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| (L-R) John Gallagher, Kieran Mahoney |
Kieran Mahoney, who founded Mercury Public Affairs more than 27 years ago, has stepped down as CEO and assumed the executive chairman post.
President John Gallagher is elevated to CEO, Michael Soliman was named president, and Tom Doherty takes the COO post, according to Mahoney’s internal memo.
He’s known Gallagher “for 25 years and watched him grow from a great flack and strategist into a trusted partner and respected leader.”
Doherty has been at Mercury for over 25 years and has ensured “our operational foundation was always solid," while Soliman “has been one of our strongest performing partners for more than a decade.”
The management transition has been happening organically for some time. The announcement is simply memorializing what has already taken shape, noted Mahoney. He believes “this organic evolution has served us well and will make this transition effectively seamless.”
As executive chairman, Mahoney will remain deeply engaged in the firm's strategic direction, recruiting and financial strategy.
Prior to launching Mercury, Mahoney was political consultant to New York’s Republican Governor George Pataki.
Omnicom owns Mercury.
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