Philip Lesly (1918–1997) — author of Lesly's Handbook of Public Relations, the field's second foundational textbook, founder of Philip Lesly Company, and the practitioner who built the reference shelf of modern American PR practice.
William Ruder co-founded Ruder Finn in 1948 with David Finn, served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce under President John F. Kennedy from 1961 to 1963, and helped build one of the largest independent public relations firms in the world.
David Finn (1921–2021) co-founded Ruder Finn with William Ruder in 1948 on a shared thousand dollars. He served as chairman for 73 years, wrote 30-plus books, and lived to 100. Family succession to CEO Kathy Bloomgarden. The EPR In Memoriam canonical record.
Doris Fleischman (1891–1980) co-founded Edward L. Bernays, Counsel on Public Relations in 1919 and was Bernays's full business partner for 43 years. First married American woman to hold a US passport in her maiden name (1925). The EPR In Memoriam canonical record.
Betsy Plank (1924–2010) — first woman to head a major PR agency division (Daniel J. Edelman), first female president of PRSA, namesake of the Plank Center at the University of Alabama, and the practitioner who built the senior-woman pathway in modern American PR.
Daniel Yankelovich (1924–2017) — founder of the Yankelovich firm, pioneer of public-opinion research as a strategic communications discipline, author of Coming to Public Judgment, and the practitioner who built the bridge between survey research and senior counsel.
Al Golin (1929–2017) — founder of Golin, architect of the sixty-year McDonald's account, originator of the 'Trust Bank' framework, and the practitioner who built the longest-running brand-PR relationship in the field's history.
John W. Hill (1890–1977) founded Hill & Knowlton in Cleveland in 1927 and built the first multinational PR firm. His two books formalized corporate PR as a management discipline. The EPR In Memoriam canonical record.
Frank Mankiewicz (1924–2014) — press secretary to Robert F. Kennedy through the 1968 campaign, president of National Public Radio, vice-chairman of Hill & Knowlton, and one of the few American practitioners to operate at senior levels in politics, broadcasting, and PR.
Jack O'Dwyer (1933–2018) founded Jack O'Dwyer's Newsletter in 1968 and turned a yellow-page trade sheet into "the bible of PR." His 1970 financial-disclosure rankings forced the industry into transparency. The EPR In Memoriam canonical record.