Council of Public Relations Firms Announces 2010 Board of Directors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Council of Public Relations Firms (Council), the industry’s trade association, announced today the election of its new officers and directors.

The new chair of the Council’s Board is Margery Kraus, president & CEO of APCO Worldwide, one of the world’s leading public relations firms. Kraus founded APCO in 1984 and led a management buy-out of the agency in 2004, making APCO one of the largest privately owned communication and public affairs firms in the world. Additionally, Kraus is chairman of the board of the Women Presidents’ Organization and a trustee of the Arthur W. Page Society and the Institute for Public Relations.

Joining Kraus as executive officers are Andy Polansky (Weber Shandwick) as Chair-Elect, Jens Bang (Cone) as Treasurer, Otis Wragg (Wragg & Casas Public Relations) as secretary, and Ray Kotcher (Ketchum) as immediate past chair of the Council.

The Council also announced the election of its new board members, all CEOs/principals of their firms: Christine Barney (rbb Public Relations), Donna Imperato (Cohn & Wolfe), Jennifer Prosek (CJP Communications), Dave Senay (Fleishman-Hillard), Laura Tomasetti (360 Public Relations) and Melissa Waggener Zorkin (Waggener Edstrom Worldwide).

Continuing directors, all CEOs/Principals of their firms, are: Tom Coyne (Coyne Public Relations) Ken Eudy (Capstrat), David Fuscus (Xenophon Strategies), Lou Hoffman (The Hoffman Agency), Ken Makovsky (Makovsky + Company), Becky Powell-Schwartz (The Powell Group) John Seng (SPECTRUM) and Jim Tsokanos (MS&L Worldwide).

“This is a great time to be working in public relations, and it is a privilege to serve as Chair of our industry’s trade association,” said Kraus. “The opportunities that exist for our profession have never been greater, and the Council plays an important role in helping the industry achieve success. My goals as Chair will be to continue to demonstrate value of PR in the C-suite, advance PR’s ownership of digital media and strategy, and encourage active and visible member engagement.”

“Margery is one of our industry’s most talented and fearless leaders,” said Kathy Cripps, president of the Council of Public Relations Firms. “Her breadth of knowledge of the issues that impact client organizations, and her passion for the public relations business will be a major benefit to our members in the coming year. With so much changing in the marketplace overall, and in communications, specifically, Margery’s savvy and strategic acumen make her the perfect leader for these times.”

The Council of Public Relations Firms was founded in 1998 and is comprised of America’s leading public relations firms. Its membership represents the premier global, mid-size, regional and specialty agencies across every discipline and practice area. The Council’s mission is to advance the business of public relations firms by building the market and firms’ value as strategic business partners. For more information about the Council, visit www.prfirms.org.