Marjan Philhour
Marjan Philhour

Mercury Public Affairs has hired Marjan Philhour as managing director and head of its new San Francisco office. She has more than three decades of strategic communications, political PR and advocacy experience.

Philhour served as senior advisor to former SF mayor London Breed, senior counselor to the chief of staff of ex-California governor Gray Davis, and executive director of the SF Community Alliance for Jobs and Housing. She also worked on the presidential campaigns of John Kerry and Barack Obama.

Most recently, Philhour was running her own strategic advisory focused on brand positioning, communications planning and stakeholder engagement.

Veronica Perez, Mercury partner, said Philhour’s strong ties to San Francisco and the Bay Area make her the ideal leader for the new office. “Her proven ability to navigate complex political, corporate, and community landscapes will be a tremendous asset to our clients,” she added.

Omnicom owns Mercury.