M&A and Expansion: LEVICK acquired Chase Communications, a PR and marketing communications firm co-headquartered in San Francisco and D.C. In addition to its pedigree in crisis and public affairs, Chase has a strong portfolio in areas such as healthcare. Chase founder/CEO Julie Chase will chair the merged company’s real estate practice and advise on large accounts. In a statement Jan. 12, LEVICK said it welcomes Chase’s “entire consulting team.” – PAN Communications named Phil Carpenter EVP/MD of its West Coast and Southeast operations, reporting to president/CEO Phil Nardone. Most recently at Allison + Partners as senior partner/chair, western region, Carpenter is the linchpin of PAN’s nationwide branding effort. We asked Nardone why his independent, midsize agency is making this move now. “PAN has been growing steadily nationwide for a while…and with our…acquisition we were able to have an even stronger presence in Silicon Valley and the southeast region…with this expanded footprint, we find ourselves [ready]…to take on the demand for integrated marketing and PR, specifically across the technology and healthcare sectors…” – French/West/Vaughan acquired Fetching Communications, the pet and veterinary PR and marketing firm based in Tampa, Florida. It will be rebranded FWV Fetching. Fetching founder Kristen Levine will lead the new pet & veterinary practice as SVP. Fetching CEO Liz Lindley will serve as VP. – GCI Healthexpanded its presence in the Northeast by opening a Philadelphia office. EVP Sherry Goldberg will oversee it and GCI’s New York headquarters.
The Long Tail of Scandal: As the noted PR pro Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.” Despite Volkswagen formally pleading guilty Jan. 11, admitting to criminal wrongdoing and agreeing to pay a $3 billion criminal fine and $1.5 billion in civil penalties, the conga line continues: Also last week a U.S. grand jury indicted six former and current VW AG execs for their part in the emissions fraud mess, which hit headlines Sept. 2015. As you recall, VW made the bad move of denying guilt initially until its hand was forced when evidence mounted against it here and globally. So, yes, a chunk of the U.S. portion of prosecution against the automaker might be over, but as we told you last year, federal agencies smelled blood in the water and each wants to wet its beak. Oh, and then there are prosecutions overseas, too (PRNP, Jan. 9). Want more conga? Reports Jan. 12 had Fiat Chrysler facing its own emissions scandal in the U.S., where the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says it installed software on some 104,000 diesel-powered Jeep Grand Cherokees and 1,500 Dodge Ram trucks between 2014 and 2016 that let them emit 10 times the amount of nitrogen oxides (NOx) allowed under federal limits without detection. Fiat Chrysler initially denies the charges. Hopefully, the VW miscue has taught automakers who are guilty to, er, come clean quickly.
Fake News:Last month we mentioned early steps Facebook outlined with journalism associations to help spot fake news (PRNP, Dec. 19, 2016). Glad to see Facebook continuing its push as it unveiled the early stages of the Facebook Journalism Project, which will focus on improving storytelling formats such as Facebook Live, 360 and Instant Articles by collaborating with media publishers on tools and features for those products early in the development cycle. Facebook also says it will devise training for journalists and help raise the public’s news literacy.
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People: Burson-Marsteller named Mike Fernandez U.S. CEO, replacing Michael Law, who becomes worldwide EVP. Burson also named Joel Benenson worldwide vice chair. – Cohn & Wolfe named Jim Joseph worldwide president. He’d been Americas president since 2015. – Telemundo named Mónica Gil EVP, corporate affairs, a newly created position. She’ll report to to César Conde, chairman, NBCUniversal International Group and NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. Previously Gil was SVP/GM of multicultural growth and strategy at Nielsen, the brand’s highest-ranking Latina. – Former SVP of MSLGroup’s corporate practice Julie Jack rejoined APCO Worldwide as SVP. Prior to MSLGroup, Jack spent 10 years at APCO. – Mastercard named Christine Elliott EVP, global communications. She’ll report to Raja Rajamannar, Mastercard’s CMO and CCO. Elliott comes from S&P Global, where she was CCO. The former ABC News producer spent 13 years at American Express, ending as CCO for its global business travel. – Solomon McCown named Travis Small SVP. He’ll lead its healthcare, nonprofit and education practice. Small’s resume includes stops at Lois Paul and Partners and Rasky Baerlein. – Sad news as we learned of the passing of Marilyn Lee Castaldi from ovarian cancer earlier this month. A healthcare PR pioneer, her resume included Burson-Marsteller, Hill & Knowlton Strategies, among many others.