KAOH Media has welcomed new CEO Brad MacAfee, as the renewable energy communications firm continues to expand with portfolio clients in project host communities across the nation and beyond."Founded by Kelly O'Neil and myself in 2014 and recently marking its first decade of bringing "good energy" to the world, KAOH Media has now reached an expansion point where bringing additional seasoned executive agency leadership to the team is a logical step to help us move to the next level," says KAOH Co-Founder and current CEO Allan Hug, "In Brad we have found the ideal mix of deep experience, wisdom and clear vision that can help guide us to new opportunities as we continue to serve our utility-scale renewable energy clientele in local host communities and support all aspects of the clean energy transition.""... it is rare to find leaders like Allan and Kelly, who care so deeply about their team and clients that they are willing to take on new roles that align with their expertise and passions while also having the courage to bring in an outside leader" ~ Brad MacAfeeMacAfee's background in leadership and mission-focused corporate culture includes a nearly 20-year stint at Porter Novelli, where he spent his last four years as CEO and Sr. Partner. He helped transform the agency from a generalist agency to one focused on purpose and social impact consulting. More recently, he founded Mission + Cause, a consultancy and executive search firm aimed at assisting public relations agencies and in-house communications departments in aligning workplace culture for purpose-driven and results-oriented expansion."When I was initially introduced to KAOH Media, I was immediately struck by the strong leadership, innovation and rapid growth that the agency has achieved in the renewable energy industry," says MacAfee, "Upon further exploration, I became even more intrigued and excited by the level of creativity and dedication of the KAOH team, and their singular expertise in the space. KAOH Media is driving societal impact at the local and community level. What's impressive is the agency has figured out how to get hyper-local at scale."Employee owned and operated, KAOH offers disciplined project managers and experienced storytellers with a passion for clean energy technology, positive community engagement and impactful messaging. The multi-talented remote team hails from every corner of the country and comes from a variety of backgrounds: politics, digital marketing, journalism, media, events, technology, environmental law, design, lobbying, and energy development.With Brad's appointment to CEO, KAOH Media's founders, Allan Hug and Kelly O'Neil will be taking on new roles in the organization. Allan Hug, former CEO, will shift to the role of Chief Growth & Innovation Officer where he will be responsible for driving agency growth and expansion as well as its focus on development of new technologies, products and services to elevate KAOH clients in the market. Kelly O'Neil, currently President, will now become President & Chief Client Officer. In her role, Kelly will be responsible for ensuring that KAOH is bringing the best people, approach and service principles to the agency's growing list of clients. Both Allan and Kelly will continue their roles and responsibilities serving on the agency's Board of Directors."I have worked with a lot of communications agency founders during the last several years, and it is rare to find leaders like Allan and Kelly, who care so deeply about their team and clients that they are willing to take on new roles that align with their expertise and passions while also having the courage to bring in an outside leader," said Brad. "Even better, both founders want to stay and continue to grow the agency's impact in energy and other areas of social impact. Having the opportunity to collaborate with these founders and the team they have assembled and grown is inspiring.""KAOH Media's singular dedication to the learning the renewable energy space over the past decade has sharply honed the agency's ability to quickly and effectively assess local community growth opportunities, and help lead and support development teams in project areas through every phase from leasing through construction", says KAOH Co-Founder and President Kelly O'Neil, "We look forward to benefiting from Brad's expertise in agency management to help us assess how to best navigate the next chapter of growth for KAOH Media."

Omnicom saw its PR division achieve a 4.3% revenue growth in Q3 2024, marking the highest increase for the segment in over a year.While Omnicom PR Group — encompassing FleishmanHillard, Ketchum, and Porter Novelli — lagged behind the company's advertising & media segment (9.4% growth) and experiential marketing (35.3% growth), it outperformed other areas such as precision marketing (0.8%) and execution & support (0.3%). In comparison, healthcare and branding & retail commerce witnessed revenue declines of 1.1% and 5.4%, respectively.Overall, Omnicom’s Q3 2024 revenue jumped by $304.5 million (8.5%) to reach $3.88 billion. The company’s global revenue growth was primarily driven by an organic revenue increase of $231.3 million, or 6.5%.Acquisition-related revenue rose by $74.4 million, or 2.1%, largely due to Omnicom’s acquisition of Flywheel Digital in the Precision Marketing sector during Q1 2024. Foreign currency fluctuations had no significant impact on revenue.Organic growth in Q3 2024, compared to the same quarter in 2023, varied by region: 6.5% in the U.S., 10.9% in the Asia-Pacific region, 6.8% across Europe, 24.8% in the Middle East and Africa, 8.7% in Latin America, and 1.5% in parts of North America, while the UK saw a slight dip of 0.2%.John Wren, Omnicom’s chairman and CEO, commented: "Our cash flow improved, and we continued our very disciplined capital allocation,” he said. “With exceptional new business wins and exciting new work for our clients, we expect to finish the year with strong momentum.”This quarterly boost for Omnicom PR Group (OPRG) marked its most significant in over a year. After facing three consecutive quarters of declines, OPRG had shown modest improvement with a 0.9% revenue increase in Q2.In Q1, OPRG saw a 1.1% drop in revenue, which followed declines of 2.9% in Q4 2023 and 5.5% in Q3 2023, the latter being the group's first quarterly loss since Q1 2021.Prior to these dips, OPRG experienced consistent growth across eight consecutive quarters, with increases of 5.8% in Q1 2023, 12.7% in Q4 2022, 12.6% in Q3 2022, and double-digit growth throughout much of 2022. This was a significant rebound from the 3.5% drop the group faced in early 2021.

Omnicom PR Group has announced the appointment of communications industry veteran, Matt Stafford, to the position of OPRG President, International, effective November 18, 2024. Stafford will be based in Hong Kong and report to OPRG Chief Executive Officer Chris Foster. Stafford will initially be based in Hong Kong and will transition to the UK in 2025. In this OPRG Corporate Role, he will partner with agency leadership in the region, including Joanne Wong who joined OPRG's largest agency Fleishman Hillard as APAC President earlier this year.  Foster said: "I've wanted an even stronger OPRG in APAC for a while but it took time to determine the best way to organize the portfolio in the region. Further deepening the leadership bench with a client-focused, market-tested leader like Matt is going to add to our momentum. I'm looking forward to working with him again."Stafford added: "I'm excited about the opportunity to join OPRG; I've long admired what Chris and the team have done in transforming the group and am eager to help drive growth against a few key areas." Previously, Stafford was Asia-Pacific President and Global President, Practices & Sectors, BCW, and former Cabinet Secretary for the Australian government. Matt also served as Director of Policy in the office of the Australian Prime Minister and as CEO of Greater China for Burson-Marsteller.Omnicom PR Group (OPRG) is the largest global network of communications and consulting agencies in the world. It is home to three of the top global PR agencies FleishmanHillard, Ketchum, Porter Novelli and more than a dozen specialist agencies in corporate and public affairs, political consulting and advertising, language strategy, global health strategy and organizational transformation. OPRG is part of Omnicom Group Inc. (Image credit: bcw-global.com)

Porter Novelli has strengthened its creative team on both sides of the Atlantic by making two senior hires into its strategic services division.Kam Ajerdi has been appointed as the US executive creative director, based at the agency’s New York City headquarters. Ajerdi joins Porter Novelli from Zeno Group, where he was most recently SVP, group creative director. He has also held positions at Wunderman Thompson as creative director, as well as at Publicis Groupe and Havas Worldwide.“The rapid adoption of new technologies in the market and complexity of consumer preferences demands sophisticated ways of thinking and working, along with vibrant creative energies," noted Kam. "I am excited to help Porter Novelli further accelerate client solutions through innovation, collaboration, and creativity.”Simultaneously, Rowan Adams has been named the UK creative director, based in London. He joins from Play, the consumer PR agency he founded in 2020, which later merged with its original backer, 72Point.The strategic services division, which both Adams and Ajerdi have joined, is described as the “engine” powering Porter Novelli’s new organizational structure. This is being rolled out by global CEO Jillian Janaczek as part of her ‘2024 PN Next’ strategy. The team focuses on six capabilities: Data + Analytics, Strategy + Insights, Creative + Studio, Digital + Innovation, Earned + Influencer, and Paid + Platforms.Adams said: “Communicating at the speed of culture requires data, strategy, and creative license, all of which lie at the heart of our strategic services engine. I am thrilled to join Porter Novelli during its next evolution.”Janaczek added: “Porter Novelli is evolving the industry to combine a data-led and digital-first approach with an earned-first creative solution that integrates sharp minds with smart data to solve complex business challenges. Strategic, creative thinking is a critical step to doing this effectively for our clients, and Kam and Rowan are primed to take lead roles in this part of the business.”

Rhiannon Hughes has been appointed as the Campaign Director at Lewis Communications in Sydney. She joins the agency after serving as the Content and PR Manager at Employsure. With extensive experience in public relations, Hughes has held key roles at renowned agencies such as Sling & Stone, Porter Novelli, and Wright Communications across Australia and New Zealand??.At Sling & Stone, Hughes was promoted to Account Director, reflecting her expertise and leadership skills?. Her appointment at Lewis Communications marks a strategic move to enhance their campaign management capabilities in the competitive Sydney market.

Clemenger Group has appointed Freya Bidwell as the new Agency Communications Manager, a role created to oversee national communications for leading firms within the group: Porter Novelli, Traffik, and LEVO.With a diverse background spanning creative agencies and journalism, Freya brings valuable experience from her previous roles at Saatchi & Saatchi and The Works, part of Capgemini, where she spearheaded communications strategies.Les Timar, CEO of Clemenger Group, expressed enthusiasm about Freya's appointment: "We are thrilled to welcome Freya to Clemenger Group as our new Agency Communications Manager. Our specialist agencies are an integral part of the Group and highly regarded in their respective fields for solving critical business challenges. Her experience will be instrumental in further enhancing the reputation of Porter Novelli, Traffik, and LEVO, and sharing stories of their work, people and industry perspectives."

As part of a global reorganization driven by CEO Jillian Janaczek's 2024 plan, Porter Novelli has established six key practice areas: Corporate & Brand, Food & Ag & Nutrition, Government, Health, Purpose & Impact, and Tech.James Ruane has been appointed to head the newly formed EMEA Corporate and Brand practice. Ruane brings extensive experience, having served as managing partner at Stonehaven, leading their global communications and campaigns division since 2022. Prior to that, he held leadership roles at National Grid, Edelman, and BAE Systems.Sarah Shilling, recently promoted to CEO of Porter Novelli EMEA, is confident in Ruane's capabilities, said: “James possesses a wealth of impressive client experience, ambition, and commercial smarts. Our Corporate + Brand practice is expanding in EMEA, and I know James is the right leader for its continued growth.”James Ruane's appointment follows other recent senior hires at Porter Novelli, including Sakima Johnson as global chief people officer.

Dimple Kapur has recently joined Star Health & Allied Insurance as EVP & Head of Corporate Brand & Communications.Dimple Raisurana Kapur is a seasoned PR and communications professional with over two decades of experience across corporate and agency roles. She specializes in corporate reputation management, corporate strategy, crisis communications, marketing communications, and advocacy.Prior to this role, she served as Head of Corporate Communications at Pernod Ricard India. During her tenure at Pernod Ricard India, Dimple Kapur held the position of Head of Corporate Communications for over a year. Additionally, she has handled PR and communications for various firms including Piramal Group, Qualcomm India & South Asia, and The PRactice-Porter Novelli, among others.