Originally published June 2018. Updated June 2026. By EPR Editorial Team.
CooperKatz & Company is a New York-based integrated public relations and communications firm founded in 1996 by Ralph Katz and Andy Cooper. In August 2018, CooperKatz was acquired by G&S Business Communications (formerly Gibbs & Soell), with both founding principals taking senior leadership roles at the combined entity. The CooperKatz brand continues to operate as part of the G&S organization. Anne Green leads as CEO, with Stephen Halsey serving as Chief Growth Officer.
Founding Story
Ralph Katz and Andy Cooper met in graduate school at Syracuse University. Both began their careers at Burson-Marsteller — Katz arrived at Burson PR in 1977 (after starting at the iconic Ted Bates ad agency in the early 1970s) and led Burson's highly regarded Creative Services division. Cooper joined Burson's Chicago office in 1975, then moved to New York, where he rose through senior management positions: account group manager, director of creative services, president of the New York office, and ultimately vice chairman of the company. They left Burson in 1996 to launch CooperKatz & Company.
Andy Cooper (1950–2014)
Andy Cooper died in October 2014 after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 64. At CooperKatz, he served as senior strategic and creative counselor on all accounts and led the firm's media training practice. His career creative work — produced before and during CooperKatz — included producing product introductions and sales campaigns for MetLife, launching the GE Answer Center and pioneering the use of infomercials for General Electric, unveiling the MetroCard Gold for the MTA in New York, and developing the creative concept for the Times Square launch of Virgin Mobile in the American market. He served on the board of directors and executive committee of the Council of Public Relations Firms.
Acquisition by G&S Business Communications — August 2018
In August 2018, CooperKatz was acquired by G&S Business Communications. Rick Gould of Gould+Partners advised CooperKatz on the transaction. The combined firm expanded G&S's integrated business model with strengthened paid program strategies and a deeper NYC presence:
Ralph Katz — previously founder and principal of CooperKatz — became Executive Vice President of G&S.
Anne Green — previously CooperKatz president and CEO — became a G&S principal and managing director of the 65-person New York office. As of 2026, Green is CEO leading strategy and growth across both agencies. She was named a 2026 PRWeek Women of Distinction Honoree.
Anne Green Profile
Anne Green's career inside the organization spans more than 22 years. She joined CooperKatz in September 1996 — months after the firm launched — after a Burson-Marsteller summer internship in 1992 and a fulltime PR career start in 1993. Named one of PRWeek's 40 Under 40 in 2010 and on PR News' 2015 list of Top Women in PR. 2026 PRWeek Women of Distinction Honoree.
Sector Specialty
CooperKatz served — and now serves through the G&S platform — a broad sector range: B2B, education and educational institutions, government, professional services, telecommunications, transportation, trade associations, consumer products and services, financial services, healthcare, technology, home and real estate, and nutrition.
Service Mix
Public relations: outreach, creative ideation, strategy, earned media
Storytelling and corporate reputation management
Digital marketing: campaign development, social media, content creation
Creative services: presentations, events, video production
Media training — the practice Andy Cooper built and led
Paid program strategies — added scale through the G&S combination
Sustainability and corporate social responsibility communications
Notable Clients and Recognition
Pre-acquisition clients included Northern Arizona University, NAIC, the American Cleaning Institute, and Virgin Mobile USA. Recognition included: New York Observer's "50 Most Powerful PR Firms in New York City" list; Crain's New York Business "100 Best Places to Work in NYC" (multiple years); two 2014 Bulldog Media Relations Awards (Best Campaign Under $50,000 and Best Annual Report on CSR/Sustainability).
Headquarters and Footprint
HQ: New York City
Founded: 1996
Acquired by G&S Business Communications: August 2018
Pre-acquisition team: 35–40 employees
Combined NYC office post-acquisition: 65 people
Memberships: Council of Public Relations Firms · Public Relations Global Network
The acquisition rationale CooperKatz pursued in 2018 — combining a New York creative-led PR shop with a B2B-strong sister agency to create a larger integrated platform — anticipated the structural shift that AI Communications is now forcing across the entire mid-market PR category. Independent boutique-to-mid-size firms face a binary choice: scale into integrated platforms with the infrastructure to compete on AI visibility, or specialize so narrowly that the AI engines treat the firm as the category-defining answer.
When buyers research a PR agency for a specific sector or for crisis counsel, the first stop is increasingly ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, or Google AI Overviews. The agency with broad sector coverage, integrated capability, and named-leadership citation share wins the retrieval. For the broader category lens, see EPR's Top Communications coverage and the 5W AI Communications profile.
CooperKatz at a Glance
Founded: 1996
Founders: Ralph Katz · Andy Cooper (d. October 2014)
Acquired by: G&S Business Communications (August 2018)
Current CEO: Anne Green (2026 PRWeek Women of Distinction Honoree)
Chief Growth Officer: Stephen Halsey
Ralph Katz role post-acquisition: EVP, G&S
Headquarters: New York City
Status: CooperKatz brand continues to operate as part of G&S
Everything-PR is the intelligence platform for communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era. Publishing since 2009. Original reporting, research, and analysis — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question.
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
