MSLGROUP Chicago And Leo Burnett's Reputation Practice Merge To Create An Integrated PR Offering

Former Leo Burnett Global Communications Executive Amy Cheronis will serve as Managing Director of MSLGROUP in Chicago

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Mar 18, 2016, 06:15 ET

CHICAGO, March 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, MSLGROUP and Leo Burnett announced that MSLGROUP in Chicago and Leo Burnett's Reputation & Communications Practice are joining forces to create one integrated PR offering. Housed under the MSLGROUP brand, this combined team unites MSLGROUP's highly respected consumer and corporate public relations experts in Chicago with Leo Burnett's reputation and content specialists, who were just crowned PR Week's In-House Team of the Year at last night's PR Week Awards in New York.

This newly combined team will serve both MSLGROUP Chicago's current clients and the clients of Leo Burnett, as well as manage reputation strategy and execution for agencies within the newly formed Publicis Communications group in the U.S.

"This strategic marriage of MSLGROUP in Chicago with Leo Burnett's Reputation & Communications Practice allows us to better serve the broadening needs of clients, while tapping into Leo Burnett's roster and best-in-class services across their agency," said Ron Guirguis, CEO, U.S. Operations, MSLGROUP. "This merger will allow us to grow our business and our talent and create a new model for our industry."

As part of this restructure, MSLGROUP has appointed Amy Cheronis, formerly EVP of Leo Burnett Worldwide Reputation and Communications, as Managing Director of MSLGROUP in Chicago. Cheronis holds more than 20 years of communications experience across categories, geographies and media. During her time at Leo Burnett, she led a global team of 25 reputation experts who managed the reputation of the agency's 85 offices. She also conceived and grew Leo+, the public relations and reputation engine inside Leo Burnett that has served clients such as Alcon, Allstate, Esurance and Procter & Gamble. In her new role, Cheronis will be responsible for overseeing talent and growth across MSLGROUP in Chicago.

MSLGROUP in Chicago boasts two high-performing consumer and corporate public relations practices with 38 staffers representing blue-chip clients such as Constellation Brands, Delta Faucet, DeVry Education Group, Mazola, Mike's Hard Lemonade and Weber to name a few.

"Bringing together two incredibly talented and passionate teams under the respected MSLGROUP banner is quite powerful," Cheronis said. "The blending of reputation and content specialists with traditional PR experts will result in a unique and modern offering designed to drive our clients' businesses forward.

"More and more, PR and advertising agencies find themselves competing against each other for business. The blending of reputation and content specialists with traditional PR experts will result in a very unique and modern offering designed to drive our clients' businesses forward."

In the coming weeks, MSLGROUP Chicago will move from the Merchandise Mart to the Leo Burnett Building where Publicis Groupe agencies Leo Burnett, Arc and Starcom currently reside.

About MSLGROUP
MSLGROUP is Publicis Groupe's strategic communications and engagement group, advisors in all aspects of communication strategy: from consumer PR to financial communications, from public affairs to reputation management and from crisis communications to experiential marketing and events. With more than 3,000 people across more than 100 offices worldwide, MSLGROUP is also the largest PR network in Europe, fast-growing China and India. The group offers strategic planning and counsel, insight-guided thinking and big, compelling ideas – followed by thorough execution.

About Leo Burnett
Leo Burnett Worldwide believes in using creativity to drive dynamic business change for its clients. Through a HumanKind approach to marketing, the agency puts a brand's purpose at the center of communications to transform human behavior. Part of Publicis Communications and the Publicis Groupe, Leo Burnett Worldwide works with some of the world's most valued brands including Coca-Cola, Fiat, Kellogg's, Kraft, McDonald's, Nintendo, P&G and Samsung, among others. For the past seven years, Leo Burnett has been ranked #1 in "New World Thinking" by The Gunn Report and was named an Agency to Watch on Advertising Age's 2015 A-List. To learn more about Leo Burnett Worldwide and its rich, 80-year history of creating iconic brands, visit our site, Facebook page and follow us via @leoburnett.

About Publicis Groupe
Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris FR0000130577, CAC 40] is a global leader in marketing, communication, and business transformation. In a world marked by increased convergence and consumer empowerment, Publicis Groupe offers a full range of services and skills: digital, technology & consulting with Publicis.Sapient (SapientNitro, Sapient Global Markets, Sapient Government Services, Razorfish Global, DigitasLBi, Rosetta) - the world's largest most forward-thinking digitally centered platform focused exclusively on digital transformation in an always-on world - as well as creative networks such as BBH, Leo Burnett, Publicis Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi, public affairs, corporate communications and events with MSLGROUP, ad tech solutions with VivaKi, media strategy, planning and buying through Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia, healthcare communications, with Publicis Healthcare Communications Group (PHCG), and finally, brand asset production with Prodigious. Present in 108 countries, the Groupe employs more than 76,000 professionals.

SOURCE Leo Burnett