Ruder Finn & Brunswick News
GLOBAL-Brunswick Names Six New Partners:
Fleishman Hillard kicked off a busy week by naming six new partners spread out over four continents. Former Wall Street Journal reporter and cybersecurity expert Siobhan Gorman, based in Washington DC, joined Brunswick in 2015 and has been instrumental in revamping the company’s approach to privacy. Another former journalist, Wajih Halawa, is based out of Abu Dhabi and came to Brunswick in 2010 after a long stint as the features editor for Jordan Business and a career with FleishmanHillard.
Johannesburg-based Iris Sibanda, a former credit rating analyst who’s been with the company since 2009, also secured a partnership. In New York, former Glover Park public affairs point man Blake Sonnenshein moved up after joining Brunswick in 2011. Sonnenshein joined Brunswick as an associate.
Lastly, London-based Phil Drew and Simon Maine also joined the ranks of Brunswick’s partners. Drew, lately of Unity and Al Gore’s Climate Week environmental campaign, left Fishburn Hedges in early 2015 to join the Brunswick team as a global business and society expert. Maine has been with Brunswick since 2013 as a campaign affairs and PR specialist. Before joining the firm, he wrote speeches and worked in campaign research for Lord John Browne, former CEO of British Petroleum.
Louise Charlton, co-founder of Brunswick and chair of its partner promotion committee, said: “This group of individuals represent an extensive range of geographies and expertise that reflect the depth of talent we have across the firm. Our clients are facing more complex issues than ever before and it is exciting to have individuals of this calibre around the world supporting them.”
HONG KONG-Paul Yang and Judy Guo Step Up at Ruder Finn:
With Hong Kong general manager Anne Geronimi leaving for WE Communications, Ruder Finn has appointed Beijing’s Paul Yang to take her place. WE’s own Judy Guo, managing director of the firm’s Beijing office, has been tapped to take Yang’s place at Ruder Finn.
Since joining Ruder Finn in 2003 as an intern, Yang’s career has been on an upward trajectory. By 2012 he had risen to his current post of Beijing general manager, overseeing the office’s rise to the firm’s number two regional office. Luxury and automotive PR expert Guo will concentrate on cracking the fields of tourism, tech, and real estate.
Recent Ruder Finn Asia GD appointee Elan Shou will supervise the ongoing transition, overseeing both new general managers.
“This major transfer of Paul Yang to Ruder Finn Hong Kong is further evidence of Ruder Finn’s commitment to growing our people, providing opportunities and building individual careers,” said Shou in a statement. “I am delighted to have Judy on board. She is passionate, committed, shares our Ruder Finn family culture, and believes in our corporate philosophy ‘What’s Next'”.
