Edelman and Zeno Group Announce Expansion in Technology

Zeno Group Opens New Office In Silicon Valley

SAN MATEO, Calif., Nov. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Edelman, the world's largest independent public relations firm, and its award-winning sister agency Zeno Group, announced today the opening of Zeno's sixth office, to be located in Silicon Valley, and new Edelman/San Mateo leadership.

Zeno Group named Todd Irwin as managing director, Technology, to lead the office and overall technology practice, reporting to Barby K. Siegel, CEO of Zeno Group. Maria Amundson will succeed Irwin as general manager of Edelman's San Mateo office, effective December 1. She will report to Curt Kundred, president of Edelman's U.S. western region. Both companies are subsidiaries of Daniel J. Edelman, Inc.

"Edelman has enjoyed extraordinary growth in Silicon Valley over the past five years, becoming the region's largest firm and establishing itself as counselor of choice for technology companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500 members," said Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman. "Zeno Group has gained huge momentum over the last few years with multiple big wins, unprecedented growth and industry accolades to match. Harnessing the power of Edelman and Zeno Group, we can broaden the scope and reach of our work in the technology space by seeding Zeno's newest office with an established leadership team. This will allow Edelman and Zeno to better serve a greater number of clients in a critical and rapidly expanding market," added Edelman.

Zeno/Silicon Valley will work across the full range of established and emerging sectors, including clean technology, enterprise technology, life sciences, consumer technology and corporate communications while providing the full suite of traditional, social media and digital engagement capabilities.

"With consecutive years of double-digit growth, the Zeno brand has never been stronger. The time is right for Zeno to assert its unique brand in partnership with technology clients. We see a real appetite in the marketplace for a mid-size agency that brings together big, strategic thinking with flawless execution.  Zeno's challenger mindset and fearless spirit has served the firm well over the last few years, and we look forward to leveraging our brand with current and future client partners," said Siegel.

In 2011, Zeno Group was named PR Week Agency of the Year and Creative Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report.

Irwin brings more than 20 years of public relations experience, including corporate and executive communications, financial, enterprise technology and consumer technology companies. Since 2008, Todd served as executive vice president and general manager of Edelman's San Mateo office, and his client experience includes Adobe, 3Com, InVision Technologies, Citrix, Golden Gate Capital, Mozilla, Cricket Communications and the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

Amundson, who heads Edelman's U.S. technology practice, was a senior partner with A&R Partners for 14 years prior to its 2006 acquisition by Edelman. Amundson has deep expertise in the tech industry spanning early stage startups to Fortune 50 leaders, from executive counsel to change management, product and category launches, brand repositioning, thought leadership, social responsibility and financial communications. She has contributed to the growth of numerous Edelman tech practice areas including consumer technology, enterprise software, high performance computing, semiconductors and telecom. Amundson's client work has won numerous awards from respected industry organizations, such as PR Week, the Holmes Report, Communicator Media, Mercury Excellence and LACP Magellan.

Edelman's San Mateo office employs more than 140 professionals serving a broad range of clients, including AMD, Adobe and Hewlett-Packard. The expansion of Zeno Group to Silicon Valley will mark the company's sixth office, building on its current operations in New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, and Toronto.

About Edelman
Edelman is the world's largest independent public relations firm, with wholly owned offices in 60 cities and 4,000 employees worldwide. Edelman was named Advertising Age's top-ranked PR firm of the decade and one of its "2010 A-List Agencies" and "2010 Best Places to Work;" PRWeek's "2011 Large PR Agency of the Year" and "2011 Large UK Consultancy of the Year;" European Excellence Awards' "2010 Agency of the Year;" Holmes Report's "Agency of the Decade" and "2009 Asia Pacific Consultancy of the Year;" and among Glassdoor's top five "2011 Best Places to Work." Edelman owns specialty firms Blue (advertising), StrategyOne (research), Ruth (integrated marketing), DJE Science (medical education/publishing and science communications), and MATTER (sports, sponsorship, and entertainment). Visit http://www.edelman.com for more information.

About Zeno Group

Zeno Group is a different type of PR agency that operates as one firm across offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Toronto and Silicon Valley. Zeno Group was named 2011 Agency of the Year by PRWeek and 2011 Creative Agency of the Year by the Holmes Report. The firm specializes in marketing consumer, health and technology brands. Clients include: Allstate Foundation, AstraZeneca, Bausch + Lomb, Kia Motors America, Lipton, Mobio, Nature's Path, Pizza Hut, Redbox, Seattle's Best Coffee (Starbucks), Sears, Scott's Miracle Gro, WebTrends and Wise Window. Zeno Group is a member of the Daniel J Edelman Company. Please visit us at www.zenogroup.com and follow us @zenogroup.

SOURCE Zeno Group; Edelman