 |
| (L-R) Jonathan Ashworth, Laura Gabb, Ben Stetson |
Weber Shandwick names Jonathan Ashworth UK chairman of public affairs and Laura Gabb joins the agency as EVP, head of UK public affairs. A former Labour Party MP, Ashworth was a longstanding member of Labour Party leader (and now Prime Minister) Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet. He previously served as a senior political adviser to Gordon Brown during his time as both Chancellor of the Exchequer and Prime Minister. In his new role, Ashworth will focus on providing strategic counsel on government relations, public policy and political risk. Gabb is a veteran of the Conservative Party press office, and has also served as a partner at 5654 & Company and managing director at FTI Consulting, At Weber, she will lead strategic public affairs initiatives and impactful campaigns. The agency has also promoted Ben Stetson, who has been part of Weber Shandwick’s public affairs team for over five years, to SVP in public affairs.
 |
| Jay Max Kraidman |
RooneyPartners promotes Jay Max Kraidman to partner. Kraidman originally joined the agency in 2018 as a creative strategist and social media manager, returning after a one-year hiatus in 2024 as director of copy, working across a variety of industry verticals, including financial services, education, technology and healthcare. Kraidman was previously a copywriter at Newsday Media Group. "I am thrilled to announce Jay’s elevation to partner given his proven leadership skills, creativity, passion for business excellence, drive for and commitment to superior client service and—most importantly, perhaps—his innate empathy and humanity, which in my view help sustain the Firm’s collaborative culture,” said founding partner Terry Rooney.
 |
| Amitresh Chaudhuri |
Calix, an appliance-based platform, cloud and managed services company, appoints Amritesh Chaudhuri as EVP and chief marketing officer. Chaudhuri was most recently president and chief growth officer at C1, a tech company providing connected human experiences. He has also served as a VP at Oracle Cloud, CMO at RingCentral, and EVP and CMO at 8x8. In his new post, Chaudhuri will lead the entire Calix go-to-market organization, including corporate, product, field and partner marketing. “Amrit brings the ideal combination of end-to-end go-to-market leadership, a customer-first mindset, and a track record of transforming teams,” said Calix president and CEO Michael Weening.
Brittney Basden, who led public affairs and advocacy partnerships at the Washington Post has joined Bully Pulpit International as a managing director.
The DUX Group, a Washington, D.C.-based strategic communications firm that works with leaders in highly regulated industries, names Lauren Boland as VP... Workday, an enterprise AI platform for HR, finance and IT, names Sarah Kennedy Ellis CMO, effective Oct. 5. Kennedy Ellis joins the company from Google... Octave Specialty Group, a global specialty insurance firm, brings on Philip Stefano as managing director, head of investor relations. 
Michele Ziosi will rejoin Stellantis on Oct. 1 as chief PA officer responsible for Enlarged Europe and for the global coordination of the carmaker’s PA activities.
Inizio, which works with clients in the health and life sciences sectors, appoints Oisín Ó Gógáin as chief people officer... The Boston Beer Company names Allison Stransky CMO, effective Oct. 12. Stransky was previuosly VP and CMO at Samsung Electronics America... Newark Regional Business Partnership and its 501(c)(3) affiliate, the Renaissance Newark Foundation, bring on Kim Lewis-Collins as VP, marketing and business development, a newly created role. 
Carmichael Lynch president and manager Julie Batliner is joining Padilla as president, succeeding Matt Kuchariski. Kucharski will transition to a fractional role with the agency as an executive counselor through the end of the year.
