 Ron Walker |
Rasky Partners has named Ron Walker chief operating officer. Walker joined the firm as a strategic advisor earlier this year. In his new post, he will oversee day-to-day operations and continue as a member of Rasky’s advisory board. Walker came to Rasky after serving as Massachusetts Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development under Governor Charlie Baker. Before that, he was co-founder and president of Next Street Financial LLC, which provides capital and strategic advice to growing businesses. “His extensive leadership experience in the business community coupled with his background with our firm makes him uniquely qualified to lead Rasky’s day-to-day operations and strategic growth initiatives,” said Larry Rasky, CEO and chairman of Rasky Partners. The firm has also brought on P.J. O’Sullivan as a strategic advisor. He comes to Rasky from the Delahunt Group, where he was president, and has also worked for political campaigns at the state, local and national level. In addition, Michael Morris has been promoted to senior vp in Rasky’s public affairs practice, Kristen Cullen moved up to vp of the public affairs practice and Meghan Post received a promotion to senior account exec in the firm’s nonprofit, education and consumer practice.
 Nadia Damouni |
Prosek Partners has brought on Nadia Damouni as a senior VP. Damouni comes to Prosek from Edelman’s financial communications & capital markets division, where she advised clients on communications surrounding mergers and acquisitions, shareholder activism and corporate governance matters. Before that, she spent over a decade as a financial reporter, most recently at Thomson Reuters. Damouni has been nominated for several journalism awards, including a Gerald Loeb Award, and has moderated and presented on dozens of panels around the world, including the World Economic Forum in Davos. “Nadia’s experience both as a lead M&A reporter and then a senior communications counselor will be extremely relevant and valuable to our clients,” said managing partner Jennifer Prosek.
 From left: Lisa Garcia, Karen Cyphers, SMG founder and CEO Ron Sachs, Herbie Thiele, SMG partner and president Michelle Ubben, Drew Piers, Ryan Cohn |
Sachs Media Group has elevated five key executives to partner. Ryan Cohn is currently executive vp, serving as a strategic advisor and leading digital media initiatives. Karen Cyphers is vp of research & policy, leading the firm’s internal research division. Chief operating officer Lisa Garcia heads up public education campaigns, internal processes and talent. Director of campaigns Drew Piers leads public affairs campaign strategy. Herbie Thiele, director of public affairs leads the firm’s core public affairs practice. “Each of these wonderful friends and colleagues has demonstrated the values, skills, character, leadership and loyalty that deserve to be recognized and rewarded in this most meaningful way,” said Sachs Media Group founder and CEO Ron Sachs.
ROKK Solutions has named Amy Fox chief corporate communications officer to oversee its new corporate affairs unit.
Orchestra adds Andrew Bates and Kristen Orthman to its advisory practice. Both of them worked in the Biden administration... DeepIntent, a healthcare demand-side platform, appoints Ian Colley as CMO... Fanatics Commerce, a direct-to-consumer platform within sports apparel and fan gear company Fanatics, names Jamie Gersch CMO... Cboe Global Markets, a global markets operator and pioneer in equity derivatives, hires Julie Bauer as SVP, head of government relations.
August brings on Andrew Jarrell as a managing director in its New York office. Jarrell comes to the agency from Group Gordon, where he most recently served as chief strategy officer... PSD, which produces activewear and underwear worn by and made for professional athletes, hires Dan Harbison as SVP of marketing and Monica Lin as VP of brand marketing... UKG, an AI platform that combines HR, pay and workforce management, names Vitor De Souza chief communications officer. 
Dezenhall Resources brings on Jessica DeLoach as VP. DeLoach was previously deputy director of public and media relations at the Southern Poverty Law Center... Crowe Media hires Alissa Kasawdish as senior integrated PR manager. Kasawdish was previously an account supervisor at J/PR... Benefitbay, a SaaS platform that lets users make their own benefit decisions, names Lindsey Unterberger as VP of marketing.
Catherine Sullivan, global chief communications officer at Burson, has exited the WPP unit after a 12-year run.
