Partner Melissa Kinch Named Director of Ketchum West, Dave Chapman Appointed to Lead Environmental Reputation Expertise

LOS ANGELES and SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ketchum, one of the world leaders in communications and public relations, today announced the promotion of partner Melissa Kinch to director of Ketchum West, responsible for Ketchum operations in San Francisco and Los Angeles. In a related move, partner Dave Chapman, currently director of Ketchum West, takes on a new role shepherding the firm's deepening focus on environmental reputation, a significant growth area for Ketchum. The new roles are effective July 1.

"Melissa is a real star in our business. She is a well-rounded leader, having gained experience in roles spanning geographic offices, practices and specialties, and key client engagements," said Barri Rafferty, senior partner and CEO, North America. "She is focused and passionate, with razor-sharp insights. Having served as associate director in Ketchum West for the last two years, our talent and many of our clients are already familiar with her, and they are looking forward to working more closely with her in her new position."

Rafferty continued, "At the same time, Ketchum will benefit greatly from Dave turning his full focus toward the environmental reputation space – an area for which he is deeply passionate and that our clients will benefit from as well."

During her 19-year career at Ketchum, Kinch has built leadership and teams that specialize in helping brands, organizations and industry sectors build and protect their reputation. Prior to her role as associate director of Ketchum West, in 2011 Kinch became associate director of Ketchum's North American Corporate & Public Affairs Practice. Today she continues to lead the practice's Reputation by Permission specialty offering. She was named a Ketchum partner in 2013, and in 2008 she was honored as one of PRWeek's "40 Under 40." Kinch's teams have won dozens of industry accolades, including PRWeek Awards, Clio Awards, PRSA Silver Anvils, SABRE Awards and a Cannes Bronze Lion.

"I'm looking forward to the opportunity to build on the tremendous foundation Dave has laid for Ketchum West," said Kinch. "Having started my career here nearly 20 years ago, I have seen firsthand how the West's incredible talent delivers truly remarkable, break through work in partnership with our clients. We stand at the intersection of issues and culture in California and the West, and our team understands the opportunities this presents in communications better than any other. I am confident we can continue to build on our success and further Ketchum's best-in-class reputation on the West Coast."

Chapman added, "Melissa's tremendous experience and familiarity with the region, the agency, our clients and our people combined with her passion, intelligence and insight make her uniquely suited to step into this new role. She is sure to be a success."

In his new role leading environmental reputation, Chapman will further focus Ketchum's sustainability and social impact capabilities and will counsel brands and organizations on how their environmental actions and commitments impact their reputation. Chapman, who served as director of Ketchum West for 12 years, began his career working in environmental programming with Wisconsin's Earth Day, and he has led Ketchum's global sustainability offering since 2005.

"This is a tremendous opportunity as environmental issues impact reputation and increase in importance to influencers and society," said Chapman. "More attention will be placed on how organizations will respond to and interact with their stakeholders. I am looking forward to focusing on this area of passion to help guide clients as they determine how to communicate their environmental commitments and impact."

Ketchum West's San Francisco and Los Angeles offices are key markets for Ketchum, with core strength in corporate reputation, consumer branding, CSR and sustainability, healthcare, and food, including the Food B2B practice and its one-of-a-kind Food Studio. Ketchum West also has a growing commitment to technology, most notably with the recent addition of Lisa Sullivan as EVP and director of the North American Technology Practice, based in San Francisco.

About Ketchum
Ketchum is a leading global communications firm with operations in more than 70 countries across six continents. The winner of 17 Cannes Lions and an unprecedented five PRWeek Campaign of the Year Awards, Ketchum partners with clients to deliver strategic programming, game-changing creative and measurable results that build brands and reputations. For more information on Ketchum, a part of the DAS Group of Companies, visit www.ketchum.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 Ketchum

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