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| Marian Hughes (left) and Kathy Wilson, Founders and Managing Partners, Tier One Partners. |
When Tier One Partners co-founders Kathy Wilson and Marian Hughes launched their agency in 2003, they were looking to expand their communications offerings to firms in financial and professional services.
“We started our agency to really create a different model that delivered very hands on, very senior-level experience and service to our clients—all senior, all the time,” said Hughes.
Since then, the firm has continually moved forward to put that different model together. “We started as a traditional PR agency,” Hughes told us, “but we have evolved into being a fully integrated agency over the years.”
Before they got Tier One off the ground, Wilson and Hughes had worked together at Weber Group (now Weber Shandwick). With co-headquarters in Boston (led by Wilson) and Chicago (led by Hughes), their agency has now grown to 20 employees. It also has a hub in New York City.
In addition to working with clients in financial services/fintech and professional services, Tier One serves B2B and B2C companies in AI and other disruptive technologies, digital healthcare, manufacturing and energy tech.
We recently had a conversation with Wilson and Hughes, focusing on news about their firm in the areas of financial/fintech and professional services public relations, along with commentary on the state of the public relations industry, AI, earned media, trends and their outlook on the business as we approach 2027.
Hughes told us that Tier One’s sweet spots are “high stakes industries including financial services/fintech, and professional services.”
The firm’s financial services/fintech clients have included Ally Financial, Apex Fintech Solutions, Invest Green, Prophix, Nephila Capital and Velocity Risk.
Wilson discussed the complexity of working with financial services clients. Noting that financial services is “a highly regulated industry,” she said that “it’s changing incredibly rapidly with all sorts of new products, new kinds of digital financial products coming on the scene.”
The agency’s professional services roster has included Deloitte, Oliver Wight, 3Pillar, and JetSweep.
| This article is featured in O'Dwyer's September '26 Financial PR/Investor Relations & Professional Services PR Magazine |
Content Division and Analytics Practice
Tier One’s content division, led by Ashley Tate, senior VP of content, is a central part of the agency’s operations. Tate, a seasoned financial editor, worked at Real Simple magazine for 10 years and was the founding editor of its Money section and regularly covered personal finance.
“Because our content studio was created by someone from the publishing industry, we help our clients develop unique, creative, powerful, differentiated thought leadership voices,” said Hughes.
The firm’s Agile Insights and Analytics practice is designed to identify and predict macro trends in real time.
“It helps us identify and spot potential trends and business issues right when they happen,” Hughes told us.
Earned media is one area Hughes says is becoming increasingly important. “In the age of AI where so many people are turning to AI for service and discovery, we believe that earned media and our original thought leadership programs are more important than ever to help increase our clients’ digital authority,” she explained.
Crisis E-book Just Released
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The firm is providing additional value to financial services/fintech companies with “Effective Crisis Communications for Fintech and Financial Services,” its new e-book that can be downloaded at no charge from the Tier One website.
The e-book can help financial/fintech firms create an action plan before a crisis potentially occurs.
The guide details action communicators need to take in advance of a real crisis.
Developing the Tier One Team
Tier One keeps on growing, with new additions to the agency’s team. Christine Lewis joined the company in September as senior VP, managing director in the Boston office. Lewis has more than 20 years of experience and a background in B2B technology and financial services.
Team members are at the heart of Tier One Partners and collaboration, continued learning, meetings and gatherings are encouraged regularly among the group. “We do a lot of professional development,” Wilson said.
“It’s all about really building a strong culture. We have a set of agency values that everybody is really familiar with. It guides the way we treat each other and our clients and the way we work,” she said.
Team Member and Recent Awards
The firm is also active with many PR and communications groups. For instance, Hughes was recently elected as a trustee for The Institute for Public Relations and Wilson received the John J. Molloy Crystal Bell Lifetime Achievement Award in June from the PR Club of New England.
Tier One Partners has also received numerous industry awards over the years, including SABRE awards, Bulldog PR Awards, and, at press time, was a finalist for PRNEWS’ Platinum Award for Small Agency of the Year.
In addition, Wilson said listing with O’Dwyer’s has helped promote the firm to potential clients.
Stated Wilson, “It’s been a great 24 years and we’re ready to head into 2027 in a real position of strength.”
For more information on Tier One Partners, visit wearetierone.com. Also, see Tier One Partners’ financial/fintech and professional services profiles in O'Dwyer's Sep. '26 Magazine.
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