NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Hill+Knowlton Strategies, one of the world’s leading public relations
and communications firms and a WPP company, today announced the
appointment of AnnaMaria DeSalva as Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer, effective June 24, 2019. She succeeds Jack Martin, who will
step down from the company in July and who will serve in an advisory
capacity through the end of the year.
As global Chairman and CEO, DeSalva will oversee Hill+Knowlton
Strategies’ network of more than 80 offices in over 40 markets, working
with the firm’s leaders, including co-presidents Richard Millar and Lars
Erik Grønntun, to advance the company’s growth strategy, build its
profile as a destination for industry talent, and to continuously
improve client experience and outcome. She will report to WPP Chief
Executive Officer, Mark Read.
DeSalva was most recently Chief Communications Officer of DuPont, where
she developed the corporate affairs capability and successfully guided
the company through a period of extensive transformation, including
DuPont’s $130 billion merger with Dow. Prior to her tenure at DuPont,
DeSalva led corporate affairs for the innovative core of Pfizer, where
she played a principal role in the integration of Pfizer’s $68 billion
acquisition of Wyeth and the turnaround of R&D. Earlier, she served as
the global practice leader of healthcare at Hill & Knowlton and GCI
Group, both WPP companies, delivering significant revenue growth for
each firm. At Bristol-Myers Squibb, DeSalva led international public
affairs in oncology, working principally in Europe, and later became
director of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation.
In addition to her substantial executive experience, DeSalva currently
serves as Vice Chairman of the board of directors of XPO Logistics
(NYSE: XPO), a technology-driven, Fortune 200 global provider of
transportation and supply chain solutions, and as a member of the Board
of Governors of Argonne National Laboratory, a leading science and
engineering center of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Mark Read, CEO of WPP, said: “AnnaMaria is an exceptional communicator
and leader whose experience spans the corporate management, governance
and agency worlds. With her broad perspective, understanding of client
needs and history with WPP, she is well qualified to take the reins of
this great business, and I look forward to working with her as she leads
Hill+Knowlton Strategies into the future.
“I would like to thank Jack for his many years of dedicated service and
leadership, and also to recognize his special legacy as the founder of
Public Strategies and pioneer of ‘The Fifth Seat’ – the source for
strategic communications advice in the client C-suite. He has made an
important contribution not only to H+K and WPP but the industry as a
whole, and he leaves with our very best wishes.”
“This February, I decided it was time for me to step down once a
successor was named. I committed to WPP and my colleagues that I would
do everything possible to ensure a smooth transition and I am delighted
that AnnaMaria rejoins H+K. She knows us well as an H+K alumnus, and I
could not be more pleased to have her become H+K’s Global Chairman and
CEO. AnnaMaria brings deep agency expertise and client-side experience,
advising CEOs, navigating crises and building corporate reputation. She
delivers a competitive advantage in that she has lived in what we at H+K
call ‘the Fifth Seat.” said Jack Martin.
“I look forward to the opportunity to lead Hill+Knowlton Strategies into
its next era,” said AnnaMaria DeSalva. “Communication is an essential
agent of value creation, and we are well positioned to make substantial
contributions to our clients’ growth, as they deliver the step changes
in technology and commerce that drive the world today. I’m excited to
work with the talented people of this very special firm to test the
limits of what we can achieve.”
About Hill+Knowlton Strategies
Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Inc. is an international communications
consultancy, providing services to local, multinational and global
clients. The firm is headquartered in New York, with over 80 offices in
more than 40 markets, as well as an extensive associate network. The
agency is part of WPP, one of the world’s largest communications
services groups.
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Contacts
Sam Lythgoe
Chief Business Development Officer
+44 207 413 3132
Sam.lythgoe@hkstrategies.com
Jason
Stanford
Global Communications
+1 512 432 1937
Jason.Stanford@hkstrategies.com
Megan
Jackson
Marketing Executive
+44 020 7413 3766
Megan.Jackson@hkstrategies.com
