It’s hard to prove that something hasn’t happened because of your efforts. But a lot of high-powered Wall Street types are quick to thank George Sard and his PR firm Sard Verbinnen for all the stories  that don’t get written about them.

Both Sard and Verbinnen (Paul is his first name) declined to comment, but Bloomberg Businessweek wrote a profile that names the following clients: SAC Capital Advisors, Dell and Air Products and Chemicals (both involved in multi-billion-dollar deals), and Goldman Sachs’ Fabrice Tourre. The quote in the headline comes from the story, which says “the man with the gray wavy hair” was virtually the only person in the courtroom during Tourre’s trial not to get any media attention.

For its efforts, the article notes that the firm is the number one M&A firm by deal count, according to Mergermarket, “lending its expertise to 45 transactions worth $71 billion in the first half of 2013.”

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HP executive chairman at home on a Mac. Oopsie! Photo: Reuters

Makovsky + Company is talking up its Q3, announcing that it added nine clients to its roster during the period. Among the new clients are Ipsen, an international pharmaceutical company, for corporate and product comms; Symphony Financial Partners, an alternative investment company focused on the Asia-Pacific region, for reputation management and other PR services; and Stroz Friedberg, a digital risk management, for awareness-building efforts.

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has made cutbacks in its agency roster, according to the Holmes Report. The publication reports that Bite Communications and Weber Shandwick are no longer working with the company. HP just forecast a miss in analyst expectations for this quarter and the full year. A spokesperson said they “consolidated” their agencies, Weber confirmed it no longer works with the company, Bite didn’t comment. Burson-Marsteller may now add corporate work to the tech services they’re already providing, Holmes continues. B-M wouldn’t comment either.

Pest control company Truly Nolen has chosen Cramer-Krasselt as AOR after a competitive search. Services will include branding, media buying, PR, and social media services.

PRWeek reports that Syracuse University has hired Paul Verbinnen, co-founder of Sard Verbinnen & Co. to help deal with recent allegations of sexual assault against a former ball boy.