FleishmanHillard in Canada and High Road Announce Intention to Merge
Combined Agency to be a National Leader in Brand, Public Affairs
and Corporate Reputation Engagement
TORONTO, September 28, 2017 — FleishmanHillard in Canada (FH) and High Road today announced the intention to merge, creating a leading agency for brand, public affairs and corporate reputation work. The combined agency will be called FleishmanHillard HighRoad (FHR) and will have offices in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver. It is anticipated that the merger will be finalized by January 2018.
Angela Carmichael, currently senior vice president and senior partner, general manager of FleishmanHillard’s Toronto office, will assume the role of president of the newly merged agency, in addition to her existing responsibilities. Katherine Fletcher, High Road’s managing director, will become the chief operations officer for FHR. Additional members of the FHR executive team include: Nathalie Bergeron, senior vice president in Montreal; Mark Reder, senior partner and general manager in Vancouver; Gordon Taylor Lee, senior partner and general manager in Ottawa; and Patrick Gladney, Chief Strategy Officer.
“Clients want to work with an agency that is nimble and able to adapt to their changing business needs,” Carmichael said. “This merger of equals brings together FH’s strategic corporate reputation savvy, which is backed by a global network with the deep brand expertise and entrepreneurial spirit of High Road. The result is a high performance, agile team that can scale up or down and respond quickly to client needs.”
Fletcher added, “FH and High Road have a long history of collaboration, and over the past year we partnered together on a number of projects. We know this merger brings together two great teams that will innovate and create results for clients across all industries and sectors. Further, our current and future employees will benefit from the growth opportunities presented by this new powerhouse in Canada. We are excited about the future of our business and the benefits this will bring to our clients and employees.”
About FleishmanHillard
FleishmanHillard specializes in public relations, reputation management, public affairs, brand marketing, digital strategy, social engagement and content strategy. FleishmanHillard was named Agency of the Year at the 2017 North American Excellence Awards; PRWeek’s 2016 Greater China Agency of the Year; PRWeek’s 2014 Global Agency of the Year and 2014 Asia Pacific Network of the Year; and NAFE’s “Top 50 Companies for Executive Women” for 2010-2017. The firm’s award-winning work is widely heralded, including at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity. FleishmanHillard is part of Omnicom Public Relations Group, and has more than 80 offices in 30 countries, plus affiliates in 43 countries. Visit us at fleishmanhillard.com.
About High Road
High Road is a fully-integrated marketing communications agency with offices in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa and Los Angeles. Through social, digital, PR and influencer relations, creative, experiential, and user experience, High Road’s agile and committed team of communicators partner with leading global brands to bring their stories to life across platforms, both online and off. Through incisive research and expertise, High Road can help your business develop winning insights, creative strategies and full-scale campaigns that elevate brand conversations and help you achieve your goals.
About Omnicom Public Relations Group
Omnicom Public Relations Group is a global collective of three of the top global public relations agencies worldwide and specialist agencies in areas including public affairs, marketing to women, fashion, global health strategy and corporate social responsibility. It encompasses more than 6,000 public relations professionals in more than 330 offices worldwide who provide their expertise to companies, government agencies, NGOs and nonprofits across a wide range of industries. Omnicom Public Relations Group is part of the DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. that includes more than 200 companies in a wide range of marketing disciplines including advertising, public relations, healthcare, customer relationship management, events, promotional marketing, branding and research.
