Michael Sitrick, the crisis PR mogul is part of a group of homeowners on an elite Malibu Beach area known as Broad Beach. Other owners in the area include luminaries like Pierce Brosnan, Dustin Hoffman, Steve Levitan (co-producer of “Modern Family”), Ray Romano, and Patrick Soon-Shiong (ranked by Forbes as the wealthiest man in LA and the wealthiest American in the Health Care Industry).
121 parcels make up the exclusive beachfront neighborhood and homeowners aren’t happy. Since the 1970’s the beach has seen significant erosion. Some of those actions edged a bit on the extreme side, like hiring private security to chase away people from the beach if they didn’t own one of the parcels. That action didn’t sit well with locals. At one point, they also shifted a great deal of sand off the adjacent public beach onto “their beach” to build up and replace their lost sand. Yea that didn’t go over so well either.
A few years ago they got permission to bring in a rocky base to protect their sand, but even that has not done as much good as they want. So a year or so ago, the residents proposed a plan to create a deeper rocky base and ship in sand to cover it all paid for by the residents. Their plan as proposed would cost approximately $20 million over 20 years. That was not accepted, changes have been made to the plans and the time frame has been shortened, so now the cost will run about $31 million over 10 years. The sand they will transport in will come from quarries in Moorpark and Simi Valley.
Michael Sitrick, founder and CEO of Sitrick and Company, a crisis management PR firm headquartered in Los Angeles, has a getaway home on Broad Beach, acquired in 1999. In speaking about the plan, he said, “As I understand it, what the homeowners are doing on Broad Beach is unique: We are funding the restoration totally at our own expense.”
Moving from LA to Europe, APCO Worldwide has added to their International Advisory Council (IAC) bringing in Edit Herczog, a former member of the European Parliament (EU) representing Hungary.
Margery Kraus, Chairman at APCO, said, “Edit’s vast first-hand knowledge and unique perspectives on the legislative process make her an invaluable resource for our clients who need counsel in the EU and an incredible addition to our IAC. Her expertise in foreign relations will provide a unique and informed perspective for our clients.”
Ms. Herczog has 10 years’ experience with the EU working on committees and delegations with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (Russia), Canada, and the U.S. Before her time at the EU, she served in the Hungarian Parliament on their Foreign Affairs and Environment Committees, the Hungarian delegation to the Council of Europe, and the National Development Council.
She founded and directs Vision and Values, an organization in Brussels specializing in giving strategic advice to top government and business decision makers, and examining complex European issues.
“Edit’s extensive background in public affairs and government relations, and her leadership positions in a variety of disciplines make her a strong asset to APCO’s IAC,” said Brad Staples, CEO of APCO Worldwide.