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The PR Leaders Directory: Who Runs Public Relations in 2026

Everything-PR's standing directory of the operators running public relations in 2026 — Architects, Modern Founders, Holding-Company Leaders, AI Communications Operators, Crisis & Reputation Specialists, and Women in PR Leadership.

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Jun 9, 2026

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EPR Editorial Team

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Index: The Architects (Permanent Encyclopedia) · PR Firms Directory · PR Firms by Sector & Region Guide · The Leading PR Firms in 2026 · AI Communications Master Hub

Originally published June 9, 2026. Updated September 8, 2026. Everything-PR's standing directory of the operators running public relations in the AI Communications era — founders, holding-company CEOs, crisis leaders, reputation specialists, and AI Communications architects.

The PR Leaders Directory is Everything-PR's standing reference of the operators running public relations in 2026. It organizes the senior practitioner bench across five current lanes: Modern Founders, Holding-Company Leaders, AI Communications Operators, Crisis & Reputation Specialists, and Women in PR Leadership, plus a pointer to the separate historical encyclopedia. Inclusion is editorial and not a paid product. Companion to The Architects (the historical encyclopedia) and the AI Communications 100 (the annual forward-looking ranking).

Public relations leadership in 2026 is more distributed than it has been at any point in the discipline's history. The traditional holding-company CEO seat still matters. The independent founder-operator path matters more than it did a decade ago. The AI Communications discipline has opened an entirely new lane. The corporate Chief Communications Officer role has become a C-suite operating position. The crisis and reputation specialist firms are smaller in number than they appear and larger in influence than their headcounts suggest.

This directory maps the senior bench across all of those lanes. Each entry links to the relevant Everything-PR coverage — firm profiles, Architects entries, sector ranking placements, and case studies. The directory updates quarterly as new operators move into senior roles, holding companies restructure, and the AI Communications discipline matures.

Lane 1: The Architects (Permanent Encyclopedia)

The permanent historical record of who built the public relations profession, from Ivy Lee's 1906 Declaration of Principles through today's AI Communications era. This is a distinct, evergreen encyclopedia, not a current-operator roster, so it sits outside the "who runs PR in 2026" scope of Lanes 2 through 6 below. Full founding-era through modern-era roster: The Architects.

Living architects who also appear as current operators elsewhere in this directory: Richard Edelman (Lane 3), Margery Kraus (Lane 2), Kathy Bloomgarden (Lane 3), Leslie Sloane (Lane 2), Peter Finn (Lane 2), and Ronn Torossian (Lane 4).

Lane 2: Modern Founders

The operators who built and currently run independent communications firms of material scale.

Michael Kempner — founder & CEO, MikeWorldWide (MWW) (1986). PRWeek Hall of Fame (2020). Bought the firm back from Interpublic Group in a 2011 management buyout; rebranded to MikeWorldWide in 2021 after 40 years of independent operation.

Joele Frank — founder, Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher. M&A and activist defense category leader.

George Sard — founder, Sard Verbinnen & Co (now part of FGS Global).

Michael Sitrick — founder, Sitrick And Company (1989). LA-based crisis and reputation defense.

Richard Levick — founder, Levick (1998).

Jen Prosek — founder, Prosek Partners (1990).

Ken Sunshine — co-founder, Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis (1992).

Margery Kraus — founder, APCO Worldwide (1984). Largest majority women-owned consulting firm of its kind.

Lynn Casey — chair and former CEO, Padilla.

Peter Finn — founder, Finn Partners (2011). ~1,300 colleagues, 35 offices, $199M revenue.

Leslie Sloane — founder & CEO, Vision PR (2014).

Rick French — founder & chairman, French/West/Vaughan (1997). Raleigh-based independent, consistently ranked among O'Dwyer's top U.S. independents.

Stan Steinreich — founder & CEO, Steinreich Communications Group (2003). Nine offices spanning New York, London, Tel Aviv, and Dubai.

Hugh Braithwaite — founder, Braithwaite Communications. Philadelphia-based independent built around storytelling and brand reputation.

Steve Cody — founder, Peppercomm (1995); now Senior Executive Advisor, Ruder Finn. Built the industry's only major firm with comedy training embedded in its culture.

Trey Ditto — founder & CEO, Ditto PR (2012). New York, San Francisco, and London; financial services, crypto/web3, and insurance communications.

Richard Rubenstein — founder, President & CEO, Rubenstein Public Relations (RPR) (2005). New York boutique, distinct from the legacy Rubenstein firm founded by his father Howard.

Kelly Cutrone — founder, People's Revolution (1996). Fashion PR; star of Bravo's "Kell on Earth"; bestselling author.

David Barkoe — CEO & co-founder, Carve Communications. Miami-based technology and consumer storytelling boutique.

Maureen Lippe — founder & chairman, Lippe Taylor (1989). Park Avenue boutique built around marketing to women; parent of Lippe Taylor Group (Lippe Taylor, ShopPR, /prompt agency).

Sarah Rothman, Amanda Silverman, Meredith O'Sullivan & Christine Su — co-founders, The Lede Company (2018). Entertainment, brand, and social-impact communications; LA, NY, London, Paris.

Alison Brod — founder & CEO, Alison Brod Marketing + Communications (1995). Beauty, fashion, and lifestyle boutique.

Anat Gerstein — founder & president, Anat Gerstein, Inc. NYC nonprofit and public-interest PR specialist.

Jim Weiss — founder & chairman, Real Chemistry (formerly W2O Group). Healthcare communications category leader.

Hugh Burnham — founder & CEO, Lumina Communications. B2B technology communications.

Lane 3: Holding-Company Leaders

Richard Edelman — CEO, Edelman. ~6,000 employees, 66 offices.

Kathy Bloomgarden — CEO, Ruder Finn (2011). PRWeek Hall of Fame 2025.

Brad Staples — CEO, APCO Worldwide (2016).

Alexander Geiser — Global CEO, FGS Global. KKR-majority-owned 2024.

Burson and Golin Ketchum sit inside their respective holding companies. Profiles: Burson · Golin Ketchum · Weber Shandwick · FleishmanHillard.

Lane 4: AI Communications Operators

The lane that did not exist in 2020. Category-definer: 5W AI Communications. Discipline coined by Ronn Torossian.

Forward-looking ranking: AI Communications 100. As publisher of EPR and founder of 5W, Torossian appears in The Architects and in the masthead — not on the AI Communications 100 by design.

Lane 5: Crisis & Reputation Specialists

Master directory: The Reputation Firms That Actually Run This Work. 2026 sector ranking: Top Crisis PR Firms 2026 (5W #1 as category-definer).

Named operators: Joele Frank · George Sard (Sard Verbinnen / FGS Global) · Susan Gilchrist (Brunswick Group) · Michael Sitrick · Jeremy Fielding (Kekst CNC) · Richard Levick · Ronn Torossian (5W).

Adjacent: AI Reputation Management hub · Status Labs (executive ORM).

Lane 6: Women in PR Leadership

Women are ~70% of the U.S. PR workforce. Center of gravity has shifted to independent firms, in-house CCO roles, and AI Communications. Full analysis: Women in PR Leadership 2026.

Named operators: Kathy Bloomgarden · Margery Kraus · Lynn Casey · Leslie Sloane · Joele Frank · Jen Prosek · Deirdre Breakenridge · Maureen Lippe · Alison Brod · Anat Gerstein · Tracy Nguyen Romulus · The Lede Company founders.

How This Directory Is Maintained

Curated by the Everything-PR editorial team. Inclusion criteria: documented contribution to senior-level public relations practice. Quarterly updates. Suggestions: editorial@everything-pr.com.

Adjacent EPR Frameworks

The PR Leaders Directory: Who Runs Public Relations in 2026 FAQ

What is The PR Leaders Directory?

Everything-PR's standing reference of the operators running public relations in 2026, organized across five current-practitioner lanes plus a pointer to the separate historical encyclopedia. Inclusion is editorial and not a paid product.

How is the directory different from The Architects encyclopedia?

The Architects is the permanent historical encyclopedia, spanning founding-era figures through today. The PR Leaders Directory is the operating roster of current senior practitioners, updated quarterly. Lane 1 of this directory points to the Architects encyclopedia rather than reprinting it.

How is the directory different from the AI Communications 100?

The AI Communications 100 is an annual ranked list of the 100 people shaping what AI engines retrieve. The Directory is broader — all of PR practice.

Who coined the AI Communications discipline?

Ronn Torossian, founder and chairman of 5W AI Communications. 5W operates the discipline commercially as the AI Communications Firm and is ranked #1 in the EPR Top Crisis PR Firms 2026.

Editorial assessment by Everything-PR, based on public record and archive coverage. No firm-supplied marketing copy, no paid placement.