations; Quinn, a strategic communications agency; and media and digital agency North & Warren are uniting under the Interluxe Group banner.
KITH, which provides corporate reputation and crisis preparation services, is now owned by CEO Stephanie Craig, who has been with the firm since 2021... The Marketing Cloud, a part of Stagwell, introduces several expansions to Agent Cloud, the platform it launched in October 2025 to simplify access to its AI tools and marketing assistants.... Notified launches its AI Press Release Optimizer.
