DuPont welcomes Tiffany M. Atwell as its newly appointed director of International Government Affairs. With over 15 years working on issues relating to international trade policies, Atwell has built quite a career in Washington. Previously, she was the senior director for Strategic Programs in Government Affairs and Policy for Abbott. She managed a team whose goal was to develop public-private partnerships with key governments and NGOs to drive outreach strategies in emerging markets like Russia, India and Brazil. She served as the International Trade Policy advisor to Senator Chuck Grassley, former Finance Committee chairman. Atwell managed trade related issues regarding China including: textiles, tariffs, currency exchange policies, customs and trade preference programs. Previously, she served as a congressional liaison for the undersecretary for Legislative Affairs for the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration assisting members of Congress in resolution of trade-related issues for their constituents. (Release)

BBH named a new CEO for North America, Patrick Lafferty, who joins the agency after spending two-and-a-half years at McCann and the last 18 months as its North American COO. Lafferty replaces Greg Andersen, who was one of those affected by BBH’s major “restructuring” last fall. Lafferty, who will officially assume his CEO title at BBH this summer and based out of its New York office, who was a former platoon leader/company commander in the U.S. Army, will be tasked with running both BBH New York. (AgencySpy)

Brainshark, Inc. announced the appointment of Larry DiLoreto as senior vice president of sales and chief revenue officer. In this role, DiLoreto is responsible for directing and managing Brainshark’s worldwide sales and revenue strategies. A seasoned sales and technology executive with a track record of global success, DiLoreto adds to the depth of Brainshark’s management team – helping the company extend its market leadership and momentum. Prior to Brainshark, DiLoreto served as executive vice president and chief revenue officer at SmartBear Software, where he led the company to achieve record revenues, developed its go-to-market channel strategy and directed its international expansion. (Release) Read more

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. – St. Augustine

Susan Magrino Agency announced seven new clients in the travel, real estate, and hospitality sectors. These clients include:

• Baccarat Hotel & Residences New York, currently under construction across from the Museum of Modern Art
• Castle Hill Inn, a Relais & Chateaux vacation property in Newport, Rhode Island
• Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, a Strategic Hotels & Resorts property in Scottsdale, Arizona
• Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts, a company with more than 100 properties in 40 countries
• Paramount, a recently “re-imagined” hotel in the heart of New York City’s theater district
• The Rittenhouse Hotel, a five-diamond hotel in Philadephia’s Rittenhouse Square
• Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, a sustainable luxury hospitality brand

Reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled. — Richard P. Feynman

Rubenstein Public Relations has announced new client wins including Greencard Creative, Brian Cuban, and Contemporary Art Collection.

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“A basketball team is like the five fingers on your hand. If you can get them all together, you have a fist.” – Mike Krzyzewski

Rubenstein Public Relations announced that it has been chosen as the agency of record for the British Basketball Association (because there is such a thing).

The BBA, which is the UK’s “premier professional basketball league”, engaged Rubenstein Public Relations to both make the most of what appears to be a growing interest in basketball in the UK and hype the organization’s United States launch in seeking franchise partners and other business opportunities. Full league operations will begin in November 2014.

“Meat is a big deal in my life…I’m a normal American.” – Nick Offerman, aka Ron Swanson

Sonic, America’s biggest drive through chain, recently chose Cohn & Wolfe as its new PR AOR. In addition to supporting the brand’s social media promotional strategies, C&W will also help drive external messaging, work on “issues management” and contribute to cause marketing projects and individual franchise promo efforts.

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Top firm Porter Novelli announced the addition of industry vet Fred Shank to its roster in the role of senior vice president, consumer practice. Shank joins Porter Novelli after spending nearly four years in a VP position at Edelman PR, where he worked as a strategic leader on accounts for clients like Heineken, Starbucks and Kraft. In his new role Shank will report to Darlàn Monterisi, managing director of the firm’s New York office. (Release)

Richard Rubenstein, president of Rubenstein Public Relations (RPR), announced that Katie Matulonis has joined the firm as social media manager to advise RPR’s clients on new strategies for developing their digital presence, oversee the agency’s social media properties and develop new business opportunities. Matulonis brings several years of experience in social media community management and consumer and lifestyle communications to her new role after working with consumer, luxury and hospitality brands at Goldstein Communications. Her most notable achievement was growing one brand’s fanbase from zero to over 120,000 in six months on a minimal budget.  (Release)

Widmeyer Communications announced the addition of digital media expert Jerri Ann Henry as digital account lead on the higher education and public affairs teams. Henry has led grassroots, digital and advertising campaigns for companies, coalitions and candidates in the agricultural, energy and telecomm industries. She spent two years as digital director at JDA Frontline where she was responsible for all digital advertising, outreach and research. (Company Website)

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Edelman PR announced the promotion of Steve Rubel to the position of chief content strategist. Rubel, who is a prominent blogger and guest columnist for Ad Age and other publications, previously served as executive vice president for global strategy and insights. His primary responsibility in this new role will be maximizing the value of clients’ content in all forms of media: earned, paid, owned and shared. He will report to Jackie Cooper, whose recent promotion to global chair of creative strategy marked a shift toward a more actively engaged PR model. Rubel’s inaugural blog post explores his thoughts on the art of content creation as a perpetual work in progress. (The New York Times)

Hill+Knowlton Strategies announced that Ron Eagle has been appointed senior vice president for entertainment and technology, effective Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. In this role, Eagle will be responsible for providing strategic counsel and oversight to H+K Strategies entertainment and technology clients, as well as building and strengthening client relationships throughout the Los Angeles market. He will report to Bill Coletti, general manager for Hill+Knowlton Strategies Los Angeles. Eagle has more than 17 years of experience and previously served as director of product publicity and PlayStation Network for Sony Computer Entertainment America (Release)

Rubenstein Public Relations added two new senior members to its team. This week Richard Rubenstein announced the addition of Aurora Kessler, who returns to the agency in the new role of managing director, and Ann Hinshaw, who will serve as vice president overseeing the firm’s entertainment division.

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rbb Public Relations announced that Robert Phillips has joined the agency as chief operating officer. In this role, he will be responsible for managing the Miami public relations firm’s financial operations and strategic growth initiatives. Phillips has more than 20 years of experience in executive management, operations consulting and corporate merger services. Prior to joining rbb, he served as COO and CFO at Sam Schwartz Engineering, a transportation engineering and planning firm headquartered in New York City. (Release)

The Herald Group, LLC announced further expansion of the firm with the addition of John Goodwin as vice president. A veteran of Capitol Hill, leading trade associations and award-winning agencies, Goodwin will provide strategic communications and advocacy counsel to the firm’s growing roster of corporate, industry coalition, association and non-profit clients. Prior to joining The Herald Group, Goodwin served as chief of staff to US Congressman Raúl Labrador (R-ID). He also served as communications director and senior advisor to two members of Congress. (Release)

Richard Rubenstein, president of Rubenstein Public Relations (RPR), announced that Lauren Emmett has joined the firm as a Senior Writer.

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Samsung, currently focusing on its global b-to-b marketing strategy,  added two new shops to manage advertising responsibilities. Samsung chose WPP, which will create a team specifically to handle the account; the company also selected Publicis Groupe-owned Razorfish as its new digital agency of record in an unrelated deal.

Brian Wallace, Samsung’s VP of marketing, explains, “We picked Razorfish as our digital AOR because they demonstrate the innovative thinking that we value in our agencies. We know Razorfish understands how to translate complex issues into unique and engaging customer experiences.”

Rubenstein Public Relations also announced new client wins including World Business Lenders, FiREapps and Mr. Omer Ozden. CEO Richard Rubenstein said, “Representing these leaders in the finance and real estate markets underscores our continued expansion into the business, financial and real estate public relations sectors. We are increasingly assisting more clients in elevating their profiles and business strategies by securing strategic, brand-building media coverage.”

After a lengthy review, Sears Holdings decided to retain Havas’ MPG as its top media agency. The decision means that the national marketing juggernaut, which spends heavily on advertising, will continue its relationship with MPG, which began in 2007. It also means that MPG will retain one of its most important accounts, which includes the Kmart and Sears brands.

The comms director for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-Va.), Laena Fallon is leaving her post to become the VP of comms for the Financial Services Forum (FSF) in August. FSF is an advocacy group comprised of the CEOs of 20 large banks, including Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein and JP Morgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon. [via, h/t]

Rich Jernstedt (pictured) has joined Porter Novelli as a senior counselor in the firm’s Chicago office. Jernstedt was previously EVP and senior partner at Fleishman-Hillard. He left the firm a year ago to start his own agency, The Jernstedt Company. Prior to F-H, he spent 26 years with GolinHarris. Porter Novelli has had a number of executive departures over recent months.

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Rubenstein Public Relations has added Tofutti Brands, makers of all sorts of dairy-free products, to its list of clients. The firm will work on raising the company’s profile through media relations and other PR services.

Positec, a power tools company, has selected RF|Binder Partners as its AOR after a competitive search. The firm will drum up awareness for the company through media relations for the company’s execs and corporate feature stories. Positec is the China-based company behind the Worx and Rockwell lines of tools, two brands that have grown to $100 million in just a few years, according to the release.

“Discovery engine” StumbleUpon has chosen Shift Communications as its AOR for North America after a competitive search. The firm will work on traditional and social media relations to raise awareness of the service, with particular outreach to consumer tech and lifestyle media. [via PRWeek]

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North of Nine Communications, Burson-Marsteller‘s recently launched tech firm, has added audio communications company Plantronics to its roster. With a message of tech innovation and corporate leadership, the firm will execute a media campaign led by Mary Ritti, a partner at North of Nine, and Russell Castronovo, Plantronics’ director of global comms.

US Mortgage Corporation has chosen Rubenstein Public Relations for media relations surrounding the company’s home mortgage financing services.

Town Sports International, which runs 159 Sports Clubs in New York, Philly, Boston, and Washington D.C., has chosen Coyne PR as its AOR. The firm will work on both traditional and social media work. [via PRWeek]

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