Burson-Marsteller Appoints Esther Lee as Chief Marketing and New Business Officer

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Burson-Marsteller, a leading global public relations and communications firm, announced today the appointment of Esther Lee as Chief Marketing and New Business Officer. In this role, Lee will oversee the firm’s global marketing and new business efforts. She will also join the firm’s Business Operations Team, which includes the firm’s most senior executives. Based in Washington, D.C., she will report to Worldwide CEO Mark Penn and will work closely with Burson-Marsteller’s senior management to lead and coordinate new business development globally.

“I am excited to work closely with Mark and the global executive team, as we develop new business strategies based on Burson-Marsteller’s compelling value proposition for clients”

Lee most recently served in the Obama Administration as Senior Policy Adviser to the Secretary of Commerce and as Director of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the U.S. Department of Commerce. She joined the Administration from the private sector, where she served in senior roles in technology, media and finance.

“Esther will be a valuable counselor to me and the B-M senior leadership team as she leads the marketing and new business strategy for our firm,” said Penn. ”During the past five years, we have experienced one of the strongest periods of growth in the firm’s history. I believe Esther is the right leader to help us build on that track record of success.”

At the Commerce Department, Lee advised Secretary Gary Locke on innovation, technology, green economy, economic development and small business issues. She created the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, established and directed the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship and helped launch the White House “Startup America” initiative.

“I am excited to work closely with Mark and the global executive team, as we develop new business strategies based on Burson-Marsteller’s compelling value proposition for clients,” said Lee. “I look forward to leading our marketing efforts to support those strategies.”

Prior to joining the Commerce Department, she founded a digital media company, focused on location-based content and services. Previously, she served as Chief Marketing and Administration Officer, Specialty Finance at CIT Group, a Fortune 500 financial services firm. She also held senior roles at Time Warner and Siemens, where she led strategic sales and marketing initiatives focused on cross-selling and those companies’ largest customers. Lee began her career as a business journalist at CNN.

Lee is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University and an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.

About Burson-Marsteller

Burson-Marsteller (http://www.burson-marsteller.com), established in 1953, is a leading global public relations and communications firm. It provides clients with strategic thinking and program execution across a full range of public relations, public affairs, reputation and crisis management, advertising and web-related strategies. The firm’s seamless worldwide network consists of 67 offices and 71 affiliate offices, together operating in 96 countries across six continents. Burson-Marsteller is a part of Young & Rubicam Brands, a subsidiary of WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY), the world’s leading communications services network.

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