Ruder Finn co-founder Bill Ruder died today in New York City. He was 89 years old.

Ruder founded his namesake firm with David Finn in 1948. In addition to his work with the firm, he served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce under President John Kennedy, working to launch programs like the Department of Commerce Business Ethics Advisory Council, a group that encourages ethical business practices.

He was also involved with a number of organizations, including the advisory board of the National Peace Foundation and the American Jewish Committee.

Ruder Finn chairman, David Finn, said in a statement: “Our friendship, not without problems and setbacks, but with immeasurable rewards, is the model of what I want all Ruder Finn employees, today and tomorrow, to inherit.  He will be missed.”

Last week we caught up with Kathy Bloomgarden, co-CEO of huge independent shop Ruder Finn to find out how her firm is adapting to the larger, less controlled universe of people sharing information. She joined her counterparts Mark Penn from Burson-Marsteller, and Steven Rubenstein on a panel moderated by Matthew Bishop from The Economist.

We asked Kathy about how Ruder Finn attempts to understand “intent” over demographics to understand why consumers go online, and how this research drives their campaigns. I also learned that like Rubenstein, Kathy is part of a storied PR family. I am probably the only person in the business who did not know she is David Finn‘s daughter.

You can check out Ruder Finn’s Intent Index here. Ruder Finn currently sits fourth on the 2008 O’Dwyer’s rankings of independent firms with 545 employees worldwide, and nearly $100 million in revenue.