Global Public Affairs launches crisis management practice
By Adnews Staff
Global Public Affairs has launched a new practice in Toronto that will specialize in crisis, risk and issues management. The unit will be chaired by Tom Clark, who joined the agency in 2017 as chairman of public affairs and communications. He was previously the chief political correspondent of Global News and host of television program The West Block. Clark was also the China bureau chief and chief Washington correspondent at CTV.
“Our clients have appreciated our perspectives from both sides of the camera when training for media appearances, and we believe the natural progression is to offer real-time, hands-on support to clients as they navigate the choppy waters of public opinion,” said Clark. “We all know the years of hard work that goes into building the reputation of a brand, and how quickly that can disintegrate in this age of social media if not properly protected.”
Rick Roth will be vice-president of the practice. Prior to joining the agency last year, he was chief of staff at the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks. Roth was also senior manager of reputation and issues management at Scotiabank. In addition, he was director of communications for the federal Minister of International Trade and the Foreign Minister.
Andrea Chrysanthou has been appointed director of the practice. She joined the agency in 2016. Prior to that, she was marketing and public relations manager at Pan Am Path, a brand outreach specialist at CBC and a producer at Bell Media.
Sophia Koukoulas has joined the practice as a senior consultant. Prior to joining the agency last year, she was the issues manager and a legislative assistant at the Ontario Ministry of Finance. She was also an account manager at Associum.