Did Texaco Learn From Crisis?
Texaco officials are planning on reviewing their strategy for change and broadening workforce diversity during a one-hour panel discussion at the International Strategic Leadership Conference, sponsored by the Strategic Leadership Forum, in Washington, D.C. April 29. (SLF, 312/644-0829)
Hill & Knowlton, MWW/SC Open Specialty GR Practices
Hill & Knowlton, New York, plans to form a national specialty group for PR dealing with litigation and regulatory communications.
As such, last week it formed alliances with three former attorney generals to provide those services.
The trio consists of Robert Abrams, former New York attorney general and a partner at the law firm Stroock, Stroock and Lavan, New York; Neil F. Hartigan, a former Illinois attorney general and a partner at McDermott, Will & Emery, Oak Brook, Ill.; and Robert Stephan, a former attorney general in Kansas.
The new group, comprised of seven attorneys and 25 PR practitioners in nine offices, will be led by Jim Cox, a senior managing director. (Hill & Knowlton, 213/966-5700)
East Rutherford, N.J.-based MWW/Strategic Communications Inc. has launched an association management practice focuing on government affairs, issues management and membership development. The move was spearheaded by MWW/SC VP and former New Jersey Assemblyman Jeffrey Warsh. The division's first client is The New Jersey Association of Liquor and Tobacco Wholesalers. (MWW, 201/507-9500)
Industry Moves/Growth
The Bozell Sawyer Miller Group is expanding its New York headquarters. The 190-person firm's new office, effective by the end of April, will be at 640 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan where the firm will occupy three floors - nearly double its current size. (Bozell Sawyer Miller, 212/484-7419)
Roundhouse Public Relations Inc., White Plains, N.Y., moved to larger headquarters on March 1. The new address is 170 Hamilton Avenue, Suite 218, White Plains, N.Y. 10601. Phone: 914/328-1906; fax: 914/328-8529.
Silver Spring, Md.-based Strategic Communications Group Inc. has moved to a new address: Executive Court, 1738 Elton Road, Suite 103, Silver Spring, Md. 20903. Phone: 301/408-4500; fax: 301/408-4506. * Arthur M. Smith, formerly national director of communications for Volunteers of America, has formed A.M. Smith & Co., a full-service marcom house. The address is: 201 St. Charles Avenue, Suite 2510, New Orleans, La. 70170. Phone; 504/566-7900; fax: 504/566-7910.
Schaffner Communications Inc., a PR firm based in Chicago, has opened a branch in Denver, its first office outside the Windy City. The new location is: 400 S. Colorado Boulevard, Suite 600, Denver, Colo. 80222. Phone: 303/316-7985; fax: 303/316-7987.
Industry Buzz
The International Association of Business Communicators, San Francisco, recently approved an audit of its 1995-96 budget that reported a $73,090 budget surplus - a nearly 90 percent increase over what was expected. According to IABC spokesperson Brenda Bonhomme, this isn't the first year IABC has posted a sizeable surplus. Last year's audit revealed a $464,000 surplus. This year's surplus was due in part to a decrease in travel expenses, lower conference costs and less funds funneled to the IABC Foundation. (IABC, Brenda Bonhomme, 800/776-4222)
A new book, "Environmental Risks and Rewards for Business," has a chapter penned by Larry Werner, director of Ketchum Public Relations, Pittsburgh. Werner's chapter - "When Things Go Badly Wrong; Managing Environmental Risks in a Crisis" - provides crisis tips. The book is published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd., West Sussex, England. (Ketchum, 412/456-3885)
