Spark PR: San Francisco Tech PR Agency Profile

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Spark PR is a San Francisco-headquartered technology PR agency founded in 1999 by Chris Hempel and Donna Sokolsky Burke. Both founders came from Netscape, where they helped launch the first commercial web browser. Alan Soucy was named CEO in 2006; since then, day-to-day leadership has been split between Soucy and Burke as managing partners. The firm is privately owned and serves consumer and technology clients.

Offices and Footprint

Spark operates offices in San Francisco (headquarters), New York City, and Emeryville, California, with a wholly-owned subsidiary in Cape Town, South Africa. The agency employs approximately 70 full-time PR professionals.

Leadership

Alan Soucy brings senior technology operating experience from MTI MicroFuel Cells (President & CEO), Philips Mobile Computing Group (General Manager), and Tripath Technology (VP of Advanced Products). In October 2015, the firm added managing directors Faith Paris and Nicole Bestard in the expanding New York office.

Clients and Roster

Early Spark clients included Jim Barksdale (Netscape founder) and VA Linux — one of the most successful IPOs in stock market history. The current client base includes eBay, Visa, NASDAQ, Walmart, Warner Brothers, and Chobani.

Recognition

Spark has received the SABRE Award for Technology, multiple inclusions on the San Francisco Bay Area's Best and Brightest Companies to Work For list, and a Bulldog Reporter Gold Award for Best Use of Digital/Social in a Consumer Technology Campaign.

Culture

The firm offers flexible work arrangements (including remote and alternate schedules), a dog-friendly office, and structured volunteering with Ronald McDonald House, local homelessness charities, and animal-welfare organizations.

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