Ketchum head David Drobis turns over CEO duties to the agency's president, Raymond Kotcher, but will stay on as chairman. Kotcher's focus will be strategy, while
Drobis will maintain oversight of client relationships and acquisitions. The move follows Drobis' plans to replace Jean-Leopold Schuy-broek as chairman of the ICO this fall
(PRN, May 15).
United Airlines announces plans to acquire US Airways for $11.6 billion, but not without the requisite PR and I/R challenges. The Association of Flight Attendants issues
a statement indicating it will withhold its endorsement of the deal until certain contractual problems are resolved. And share prices for United's parent company UAL fall 12% the
day after the announcement.
N.J.-based Gilbert Whitney & Johns changes its name to Brushfire, Inc...Former Edelman exec Michael G. Frenkel launches M Frenkel Communications in New York, L.A. and
Chicago.
Mary McGeachy vacates the VP communications post at Magazine Publishers of America. The MPA shifts its concentration from media relations to advertising.
Fox Broadcasting receives the lowest grade in a TV report card issued by the National Organization for Women (NOW). Not surprisingly, feminists were nonplussed by the
special, "Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire." NBC scored highest, with a B+.
