(MENAFN- PRovoke)
NEW YORK — Ketchum’s Rob Flaherty — who served as global CEO, president, and chairman during his 32 years with the agency — will be retiring June 15.
''I have been working for 47 years, and 40 as a professional,” Flaherty told PRovoke. ''I kind of want to start off by stopping."
Flaherty, who currently serves as Ketchum’s chairman and will become chairman emeritus, has long been considered one of the industry’s big thinkers, as well as devoted to the well-being of the agency. He had announced plans to retire in March 2020 but postponed doing so to help see Ketchum through the Covid pandemic.
Three months later, , who , left Ketchum for Wells Fargo; North American president Mike Doyle was named head of the Omnicom PR firm. But with the height of disruption behind us, Flaherty said he is now fully confident leaving the firm under Doyle’s watch. In the last six months alone, Ketchum has hired 200 new staffers, he said.
''Just about everyone at the firm is fully vaccinated and Mike is doing a great job and returned the firm to growth,” he said. ''It feels like I can return to my plan and quietly exit.”
Doyle praised Flaherty for being ''a mentor and a friend and, really, a sherpa to me as I went through this transition.
''I think I can speak for the firm and its people and our clients and our executive team, when I say that our number one emotion is just profound gratitude,” Doyle said. ''Rob has been the embodiment of an engaged and generous leader.”
Flaherty has been described by colleagues as " according to a . He had been groomed for Ketchum’s top job for a number of years before being named global , succeeding Ray Kotcher. His ascension to that role included leading Ketchum’s New York office and managing the firm's global corporate practice before becoming president in 2008.
During his five-year tenure as CEO, Flaherty had an eye on the future, and was particularly eloquent than when describing the PR industry’s need to . Flaherty wrote a letter to staff, summing up his take on the evolution of Ketchum during his tenure. It said:
''I’m amazed at the resiliency of this firm. I always thought of an agency as a fragile ecosystem in which there are hundreds of variables that, if mismanaged, can turn it into a collapsing house of cards. I’ve seen it happen at more than a few top firms. Yet we are much stronger and more resilient than I would have even thought. Think about it: We endured a once-in-a- lifetime global pandemic, and in the middle of it, we underwent an unexpected CEO transition. Those are not small disruptions, they are seismic. Yet despite that, I’m amazed at how our agency has responded over the last year and how quickly we were able to return to growth, including the hiring of 200 people in the last six months. Wow. What a tribute to the hard work and dedication of our people, and to the leadership of Mike and his executive team.
I am really am amazed and in awe of the talent at our company. We are so often self-critical at Ketchum, and maybe that’s what keeps us so good. But we should all take a moment to appreciate the creative, effective, purposeful work we do for clients all over the world.
I’m amazed at the growth and global expansion of our company. In my time at this agency, we’ve grown more than 1,000% and we’ve gone from being a U.S.-based company with a budding European presence to a top-five global agency that touches all corners of the world.”
He added:
"I am so proud of the decency and compassion of Ketchum people and the clients we attract. Our culture isn’t perfect; none ever is. But never take for granted that our culture places a higher premium on respect and decency than most. Despite how much we win, we are not a ''win at all costs” company, and many companies are.
I am proud of our new business record over the years. Our agency is made better by the stiff competition in our field. The other top agencies – in PR, advertising and digital marketing – are very good. Yet we have a very strong win rate in head-to-head pitches. For years our win rate was over 60% and this year we’ve seen months where our win rate surpassed 80%. I think that’s a measure of our talent, skill and culture at any given moment, and our ability to be valued counselors for our clients and prospective clients.
We should be proud of our industry-leading progress in gender equality over the past decade, and as we’re now making overdue progress in racial diversity, equity and inclusion, this will be a growing source of pride for all of us.
I am proud that Ketchum is the longest-thriving PR firm in the world, having been first incorporated as Ketchum Publicity in 1919 and as Ketchum and MacLeod in 1923. We led our company into its second century – no one else in our field can say that."
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