Fleishman-Hillard Grows Southern California Team, Names Emilie Cotter Entertainment Co-Chair

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Fleishman-Hillard International Communications has announced the addition of Emilie Nicks Cotter as senior vice president and global co-chair of the firm's entertainment team. The agency also has announced several other additions to its Southern California team, covering its offices in Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County. The new hires will fulfill specific growth and account roles.

Cotter, who splits time between the agency's LA and San Diego locations, was most recently director of corporate and brand communication with Lucasfilm, based in San Francisco. While there, she led the development of internal and external cross-company communications, including alignment for the Star Wars and Lucasfilm brands. Prior to Lucasfilm, Cotter worked at Fleishman-Hillard's San Francisco office, serving several major consumer accounts, including Visa, Yahoo and Clorox. Cotter has served as a PR manager at Old Navy and spent several years with Ketchum Entertainment Marketing in New York and LA, where she supported a variety of consumer lifestyle brands.

"Emilie brings valuable experience in brand marketing and entertainment to both the agency and our region," said Della Sweetman, senior partner and general manager of Fleishman-Hillard's Southern California operations. "Her expertise, complemented by that of all our new hires, will support further growth of our Southern California business and allow us to meet clients' needs across our priority sectors of consumer lifestyle, technology and healthcare."

In addition to Cotter, Fleishman-Hillard has brought in strategic hires to increase its offerings for clients throughout the Southern California market:

• Chris Ward: Ward joins the LA office as a managing supervisor, bringing expertise in sports, consumer brands, lifestyle and hospitality. He most recently was part of the lifestyle and travel groups at Murphy O'Brien Los Angeles and previously worked for the Taylor agency. In this role, he provided media, experiential marketing and talent management support for clients worldwide.
• Lauren Karasek: Karasek joins as a managing supervisor in the LA office, where she brings experience in working with clients in the technology, corporate and government sectors. She joins from Atomic PR San Francisco after previous roles at Edelman in Washington, D.C., and Potomac Communications Group, a full-service agency focused on corporate, government and association clients.
• Scott Speer: Speer joins the LA office from the agency's New York operations. He has more than 10 years of experience in healthcare communications and public policy, specializing in osteoarthritis, employer-sponsored wellness and disease management programs. He has managed community and online healthcare campaigns to help reach underprivileged families around seasonal flu vaccination. 
• Jesus Garcia: A managing supervisor in the San Diego office, Garcia spent four years at Edelman as a team leader in the technology practice in Silicon Valley. In addition to helping with the launch of various Hewlett-Packard products, Garcia helped establish HP's first U.S. Hispanic public relations team, where he led the development of creative brand platforms to generate awareness among Hispanics.
• Ariana Barile: Barile, a senior account executive based in LA, joins from Buzzsmith Media, a digital communications agency. Among her previous roles, she was at New York-based Padilla Speer Beardsley, where she managed the Coppertone and MiraLAX accounts.
• Fleishman-Hillard also added four junior hires: Michael Chavez Booth, account executive in LA; Brittany Rawlings, account executive in San Diego; and assistant account executives Anne Leverdier (LA) and Jocelle Untalan (Orange County). 

Fleishman-Hillard Southern California is among the region's leading communications agencies, specializing in full-service and integrated communications in the areas of consumer products and services, technology, healthcare, clean energy and corporate services.

About Fleishman-Hillard

Fleishman-Hillard Inc., one of the world's leading strategic communications firms, has built its reputation on creating integrated solutions that deliver what its clients value most: meaningful, positive and measurable impact on the performance of their organizations. The firm is widely recognized for excellent client service and a strong company culture founded on teamwork, integrity and personal commitment. Based in St. Louis, the firm operates throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Latin America through its 80 owned offices. For more information, visit the Fleishman-Hillard website at www.fleishmanhillard.com. Fleishman-Hillard is a part of Diversified Agency Services, a division of Omnicom Group Inc.

About Diversified Agency Services

Diversified Agency Services (DAS), a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), manages Omnicom's holdings in a variety of marketing communications disciplines. DAS includes over 200 companies, which operate through a combination of networks and regional organizations, serving international and local clients through more than 700 offices in 71 countries.

About Omnicom Group Inc.

Omnicom Group Inc. (www.omnicomgroup.com) is a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.

SOURCE Fleishman-Hillard Inc.