Ogilvy Atlanta Chief Out: There have been several changes at Ogilvy. The biggest is the departure of Atlanta office chief Mickey Nall, which a senior Ogilvy official confirmed for PR News Friday. Nall is continuing consulting work with Ogilvy. Earlier in the week there was unconfirmed word in Adweek’s Agency Spy that Rob Mathias was no longer CEO of the agency’s PR operations in N. America and had been reassigned to GM of the D.C. office, implying that he’d been demoted. A check of Mathias’ LinkedIn profile Thursday said he’d ended his tenure as N. America CEO in 2015. We took that as confirmation of the Adweek story. Yet last Friday a senior Ogilvy official denied Mathias had given up the N. America CEO title. So we checked Mathias’ LinkedIn profile Friday morning and it said he was still CEO N. America. Hmm. In any case, Mathias has a big job to do in D.C. While Ogilvy is unable to divulge headcounts, it admits to “recalibration” in the office due to a depressed business environment over the past few years in the nation’s capital. Ogilvy neither confirmed nor denied reports that the office, a “vital” part of its business, is about half the size it was just three years ago, down to about 100 staff, with freelancers filling the gaps. Physically it’s down to one floor from two. Ogilvy says, however, the firm is growing “modestly” in N. America after being “flat.”
Generally Accountable: More news from D.C. The General Accountability Office (GAO) will investigate how much money federal agencies spend on PR. The order came from Senate Budget Committee chair Mike Enzi (R-WY). “The total amount of federal resources dedicated to public relations activities is largely unknown,” Enzi wrote in his letter to GAO. Enzi asked the Office of Management and Budget for a similar breakout for fiscal 2015, although that request apparently went unheeded. Watchdog group Open the Books says more than $4.3 billion in taxpayer money has been spent on PR since 2007, with about half going to private firms, the other 50% to federal workers communications pros. The group says nearly 2,000 federal communications officer earn six-figure salaries.
Too Many Cooks: Twitter and Facebook playing together nicely? Huh? That was so late last week as the tech firms joined Apple in its stance in favor of privacy and against a judge’s order to hack an iPhone5 that one of the San Bernardino shooters used. The FBI believes the phone could include information about other suspects and provide additional useful data. Apple’s argument in the controversial case is that such a move could set a precedent and endanger consumer privacy. Showing his support of big Apple Tim Cook, Twitter boss Jack Dorsey (what else?) tweeted “We stand with @tim_cook and Apple (and thank him for his leadership).” Facebook issued a statement, “We will continue to fight aggressively against requirements for companies to weaken the security of their systems.” -- Investors like it when management backs up its promises and purchases large numbers of shares. So Twitter heavies executive chairman Omid Kordestani and CFO Anthony Noto went share shopping last week and came back heavy. Kordestani bought about $2 million worth of Twitter and Noto purchased $250K. While their moves buoyed the market, other news did not. Wednesday Twitter told about 10,000 users that a bug in its password recovery system may have compromised their personal data. -- Few weeks pass when Dorsey fails to introduce another feature or two. Last week Twitter unveiled a feature allowing businesses to communicate more easily with consumers using direct messaging; it also touted a feedback mechanism allowing companies to survey customers.
People: Former Rep. Connie Mack (R-FL) will be leaving Levick after a 17-month tenure. His departure comes as plans for layoffs were announced during an all-hands staff meeting two Fridays ago, The Hill reported. Levick president Mark Irion departed suddenly early last month ( PRN, Jan 11). – Saatchi & Saatchi L.A. named Mike Cooperman director of PR and Romina Bongiovanni was tapped as earned media director. Cooperman joins from TrueCar, Inc. and J.D. Power and Associates. Earlier in her career, Bongiovanni led Edelman’s multicultural division as SVP. She’s also a former president of the Hispanic Public Relations Association. – Jaguar Land Rover named Laura Wood global PR chief. She’ll also head branding and partnerships. Wood comes to Jaguar from The Brooklyn Brothers London. – Zeno Group named Nancy Ruscheinski its first global COO. Ruscheinski is a 28-year vet of Edelman. – Hill+Knowlton Strategies named 23-year H&K vet Merrill Davis to lead its office in Austin, TX. – Weber Shandwick named Brett Pulley EVP and managing director, corporate content and media strategy. Pulley was dean of the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications at Hampton University. He’d been with The NY Times, The Wall St Journal, Forbes and Bloomberg.
This article originally appeared in the February 22, 2016 issue of PR News. Read more subscriber-only content by becoming a PR News subscriber today.