Burson-Marsteller Names Stephen Naru Head Of U.S. Media Relations, Managing Director, U.S. Corporate & Financial Practice

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Dec 11, 2014, 01:17 ET

NEW YORK, Dec. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Burson-Marsteller, a leading global public relations and communications firm, today announced that Stephen Naru has joined the company as Head of U.S. Media Relations and Managing Director, U.S. Corporate and Financial Practice. Naru will work with a team of media specialists to provide media relations strategy and execution to clients. He also will be responsible for ensuring the application of best practice in media relations for the firm across the U.S.

Naru has spent more than 25 years creating and implementing media relations programs for leading brands, and has developed deep relationships with reporters and executives at many of the world's leading news outlets.

Naru joins Burson-Marsteller from FleishmanHillard, where he served as Global Media Relations Practice Leader, providing leadership and direction for the firm's global media council. He was also responsible for intellectual property and product development for the practice. While at FleishmanHillard, Naru worked with a diverse group of clients including AT&T, Monsanto, Barnes & Noble, Coty, AlixPartners, Lenovo, Huawei, Hyatt, Goldcorp, The New York Times Company and Columbia Business School, among many others.

Before that, Naru served as interim vice president of strategic communications and external relations at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, N.Y., where he managed the marketing, media relations, Web services, internal communications, and government relations entities. Earlier in his career, Naru led global media relations for Thomson Reuters, the world's largest multimedia news agency and information company. While there he directed global media relations planning and execution for the company during a radical corporate transition restructuring program.

Naru began his civilian public relations career at Burson-Marsteller in 1989, joining after a 10-year career as an officer in the U.S. Army. While at Burson-Marsteller, he managed and executed highly-successful media relations programs and projects for a variety of companies, including Ryder System, Sprint, TRW Inc., Philip Morris, Perrier, Warner Lambert, Metropolitan Life, Coca Cola, Panasonic, The U.S. Postal Service, Engelhard, The National Hockey League and the U.S. Army.

"Steve is a world-class public relations and integrated communications expert, with nearly three decades of experience counseling clients across multiple industries," said Michael Law, U.S. CEO, Burson-Marsteller. "He is an excellent example of the caliber of talent that represents Burson-Marsteller, and we are thrilled to have him back at the firm."

Naru will report to Alan Sexton, Chair, U.S. Corporate & Financial Practice, New York Market Leader.

"The complexity of today's media landscape requires that public relations professionals be multifaceted storytellers who can articulate a brand's story across any number of media – from long-form profiles to seven-second videos and everything in between," said Naru. "I am delighted to return to Burson-Marsteller and offer my expertise to the agency's clients and to help develop the next generation of media experts."

Naru is a graduate of The United States Military Academy at West Point, earning a B.S. in civil engineering. He also earned two master's degrees – the first in international relations from the University of Southern California and a second in journalism from Michigan State University. He is a member of the West Point Civilian Public Affairs Council and the NYC-based "Wisemen" public relations organization.

About Burson-Marsteller
Burson-Marsteller, established in 1953, is a leading global public relations and communications firm. It provides clients with strategic thinking and program execution across a full range of public relations, public affairs, reputation and crisis management, advertising and digital strategies. The firm's seamless worldwide network consists of 73 offices and 85 affiliate offices, together operating in 110 countries across six continents. Burson-Marsteller is a part of Young & Rubicam Group, a subsidiary of WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY), the world's leading communications services network. For more information, please visit bm.com.

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