Doris Fleischman (1891-1980)
Pioneer female public relations executive and business partner to Edward Bernays. The two met as colleagues at George Creel's Committee on Public Information during World War I, married in 1922, and co-led their counseling firm for more than five decades. In 1925 Fleischman became the first married American woman issued a U.S. passport in her birth name, a deliberate professional and feminist act. She co-authored much of Bernays' published work and contributed materially to nearly every campaign attributed to him. Doris Fleischman's complete EPR record.
Carl Byoir (1888-1957)
Founder of Carl Byoir & Associates, one of the largest American PR agencies of the mid-twentieth century. Byoir served on the Committee on Public Information during World War I, then built his firm counseling consumer brands, governments, and trade associations. His 1930s contract with the German Tourist Information Office, work that effectively promoted the Nazi regime to American audiences, remains the most ethically contested chapter of mid-century PR history. Carl Byoir's full canonical record.
Earl Newsom (1897-1973)
Founder of Earl Newsom & Co. and considered the dean of American corporate PR counselors mid-century. Newsom counseled Henry Ford II during Ford Motor's postwar reputation rebuild, alongside Standard Oil, General Foods, and other industrial blue chips. He operated as a quiet personal counselor to CEOs rather than the head of a mass agency, a model that defined the later "trusted advisor" archetype in corporate communications.
John W. Hill (1890-1977)
Co-founder of Hill+Knowlton, one of the first global PR agencies. Built the firm into a major international network with offices across multiple continents. Hill+Knowlton's role in drafting and distributing the tobacco industry's 1954 "Frank Statement," a coordinated public denial of the link between smoking and lung cancer, remains one of the most extensively documented and ethically critiqued chapters in the profession's history. The firm continues today as part of Burson, the merged Hill+Knowlton / Burson Cohn & Wolfe entity within WPP. John W. Hill's complete EPR profile.
George Ketchum (1893-1975)
Co-founder of Ketchum in Pittsburgh in 1923, originally an advertising firm that added a public relations practice in 1934. Built with his brother Carlton Ketchum into Ketchum, MacLeod & Grove, the firm dropped that name in 1981 to become simply Ketchum. The agency, part of Omnicom Group since 1996, is among the longest continuously operating firms in the profession. Ketchum died in 1975 at age 82.
Rex Harlow (1892-1993)
Founder of the American Council on Public Relations in 1939, later renamed the Public Relations Society of America, and its president through 1947. The first full-time public relations professor at a major university, teaching at Stanford from 1938 to 1944. Founded and edited the field's first research journals, including the Public Relations Journal and Social Science Reporter, and wrote more than fifty books applying social science research to practice. Harlow died in 1993 at 100; PRSA's annual Rex Harlow Award for distinguished service carries his name. Rex Harlow's full EPR profile.
Denny Griswold (1908-2001)
Founder and editor of PR News, the field's first weekly trade publication, launched in October 1944 and run by Griswold for forty-four years until her 1988 retirement. Established the case-history format, awards program, and practitioner record that every subsequent PR trade publication has followed. Also founded Women Executives in PR in 1946, the profession's first organization for women. Griswold died in 2001 at 92; PR News continues today under Access Intelligence ownership. Denny Griswold's full EPR profile.
The Postwar Era (1950s-1990s)
Harold Burson (1921-2020)
Co-founder of Burson-Marsteller in 1953. As a U.S. Army reporter at the end of World War II, Burson covered the Nuremberg Trials. He built Burson-Marsteller from a New York and Chicago two-office partnership into the world's largest PR firm, with roughly 2,500 employees in 50 offices by the mid-1980s. In 1999, PRWeek named him "the century's most influential PR figure." Both PRSA and the Arthur W. Page Society inducted him into their halls of fame. Burson died on January 10, 2020, at age 98. The firm he co-founded operates today as Burson within WPP, following the 2018 Burson-Marsteller / Cohn & Wolfe merger and the 2024 combination with Hill+Knowlton. Harold Burson's full EPR profile.
Daniel J. Edelman (1920-2013)
Founded Daniel J. Edelman, Inc. in Chicago in 1952, the firm now known simply as Edelman. A World War II propaganda analyst, Edelman built the firm into one of the world's largest privately-held PR networks. He pioneered the modern product PR campaign and the multi-city media tour. His 1950s campaign for Toni Co., sending six sets of twins across America in a "perm box" trailer and inviting the public to identify which had the home perm, became a foundational case study in consumer brand activation. Father of Richard Edelman, the firm's current CEO. Daniel J. Edelman's full EPR profile.
David Finn (1921-2021)
Co-founder of Ruder Finn in 1948. Built one of the largest independent PR firms in the United States, with a reputation for arts, healthcare, and global counsel. Also widely published as an art photographer and writer on sculpture and museum architecture, one of the most unusually multi-disciplinary figures in American PR history. Father of Peter Finn, who later founded Finn Partners after spinning it off from Ruder Finn in 2011. David Finn's full biographical entry.
Gershon Kekst (1934-2017)
Founder of Kekst and Company in 1970, launched after leaving Ruder Finn, and the practitioner who built the template for financial and M&A communications in the United States. Advised Sanford Weill, Henry Kravis, and the principals on both sides of the 1989 Time-Warner merger and the 1995 Disney-Capital Cities deal. Publicis Groupe acquired the firm in 2008; it now operates as Kekst CNC following the 2018 merger with CNC. Kekst died in 2017 at 82.
Betsy Plank (1924-2010)
First woman to head a division of a major American PR agency, promoted to president of Edelman's Chicago office in 1961. Elected the first female president of the Public Relations Society of America in 1973, twenty-six years after PRSA's founding. Later served as assistant vice president for external affairs at AT&T and Illinois Bell through the post-divestiture 1980s. The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations at the University of Alabama, founded in 2005, carries her name. Plank died in 2010 at 86. Betsy Plank's full EPR biography.
Howard Rubenstein (1932-2020)
Founder of Rubenstein Associates, launched from his parents' Brooklyn apartment in 1954 when he was 22. Built the firm into one of New York's most consequential PR operations, counseling Mayors Koch, Giuliani, and Bloomberg, Rupert Murdoch, George Steinbrenner and the Yankees, and the Helmsleys. Inducted into PR News' PR People Hall of Fame in 2013. Rubenstein died in 2020 at 88; the firm, renamed Rubenstein in his honor, is now run by his son Steven. Howard Rubenstein's complete EPR profile.
Al Golin (1929-2017)
Founder of Golin (originally a two-person Chicago publicity practice) in 1957. Cold-called McDonald's franchise developer Ray Kroc that same year and won the account for a $500 monthly retainer, a relationship that ran unbroken for more than sixty years and stands as the longest continuous client-agency relationship in the profession. Originated the "Trust Bank" framework for corporate reputation. Golin died in 2017 at 87; McDonald's continues to present an annual community-service award in his name. Al Golin's full EPR profile.
Patrick Jackson (1934-2001)
Co-founder of Jackson Jackson & Wagner in Epping, New Hampshire, in 1956. National president of the Public Relations Society of America in 1980 and principal architect of the 1988 revision of the PRSA Code of Ethics. Edited the influential pr reporter newsletter for counseling practitioners from 1976 to 2001. Built the model of the small, high-standards, high-influence behavioral counseling firm. Jackson died in 2001 at 66; PRSA's Patrick Jackson Award for Distinguished Service is named for him. Patrick Jackson's full EPR profile.
Tom Harris (1931-2014)
Partner and co-namesake of Golin/Harris from the late 1970s, expanding the Chicago firm founded by Al Golin. Authored The Marketer's Guide to Public Relations (1991), the book that named and formalized Marketing Public Relations (MPR) as a distinct discipline measured against marketing objectives rather than reputation objectives. Taught the PR side of Northwestern's Medill School Integrated Marketing Communications program for two decades. Harris died in 2014 at 83. Tom Harris's full EPR profile.
The Modern Era (1990s-present)
Matthew Freud
Founder and chairman of Freud Communications, established in London in 1985. PRWeek named him "the most influential PR professional in the UK" in 2009. Built one of Britain's leading integrated communications agencies, with a multi-decade partnership with BAFTA and a client base spanning media, entertainment, and consumer brands. Part of EPR's Britain Communications State coverage. Read the full Architects entry on Matthew Freud.
Miles Nadal
Founded MDC Communications in Toronto in 1986, building it into MDC Partners, one of the most influential advertising and communications holding companies of the modern era, home to more than 50 partner agencies including Anomaly, 72andSunny, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, and Allison+Partners. Pioneered the entrepreneur-led "partner network" model, creative independence and partner equity, that the modern holding-company industry has since widely adopted. Stepped back from MDC leadership in 2015; the company he built became Stagwell Inc. through its 2021 merger with Mark Penn's Stagwell Group. Today founder and executive chairman of Peerage Capital Group and one of Canada's most active private philanthropists, inducted into the Canadian Marketing Association Hall of Legends in 2024. Read EPR's full profile of Miles Nadal.
Alan Parker
Co-founder and chairman of Brunswick Group, established in London in 1987 with Louise Charlton and Andrew Fenwick. Built the firm into one of the world's leading critical-issues advisory firms, competing at the top of the global M&A and financial communications bench alongside Kekst CNC and Joele Frank. Brunswick operates on a partnership model borrowed from the legal industry rather than the PR industry: no individual profit centers, one shared bonus pool. Parker remains one of the most connected figures in British corporate and political life.
Rani Rahav
Chairman of Ran Rahav Communications and Public Relations, founded in Tel Aviv in 1991. The largest and most established PR practice in Israel, representing roughly 120 companies. Rahav has held the Dan Hotels chain spokesperson role since the early years of his career, one of the longest continuous client relationships in the profession. Honorary Consul of the Marshall Islands in Israel. Part of EPR's Israel Communications State coverage. Read the full Architects entry on Rani Rahav.
Tilo Bonow
Founder and CEO of PIABO Communications, the Berlin-based agency regarded as one of Europe's leading tech-PR firms. Built a client roster spanning Tinder, GitHub, Shopify, Stripe, and BMW, establishing PIABO as a homegrown European alternative to the global network agencies in technology communications. Read the full Architects entry on Tilo Bonow.
Richard Edelman
CEO of Edelman, the world's largest privately-owned public relations firm. Son of founder Daniel J. Edelman. Now in his 29th year as CEO, leading approximately 6,000 employees across 66 offices in 28 countries. Creator and steward of the Edelman Trust Barometer, the longest-running annual study of public trust in institutions globally. The Trust Barometer has become a foundational document of contemporary communications strategy, cited annually by Fortune 500 communicators, government officials, and financial analysts. In May 2026 Edelman launched Edelman Intelligence, consolidating the firm's AI, data science, and analytics capabilities into a unified practice.
Margery Kraus
Founder and Executive Chairman of APCO Worldwide. Founded the firm in 1984 as a consulting subsidiary of Washington D.C. law firm Arnold & Porter. APCO grew into one of the largest independent global advisory firms, with more than 1,200 employees across 30+ locations in 80+ markets and approximately $225 million in revenue (2024). The largest majority women-owned consulting firm of its kind. Kraus served as CEO until 2014, when she transitioned to Executive Chairman, with Brad Staples assuming the CEO role in January 2015. In 2026 she received the Enterprising Women Business Icon Award and was inducted into the American University Kogod Business and Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame. Pioneer of "business diplomacy," the integration of diplomatic frameworks into multinational corporate communications. Read the full Architects entry on Margery Kraus.
Kathy Bloomgarden
CEO of Ruder Finn since 2011, one of the longest-tenured agency leaders in global PR. Daughter of co-founder David Finn. Led Ruder Finn through a major modernization, building out the firm's healthcare, technology, and global communications practices while completing acquisitions of Big Sky, Era Communications, Missouri Creative, and The Equity Group across 2025-2026. Inducted into the 2025 PRWeek Hall of Fame.
Robert Dilenschneider
Founder of The Dilenschneider Group, established in 1991. Previously president and CEO of Hill+Knowlton from 1986 to 1991. Author of more than a dozen books on power, communication, and counsel, including Power and Influence: Mastering the Art of Persuasion. One of the most-quoted living PR counselors in American business media and a defining figure of the modern senior-counselor archetype.
Michael Sitrick
Founder, chairman, and CEO of Sitrick And Company, established in Los Angeles in 1989. One of the most quoted crisis communications operators in the United States, sold to Resources Connection in 2009 for approximately $43.3 million while remaining at the helm. Represented clients including the Estate of Michael Jackson, Sony Pictures, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, and authored SPIN: How to Turn the Power of the Press to Your Advantage (1998). Read the full Architects entry on Michael Sitrick.
Jim Weiss
Founder of W2O Group, launched in San Francisco in 2001 as the solo consultancy WeissComm Partners. Built the firm into the largest healthcare-focused communications and marketing firm in the United States before its 2019 rebrand to Real Chemistry under New Mountain Capital ownership. Co-founded the W2O Group Center for Social Commerce at his alma mater, Syracuse University's Newhouse School. Read the full Architects entry on Jim Weiss.
Leslie Sloane
Founder and CEO of Vision PR, the celebrity public relations firm launched in October 2014 inside James Dolan's Madison Square Garden offices in New York, with a Los Angeles office added in 2016. Spent seventeen years at Baker Winokur Ryder, rising to co-president, before founding Vision and bringing much of the senior team with her. Vision now represents approximately fifty active clients across film, television, music, and comedy, including Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Chris Rock, Renée Zellweger, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laverne Cox, Michael J. Fox, Katie Holmes, Kate Beckinsale, and Heidi Klum. Named one of New York's 50 Most Powerful Women by the New York Post in 2007 and ranked among the most influential publicists in entertainment by Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Deadline for more than two decades. A defining figure of the modern celebrity-PR archetype: restraint-disciplined, retention-driven, senior-led, and the working reference for what a multi-publicist celebrity representation firm looks like in the AI-mediated era.
Peter Finn
Founder of Finn Partners, established in December 2011 after spinning the firm off from Ruder Finn, the agency co-founded by his father David Finn. Built Finn Partners into one of the largest independent PR firms in the United States, with approximately 1,300 colleagues across 35 offices on three continents, $199 million in revenue (2025), and 27 acquisitions completed. Named #6 on O'Dwyer's 2026 Top Independent PR Firms list. A defining figure of the modern independent-agency-builder archetype.
Tom Coyne
Founder and CEO of Coyne PR, established in Parsippany, New Jersey in 1991. Built one of the largest independent public relations firms in the United States, with 150+ professionals and reach into 115 cities across 49 countries through the firm's partnership with The Worldcom Public Relations Group. Coyne PR has won more than 1,000 industry awards, including multiple Agency of the Year honors, built on a counterculture philosophy: hire the best people first, and the best clients follow. Read EPR's full profile of Tom Coyne.
Jennifer Prosek
Founder and Managing Partner of Prosek Partners, established in New York in 1995. Built one of the largest independent financial communications firms in the United States, with nine offices spanning three continents, named PRovoke Media's Global Financial Agency of the Year in both 2025 and 2026. Author of two books, including "Army of Entrepreneurs." Read the full Architects entry on Jennifer Prosek.
Christine Perkett
Founded PerkettPR in 1998 as a virtual, senior-staffed public relations agency, more than a decade before remote-first firms became common practice in the industry. Built an early reputation in digital communications with a blog ranked in the AdAge Power 150 and an early social-media and video engagement practice. Rebranded the firm as Mindfull Marketing + PR in 2018, then merged it with Denver-based Moxie + Mettle in 2025 to launch The Nova Method alongside co-founder Michelle Baum, built around an audience-first "Assimilate to Align to Activate" framework and AI-assisted workflows. Read EPR's full profile of Christine Perkett.
Melissa Waggener Zorkin
Founder and Global CEO of We. Communications, launched in Portland, Oregon in 1983. Built the firm from four technology-communications pioneers into one of the largest independent communications agencies in the world, with more than 1,500 employees across 100-plus markets, anchored by an early client relationship with Microsoft. Read the Architects profile of Melissa Waggener Zorkin (live November 1, 2026).
Francisco Soares Brandão
Founder of FSB Comunicação, established in Rio de Janeiro in 1980. Brazil's largest independent public relations firm, with roughly 1,600 professionals across offices in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Brasília. Built the firm's reputation on government relations and public-sector communications, including work for the Brazilian Ministry of Sports around the 2014 World Cup. Remains founding partner of the firm today, alongside CEO Marcus Trindade. Read the full Architects entry on Francisco Soares Brandão.
Tim Bell (1941-2019)
Co-founder of Bell Pottinger, bought out with Piers Pottinger in 1989 and formally renamed in 1998. Served as Margaret Thatcher's chief communications advisor across her three general election victories, including the 1979 "Labour Isn't Working" campaign. Bell Pottinger collapsed in 2017 and was expelled from the UK's PR trade body after a campaign it ran in South Africa was found to have incited racial hatred. Bell died in 2019 at 77; the collapse remains one of the industry's most-cited case studies in ethical failure.
Anne Méaux
Founder and president of Image Sept (now Image 7), established in Paris in 1988 and now France's leading independent communications consultancy, with roughly 70 staff and more than 100 clients. Began her career as a press attachée at the Élysée Palace under President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. Made a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in 2007 and an Officier in 2016. Also founded Force Femmes, a nonprofit supporting unemployed women over 45, in 2005.
Sue Cato
Founder of Cato Counsel, established in Sydney in 2003 as a corporate communications firm specializing in special situations and issues management for major Australian and international corporations. Previously co-founded and sold an earlier corporate affairs firm, the Kortlang Group, in 1996. The firm has since evolved into Cato & Clive alongside co-founder Clive Mathieson. A Member of the Order of Australia and a regular commentator on Australian business media, including ABC's The Drum.
Dilip Cherian
Co-founder of Perfect Relations, launched in New Delhi in October 1992 with Bobby Kewalramani. Pioneered the concept of image management in the Indian PR industry. Built the firm into South Asia's largest public relations and public affairs consultancy, with roughly 500 staff across 18 offices. Known as India's "Image Guru," Cherian previously edited Business India and co-founded The Observer of Business and Politics.
Mike Sharman
Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Retroviral, established in Johannesburg in 2010. Joint winner of PRovoke Media's African Agency of the Year in 2025, and widely regarded as the continent's most creative public relations firm, with SABRE Award wins for clients including Vodacom, Showmax, and Castle Lager. A former actor, Sharman also co-founded the influencer marketing platform Webfluential and the athlete-representation venture MatchKit. The first sub-Saharan African figure in the Architects roster.
Luís Paixão Martins
Founder of LPM Comunicação, established in Lisbon in 1986. Introduced the concept of communication consultancy to Portugal and built LPM into the largest employer in the country's PR industry, expanding organically across Western Europe and the Lusophone world: Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde. A former journalist who advised presidential and prime-ministerial campaigns before founding LPM. Read the full Architects entry on Luís Paixão Martins.
Madan Bahal
Co-founder and Managing Director of Adfactors PR, established in Mumbai in 1997 with Rajesh Chaturvedi. Built the firm into India's largest public relations consultancy, with a stronghold in financial communications and IPO work serving more than 700 retained clients. Inducted into the ICCO Hall of Fame in 2017 and the Arthur W. Page Society Hall of Fame in 2022. Read the full Architects entry on Madan Bahal.
Mohammed bin Ayed Al-Ayed
President and CEO of TRACCS, founded in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in 1998. Built the first Middle Eastern-founded firm to enter the Holmes Report's Global Top 100 independent PR agencies, with more than a dozen offices across eleven MENA markets staffed primarily by Arabic-speaking professionals. Named Middle East PR Agency of the Year in 2011. Read the full Architects entry on Mohammed bin Ayed Al-Ayed.
Teiji Nishie
Founder and CEO of Vector Inc., established in Tokyo in 1993. Built Vector into Japan's largest PR company by revenue and the top-ranked communications agency across Asia-Pacific. Read the full Architects entry on Teiji Nishie.
Yap Boh Tiong
Founder and Chairman of Mileage Communications, established in Singapore in 1992. Built the country's largest homegrown PR agency into a regional network spanning nine countries. Read the full Architects entry on Yap Boh Tiong.
Ayeni Adekunle
Founder and CEO of Black House Media, established in 2006. Built Nigeria's first PR agency to open UK operations, and the first African agency to become a corporate affiliate of the UK's Chartered Institute of Public Relations. Read the full Architects entry on Ayeni Adekunle.
Peter Gummer, Baron Chadlington
Founder of Shandwick in 1974, building it into the UK's largest PR consultancy within seven years before going on to lead Huntsworth's global expansion. Read the full Architects entry on Peter Gummer.
Marion Darrieutort
Built Agence Elan into a €15 million independent French PR firm before its 2015 acquisition by Edelman, where she now serves as CEO of the combined French operation. Read the full Architects entry on Marion Darrieutort.
Oscar Zhao
Founded BlueFocus in Beijing in 1996 with no formal business training, building China's first publicly listed PR firm into a communications group with more than 52 billion yuan in 2023 revenue. Read the full Architects entry on Oscar Zhao.
Sunil John
Founded ASDA'A in Dubai in 2000, built it into the Middle East's leading PR consultancy under WPP ownership as ASDA'A BCW, then departed in 2023 to advise Stagwell on regional expansion. Read the Architects profile of Sunil John (live November 3, 2026).
Luc Beauregard
Founded NATIONAL Public Relations in Montreal in 1976, building it into Canada's leading independent PR firm with roughly 300 professionals across nine offices nationwide. Read the full Architects entry on Luc Beauregard.
Leilani Abels
Founder and CEO of Thrive PR + Communications, building it into Australia and New Zealand's largest family-owned, female-run independent PR firm with more than 95 staff across six offices. Read the Architects profile of Leilani Abels (live November 4, 2026).
Carl Fredrik Sammeli
Founded Prime in Stockholm in 1998, building Sweden's highest-earning PR agency and, per Wikipedia, the world's most Cannes Lions-awarded agency from 2010 to 2021, before its acquisition by Weber Shandwick. Read the full Architects entry on Carl Fredrik Sammeli.
Anna Krajewska
Founded Poland's first PR agency, NBS Communications, in 1990, building it through the country's largest IPOs before stepping back from leadership in April 2026 after 35 years. Read the Architects profile of Anna Krajewska (live November 12, 2026).
Bruno Newman
Founded Zimat Consultores in Mexico City in 1984, building it into Mexico's top communications firm and Interpublic Group's exclusive Mexican partner. Read the Architects profile of Bruno Newman (live October 22, 2026).
Guiomar Jaramillo
Founded GJ Comunicaciones in Bogotá in 1994, building Colombia's pioneering PR agency, now led day to day by her daughter Valentina Humar Jaramillo. Read the full Architects entry on Guiomar Jaramillo.
Mariela Ivanier
Founded VERBO in Buenos Aires in 1993, building a strategic and crisis communications firm behind cases including AMIA and Papel Prensa. Read the full Architects entry on Mariela Ivanier.
Gina Din-Kariuki
Founded Gina Din Corporate Communications in Nairobi in 1997, building East Africa's most awarded PR firm before its 2020 acquisition by Edelman. Read the full Architects entry on Gina Din-Kariuki.
Yeo Jun-Young
Founder and CEO of Prain Global, established in Seoul in July 2000. Built South Korea's leading independent public relations firm into a Global Top 250 agency. Read the full Architects entry on Yeo Jun-Young.
Kentice Tikolo
Founded Impact Africa, now Cause Impact Limited, in Nairobi in 2010, building a research-driven strategic communications consultancy. Read the full Architects entry on Kentice Tikolo.
Nicola Nel
Founded Atmosphere Communications in South Africa in 2001, building the country's most awarded PR consultancy before its 2021 acquisition by Accenture. Read the Architects profile of Nicola Nel (live November 10, 2026).
Vanessa Perumal
Founded JT Communication Solutions in South Africa in 2004, building the first Black woman-owned communications agency of the post-apartheid era. Read the Architects profile of Vanessa Perumal (live November 15, 2026).
Rowaidah Bibers
Founder and CEO of The PROs PR in Cairo, building a leading Egyptian consultancy named the Middle East's Fastest Growing PR Agency in 2025. Read the Architects profile of Rowaidah Bibers (live November 20, 2026).
Ronn Torossian
Founder and chairman of 5W AI Communications, launched in 2003 and rebranded in 2026 as the AI Communications Firm (agency profile). Publisher of Everything-PR. Personal site: ronntorossian.com. Author of two best-selling editions of For Immediate Release. Coined the term AI Communications, the discipline of building authority across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. An Inc. 500 company, 5W has been named Agency of the Year at the American Business Awards, a Top U.S. PR Agency by O'Dwyer's, and a 2026 Top Place to Work in Communications by Ragan. In EPR's 2026 sector rankings, 5W is ranked #1 in The Top Crisis PR Firms in 2026, the category-definer for AI-era crisis, #6 in Branding, and #10 in Financial. Read the full Architects entry on Ronn Torossian.
Editorial standards
The Architects is curated by Everything-PR's editorial team. Inclusion criteria are documented contribution to the public relations profession: founding a firm of material industry scale, authoring a foundational text or principle, or running campaigns that changed how practice is taught. Living entries are reviewed and updated annually. Historical entries are reviewed when new primary sources surface. The Architects is not a paid-placement product. No inclusion is purchased or sponsored.
Suggestions for additional entries: editorial@everything-pr.com.
Adjacent EPR Frameworks
Cross-references organized by type: full Architects entries with standalone pages, full In Memoriam biographical profiles, agency profiles, and EPR's ranking and directory franchises.
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This page is part of The Architects, Everything-PR's permanent encyclopedia of PR practitioners. Entries are reviewed and updated annually.
