FleishmanHillard Appoints Emily K. Graham Agency’s First Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
Agency Launches True Mosaic – New Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Offering for Clients
ST. LOUIS, June 17, 2020 – FleishmanHillard today announced the appointment of Emily K. Graham (she/her) to chief diversity and inclusion officer, the first in the agency’s history. In this role, she will be responsible for accelerating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) as a critical business priority across FleishmanHillard’s global network, while continuing to provide top-tier client counsel through her leadership of True Mosaic, a newly developed DE&I offering for clients. This new offering will complement FH Perspectives, the agency’s internal engine for DE&I. Graham will report to John Saunders (he/him), president and CEO, and J.J. Carter (he/him), chief operating officer.
“Delivering equity requires urgent leadership, the breaking of cycles and decisive action to bring about change. Appointing Emily to this new role is the first of many actions to come,” Saunders said. “Emily is a brilliant leader within our agency. Her ability to influence and galvanize others to a common ambition make her the right person to lead us forward in our DE&I journey. Diversity is our business; it must be center to all we do and talk about. As we reignite our ambition to be the most inclusive agency in the industry, we must show up in a distinct way with our colleagues and clients. Emily already touches many critical parts of our business; in this role she’ll be 100% focused on helping us take action, enable meaningful change and measure progress.”
In her new role, Graham will work alongside a global DE&I taskforce to analyze recruitment, retention, compensation, training and development opportunities for colleagues. The focus will be on achieving racial and ethnic progress in the way FleishmanHillard has long done with LGBTQ+ and gender equitability, as recognized by the Human Rights Campaign and National Association of Female Executives. She also will lead True Mosaic, a global community of multicultural counselors whose diversity of lived experiences reflects the multidimensional world we live in. In addition to deep knowledge and expertise – spanning a range of disciplines – each colleague on the team brings their unique perspective and world view. The counselors are dedicated to cultivating outside-in DE&I expertise; advancing DE&I strategies for clients; navigating complex topics with informed and timely counsel; and advancing DE&I thought leadership across FleishmanHillard’s network and our industry.
“Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is not only a human rights issue, it’s a differentiator of an organization’s value proposition and a litmus test for its readiness to navigate the reality of the world we live in,” Graham said. “As our agency undergoes a critical transformation by integrating DE&I into every aspect of what we do, I am eager to lead our journey. Together, we are committed to being explicit in our conversations and constant in our work both internally and with our clients. There is a new reckoning and we must confront that every aspect of operations will be under scrutiny – license to operate, employee engagement and reputation will all be impacted by what is said – and more importantly, done – now and in the future.”
Graham has served on FleishmanHillard’s leadership Cabinet the past two years and previously co-led the Financial and Professional Services sector group for the Americas. She has deep experience developing integrated communications strategies in the corporate and financial space and counseling the C-suite. In 2020, Emily was honored as a Top Woman in PR by PRNews and a 40 Under 40 Honoree by Crain’s New York Business. Before joining FleishmanHillard in 2017, Graham held senior positions at MWWPR and Burson-Marsteller.
About FleishmanHillard
FleishmanHillard specializes in public relations, reputation management, public affairs, brand marketing, digital strategy, social engagement and content strategy. FleishmanHillard was named 2019 PRWeek U.S. Outstanding Large Agency; 2019 Holmes Report North America Large Agency of the Year; ICCO Network of the Year – Americas 2017-2019; Agency of the Year at the 2017 and 2018 North American Excellence Awards; 2018 Large Consultancy of the Year by PRWeek UK; PR News’ Best Places to Work in PR 2016-2018; Human Rights Campaign Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality 2018-2020; PR Awards Asia 2017 Greater China Agency of the Year; and NAFE’s “Top Companies for Executive Women” 2010-2020. 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 80 offices in more than 30 countries, plus affiliates in 50 countries.
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, global health strategy and corporate social responsibility. It encompasses more than 6,300 public relations professionals in more than 370 offices worldwide who provide their expertise to companies, government agencies, NGOs and nonprofits across a wide range of industries. Omnicom Public Relations Group delivers for clients through a relentless focus on talent, continuous pursuit of innovation and a culture steeped in collaboration. Omnicom Public Relations Group is part of the DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) 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.
