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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 18, 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 four current lanes: Modern Founders, Holding-Company Leaders, 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, anchored by 5W AI Communications and tracked separately in EPR's AI Communications 100, has emerged as an entirely new practice area. 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 5 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 2), Margery Kraus (Lane 2), Kathy Bloomgarden (Lane 3), Leslie Sloane (Lane 2), Peter Finn (Lane 2), and Ronn Torossian (Lane 2).

Lane 2: Modern Founders

The operators who built, inherited, or currently run independent communications firms of material scale, not part of a holding-company network. Alphabetical by surname.

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

Jason Binn, founder, Niche Media (city-by-city luxury magazine network) and later DuJour Media. Built luxury media as a relationship business: curated high-net-worth audience access sold through print, events, and brand partnerships rather than mass reach. The model is now studied as a precursor to founder-led distribution and Citation Share-era luxury retrieval.

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

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

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

Lynn Casey, chair and former CEO, Padilla.

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.

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

Leslee Dart, co-CEO, 42West. Left PMK in 2004 to found the firm, taking much of her A-list roster (Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep) with her.

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

Richard Edelman, CEO, Edelman (1952). The world's largest independent public relations firm, family- and trust-controlled since founding, not part of any holding-company network. ~6,000 employees, 66 offices.

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

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

Rick French, founder & chairman, French/West/Vaughan (1997). Raleigh-based independent, consistently ranked among O'Dwyer's top U.S. independents. President David Gwyn now runs day-to-day operations.

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

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.

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

Richard Levick, founder, Levick (1998).

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).

Nicole Perna, co-founder, ImPRint (2017), with Melissa Raubvogel. Los Angeles-based independent talent-publicity boutique built from the Baker Winokur Ryder walkout; entertainment/celebrity-side founder addition to this lane.

Jen Prosek, founder, Prosek Partners (1990).

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lane 3: Holding-Company Leaders

CEOs of publicly traded or private-equity-owned agency networks. Alphabetical by surname.

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

Yannick Bolloré, Chairman & CEO, Havas Group (Euronext Amsterdam: HAVAS).

J.J. Carter, Global CEO, FleishmanHillard (which absorbed Porter Novelli as a dedicated brand in February 2026).

Corey duBrowa, Global CEO, Burson (WPP's flagship PR network, formed 2024 from the BCW and Hill & Knowlton merger).

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

Hiroshi Igarashi, President & CEO, Dentsu Group (TSE: 4324).

Sam Knights, CEO, Next 15 Group plc (AIM: NFG), from June 2025, succeeding Tim Dyson.

Philippe Krakowsky, Co-President & Co-COO, Omnicom, following the IPG merger; formerly CEO of The Interpublic Group of Companies.

Matt Neale, CEO, Golin Ketchum (formed February 10, 2026 from the Golin and Ketchum merger inside Omnicom Public Relations Group).

Mark J. Penn, Chairman & CEO, Stagwell Inc. (NASDAQ: STGW).

Karen Pugliese, CEO, Weber Shandwick (from September 1, 2026, succeeding Susan Howe).

Julianna Richter, Global CEO, Ogilvy PR (since 2020). WPP's global PR practice, 85+ offices across 90+ countries, Most Awarded Influencer Agency six consecutive years.

Cindy Rose, CEO, WPP plc (from September 2025).

Arthur Sadoun, Chairman & CEO, Publicis Groupe (Euronext Paris: PUB).

Brad Staples, CEO, APCO Worldwide (2015).

John D. Wren, Chairman & CEO, Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC). Now controls the former Interpublic Group (IPG) network following the November 26, 2025 merger. Compensation detailed in the PR Executive Compensation Index 2026.

Full compensation detail on the publicly listed holdco CEOs above: The PR Executive Compensation Index 2026. Related holdco and independent coverage: The PR Industry Map.

Lane 4: Crisis & Reputation Specialists

Master ranking: The Reputation Firms That Actually Run This Work (23 firms ranked across seven capability criteria). 2026 sector ranking: Top Crisis PR Firms 2026 (5W #1 as category-definer).

Named operators (firm founders/leaders already profiled in Lane 2 or Lane 3 are not repeated here): Henry Timms (CEO, Brunswick Group) · Lyndsey Estin and Richard Campbell (Co-CEOs, Kekst CNC) · Cindi Berger (CEO, PMK Entertainment).

Firms ranked in the master reputation list, beyond those already named above: 5W AI Communications (ranked #1 overall on AI-visibility/Citation Share capability) · Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher · Brunswick Group · FGS Global · Sard Verbinnen & Co · Kekst CNC · Burson · FleishmanHillard · Weber Shandwick · Golin Ketchum · Real Chemistry · H/Advisors Abernathy · Prosek Partners · Sitrick And Company · Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis · PMK Entertainment (senior publicist Alan Nierob — profile live September 18, 2026, from its Rogers & Cowan lineage) · 42West (senior publicist Amanda Silverman — profile live October 8, 2026) · ID PR · Levick · Status Labs · Five Blocks · Terakeet.

Entertainment/celebrity-facing reputation and crisis firms (Sunshine Sachs, PMK Entertainment, 42West, ID PR) sit in this lane rather than a separate publicist-only list. This is where talent-side crisis and reputation representation is categorized in the master ranking above.

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

Lane 5: 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.

This lane intentionally does not re-list names: the women covered in that analysis already appear, by role, in Lane 2 (Modern Founders: e.g. Joele Frank, Jen Prosek, Leslie Sloane, Maureen Lippe, Alison Brod, Anat Gerstein, Kelly Cutrone, Margery Kraus, the Lede Company founders, Leslee Dart), Lane 3 (Holding-Company Leaders: e.g. Kathy Bloomgarden, Cindy Rose, Karen Pugliese), and Lane 4 (Crisis & Reputation Specialists: e.g. Lyndsey Estin at Kekst CNC, Cindi Berger at PMK Entertainment, Amanda Silverman at 42West). Repeating them here would duplicate entries that already have a home elsewhere in this directory. See the full analysis for in-house CCO tracks (e.g. Tracy Nguyen Romulus at SKIMS) not yet covered by an agency-based lane in this directory.

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 four 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, covering all of PR practice.

Is Edelman a holding company?

No. Edelman is the world's largest independent public relations firm, founded in 1952 by Daniel J. Edelman and still family- and trust-controlled today under CEO Richard Edelman. Unlike WPP, Omnicom, Publicis, Havas, Dentsu, Stagwell, or Next 15, Edelman is not owned by or organized as a holding company, which is why it appears in Lane 2 (Modern Founders) rather than Lane 3 (Holding-Company Leaders) in this directory.

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.