John Saunders at DCU PIC JULIEN BEHAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Dubliner John Saunders is to become chairman of global public relations firm FleishmanHillard Inc, where he has been CEO since 2015. US based FleishmanHillard announced the appointment on Tuesday. Saunders, who started his working life as a journalist at RTE, will take on the role of chairman from October 1st this year.
The group’s global chief operating officer, JJ Carter, will takeover as president and CEO of the business, which includes an office in Ireland that serves clients here and across Europe advising on areas including lobbying, crisis communications and media relations and is headed by Rhona Blake.
John Saunders himself took took over as global CEO back in 2015 having previously led FleishmanHillard’s business in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
Before that, and after leaving journalism back in the 1990s, he’d founded what became the Irish affiliate of the company, Fleishman Hillard Saunders, in Dublin and worked in Ireland initially before moving up through the global ranks of the business.
Last year Saunders, who is 66, became the first individual in the communications industry to be conferred with an honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree from Dublin City University (DCU).
“I look back on more than three decades at FleishmanHillard with pride and gratitude for the support of so many colleagues around the world and the trust that some of the world’s leading companies have placed in us. However, it’s now time for me to step back and spend more time with my family both in Dublin and in London and with my six young grandchildren whom I miss being so far away from,” he said.
FleishmanHillard Inc is part of the larger Omnicom PR Group (OPRG) which also includes the Porter Novelli and Ketchum firms.
Meanwhile, incoming CEO JJ Carter has been with FleishmanHillard since 2005. He previously oversaw the agency’s East and West regions in the United States along with Canada and Mexico, was general manager of one of the firm’s largest offices in San Francisco, and global client relationship manager for one of the agency’s biggest multinational accounts.
“It’s an enormous privilege to follow John and lead the organization into the future during one of the most complex and consequential moments in our history. To accelerate our growth, deliver transformative work for clients and create a best-in-class experience for our people, we will embrace our strengths as a trusted client partner, while also expanding our capabilities and exploring new tools and ways of working together. We will always deliver intelligent, creative, audience-first solutions that drive impact for our clients,” he said.