Chris Petrikin, chief communications officer for studio giant Twentieth Century Fox, will step down at the end of the year to start his own firm.
Petrikin said he will handle crisis communications and corporate brand development for clients including Fox. “With the media and technology industries evolving at such a rapid pace, it’s an exciting time to venture out on my own to help clients protect their brands, define themselves and get their messages out," he said.
Petrikin is a former editor and reporter for Variety and Inside.com. He jumped to the PR realm as head of corporate communications for the William Morris Agency and joined Fox Filmed Entertainment in an EVP role in 2007.
Stacey Snider, who took the chairman and CEO role at Fox in June, said in a statement that Petrikin's contribution to the company "is almost impossible to measure," adding the post required "coalition building, focus and the ability to be calm in a storm."
Petrikin will aid the transition to a replacement.
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