FleishmanHillard Names Global Crisis Management Leads

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Sep 23, 2014, 11:00 ET

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- FleishmanHillard has appointed new leadership for its global crisis management team. Brian West, based in Singapore, will serve as the firm's global crisis management lead and also will lead the crisis team in Asia Pacific. Chris Nelson, based in New York, will lead crisis management for the Americas, and James Dunny, based in Dublin, will serve as lead for EMEA. The three will oversee a team that includes more than 100 of FleishmanHillard's most senior crisis counselors.

"Effective crisis management is now more critical to long-term corporate survival than ever before," said Dave Senay, FleishmanHillard president and CEO. "As one of the world's most complete global communications firms, we offer our clients a reassuring depth of crisis experience. And we've armed our counselors with the tools to aid clients in crisis anywhere in the world using any communications channel. Our clients will be comforted to know that we have named such respected and accomplished crisis experts to lead our global crisis team."

West, a senior vice president and senior partner, has served as interim chair of the firm's global crisis practice since early 2013. He has overseen the introduction of FleishmanHillard's new crisis management methodology A.R.C.™ (Assess. Resolve. Control.), and he has helped build an internal training program that certifies the firm's crisis counselors through a proprietary program developed with input from crisis management veterans and educators. He has 30 years of experience in managing different types of issues and crises across virtually every industry throughout the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. He also has worked in-house and previously ran the Asia Pacific operations of another global public relations firm.

Nelson, a senior vice president and partner, has more than 20 years' experience as a crisis management consultant. He has guided CEOs and their executive teams through hundreds of high-profile crisis situations, including data breaches, product recalls, chemical spills, workplace violence, employee malfeasance, crises of investor confidence and corporate espionage. Before joining FleishmanHillard, Nelson headed Ketchum's North American crisis preparedness, issues management, crisis response and litigation communications capabilities.

Dunny, the new head of FleishmanHilllard's EMEA crisis management team, has nearly two decades of experience working with companies across a variety of sectors, including pharma, tech, agriculture, food, energy and media. He has advised companies through numerous crises and issues across Europe and the Middle East and brings particular experience in the areas of emergency response, industrial relations, litigation, product recalls and corporate restructuring. Dunny also has a strong track record in corporate reputation management and works directly with decision-makers to provide strategic counsel and support in the areas of corporate profiling, message shaping, public affairs advice, strategic communications and media relations.

The positioning of the firm's crisis management lead in Asia Pacific reflects the region's dramatic increase in strategic importance to major multinational clients and comes at a time of increased risk management activity in the region.

"Asia is a crucial piece of the rapidly changing landscape in which crises are managed," said Bob Winslow, executive vice president and head of global practices at FleishmanHillard. "From rapid growth in social media activity to the region's world-leading smartphone penetration levels, crises in Asia – cybersecurity breaches to product integrity issues to questions of corporate business practices – now play out on a global stage, and the strategies necessary to manage them are changing rapidly."

"You can't buy time in a crisis," added West. "You need to have identified and evaluated all your risks and planned for the worst. Companies need the right social media listening tools, a shortened chain of command and a multiplatform newsroom to respond to a crisis, harnessing the power of social media to reach stakeholders directly while also utilizing traditional media. Almost every day, we see an example of another company failing in the new age of crisis management. Crisis plans are no longer enough. Clients must now be able to respond in social media channels within minutes, and we want to ensure every FleishmanHillard client is properly prepared."

About FleishmanHillard
FleishmanHillard is the world's most complete global communications firm, specializing in public relations, public affairs, marketing, paid media, and transmedia and social content. FleishmanHillard delivers on The Power of True, reflecting the firm's high values, and unique ability to guide clients through a world demanding unprecedented authenticity and transparency. FleishmanHillard was named PRWeek's 2014 Global Agency of the Year, "Standout Agency" on Advertising Age's 2013 A-List; NAFE's "Top 50 Companies for Executive Women" for 2010-2014; and among PRWeek's 2013 "Best Places to Work." The firm's award-winning work is widely heralded, including at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity. FleishmanHillard is part of the DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc., and has more than 85 offices in 30 countries, plus affiliates in 42 countries. Visit us at www.fleishmanhillard.com.

About The DAS Group of Companies
The DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), is a global group of marketing services companies. DAS includes over 200 companies in the following marketing disciplines: specialty, PR, healthcare, CRM, events, promotional marketing, branding and research. Operating through a combination of networks and regional organizations, DAS serves international, regional, national and local clients through more than 700 offices in 71 countries.

SOURCE FleishmanHillard