On the Move: Caliber Corporate Advisers Ups Rodriguez to CEO

Grace Keith Rodriguez

Caliber Corporate Advisers, which works with clients in fintech and financial services, promotes Grace Keith Rodriguez to chief executive officer. Rodriguez joined Caliber in 2014, serving as the agency’s president since 2018. Before coming to Caliber, she served as public relations manager, financial & risk at Thomson Reuters. Succeeding Harvey Hudes, who has served as Caliber’s CEO since establishing the agency more than 13 years ago, Rodriguez will oversee the company’s vision and development across the business, as well as focus on company growth. Hudes will take on the role of chief innovation officer, working to strengthen Caliber’s offering for both client partners and employees. “Grace is a thoughtful, intentional and trusted leader for our team and clients. She has truly earned the opportunity to lead the next chapter of Caliber’s growth,” said Hudes.

Jerry Lombardo

Hill & Knowlton and BCW, which will merge as of July 1 to form Burson, are making new appointments across global functional roles, global practices and two specialty agencies. BCW global chief financial officer Jerry Lombardo will take on the same role at Burson. BCW global president Brooke Hovey becomes Burson’s global chief strategy officer, and BCW global chief client and growth officer Michelle Hutton retains that position at Burson. Simon Shaw, currently global chief creative strategy & innovation officer at Hill & Knowlton, will be global chief creative officer at Burson and H&K global chief marketing and communications officer Randa Stephen becomes global chief brand officer, Burson. Hill & Knowlton execs who will keep their current titles under the Burson umbrella include global chief people officer Azurée Montoute-Lewis, global chair of healthcare Brenna Terry and global chair of technology Sara Gourlay. Simon Whitehead, now global chair of energy & industrials at H&K, will be global chair of Energy & Industrials, Burson (in addition to his role as CEO, UK, Burson). Kristin Cahill continues as CEO, GCI Group; and Matthew Lackie continues as CEO, AxiCom. “Hill & Knowlton has a well-established and strong global practice structure in place which will be replicated at Burson, under the guidance of these chair appointments, to deliver clients access to the talent and services at the scale they need,” said BCW global CEO Corey duBrowa.

Andrew Bard

Rubenstein Public Relations brings on Andrew Bard as a VP in its corporate communications group. Bard was most recently founder and president of BARDCOMM, a consultancy that works with clients in sectors including technology, social impact and retail. He has also served as a VP at Makovsky + Company in their tech & energy practice, a VP in Weber Shandwick’s global strategic media practice and a senior VP at BCW Global. “Andrew's vision for storytelling and guiding transformative narratives is a perfect match for our mission. We are excited to see how his leadership will further enhance our commitment to delivering excellence for our clients,” said Rubenstein Public Relations president Richard Rubenstein.

Alyssa Jewell

Nickerson hires Alyssa Jewell as senior manager of PR and communications. Jewell was most recently an executive producer at NBC10 Boston. She was previously a producer at WMUR in Manchester, NH and WBRC in Birmingham, AL. In her new role, Jewell’s duties will include developing media and public relations efforts for Nickerson’s client-partners in the sustainability, property technology, built environment and healthcare industries. “Alyssa's extensive network and in-depth knowledge of how stories get told translate into significant, tangible value for our client-partners,” said Nickerson director of PR and media relations Shannon Mulaire.