Bill Zucker Named Midwest Director for Ketchum

CHICAGO, Sept. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Ketchum, one of the world's leading public relations agencies, named Bill Zucker as Midwest region office director. He will lead the overall strategy and day-to-day operations for the region's two offices, in Chicago and Pittsburgh.

Zucker most recently served as managing director and Midwest market leader for Burson-Marsteller in Chicago. Zucker joins the agency Sept. 29, reporting to Ron Culp, partner and Midwest managing director and head of the North America Corporate Practice, and Lorraine Thelian, senior partner, North America.

With a combined 24 years of experience in agency public relations and journalism, Zucker has a strong track record in advising clients on building and managing their reputations and delivering effective media results. Bill has counseled clients in the energy, chemical, retail and healthcare sectors. He has worked significantly with consumer product and food industry clients on communicating the safety and quality of their products, including an award-winning issues management campaign for the U.S. beef industry. Zucker also has expertise in media strategy, litigation communications and communications training. He was named PR News crisis communicator of the year in 2005.

"Bill brings a unique combination of experience that makes him ideally suited to oversee Ketchum Midwest and contribute to the agency's growing presence in the region," said Culp. "He will help ensure that Ketchum continues to produce the kind of work that is valued by clients and recognized by the industry."

"Ketchum's reputation for sound strategy and precision client service is well-known throughout the industry, so I am especially excited to be joining this team," said Zucker. "I am eager to work with Ron and the Midwest regional leadership team to succeed on behalf of our clients and grow Ketchum's Midwest operations."

During his 15-year career as a journalist, Zucker worked as a producer, reporter and newsroom manager at five television stations and one radio station. As executive producer at WBBM-TV, he launched the CBS station's first morning news broadcast. As a producer at WABC-TV, he traveled to Israel to produce the station's coverage of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and to Vietnam to produce the WABC documentary "Return to Vietnam," which earned him a regional Emmy and AP award.

About Ketchum

A communications innovator, Ketchum ranks among the largest global communications consultancies and leads the industry in the U.K. and continental Europe as Ketchum Pleon. With five global practices – Brand Marketing, Corporate, Healthcare, Food & Nutrition, and Technology – and specialty capabilities that include Access Communications (high- and consumer-tech PR), Concentric Communications (experiential marketing, events and meetings), MMG (clinical trial recruitment), Ketchum Global Research Network, Ketchum Sports & Entertainment, and Ketchum Pleon Change (change management and workplace communications), Ketchum leverages its marketing and corporate communication expertise to build brands and reputations for clients. For more information on Ketchum, a unit of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC), visit www.ketchum.com.

SOURCE Ketchum