Finn Partners Names Ryan Barr Financial Services Practice Leader

Marketing communications vet brings 20+ years to advance FINN's expertise and grow practice area

News provided by

Sep 11, 2018, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, Sept. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Finn Partners has tapped Ryan Barr to lead its Financial Services practice as it expands its portfolio of clients across its worldwide offices. Barr, a marketing communications professional with more than two decades of experience, will be based in FINN's New York headquarters.

Ryan Barr, Managing Partner, Financial Services Practice Leader, Finn Partners

As Managing Partner, Financial Services practice leader, Barr will direct strategic planning and communications counsel for clients in the banking, private equity, wealth management, insurance and fintech sectors, among others. Along with providing reputation management, crisis and financial communications counsel to existing FINN clients, Barr will devote time to new business development. He will report to Richard Funess, senior managing partner, FINN, and Wendy Lane, managing partner, who has played a key role in developing the financial services business at her own firm which was acquired by FINN in 2016.

"As a seasoned marketing professional, Ryan has counseled many CEOs and global brands in the financial services industry and beyond," says Funess. "He has developed and executed uniquely designed marketing communications programs for pre-IPO companies as well as global iconic brands in the financial services, consumer products, technology, media and entertainment industries, among others. Hiring Ryan, and working closely with Wendy and our expanded team, strengthens and solidifies Finn's commitment to serving that sector."

"I am honored and excited to join FINN with its long-standing reputation for providing exceptional counsel to clients across the healthcare, technology, consumer products, travel and financial services sectors," stated Barr. "As businesses evolve and are challenged by new, unlikely competition, it's critical that our counsel is not focused solely on PR outputs but rather on business outcomes. We will partner with clients to develop programs utilizing customer, competitor and industry data, that uniquely positions them in the market and aligns with business goals and objectives."

Barr joins FINN from London-based Cognito, where he served as the U.S. managing director and a member of its global board of directors. There, he directed marketing communications initiatives for the agency's largest brands, shaping strategies around brand reputation, cybersecurity preparedness, executive visibility, crisis communications and issues management. Prior to that, he was managing director at Burson-Marsteller leading the agency's financial communications discipline and was a member of the senior leadership team in the corporate group. While at Burson he led Bank of America's BankAmericard Credit Card program, counseled numerous clients on cybersecurity and other issues management initiatives.

Lane added, "Ryan brings a keen ability to develop creative and effective integrated communications programs for large and early-stage companies to build brand awareness and establish a voice in the marketplace while navigating an increasingly complicated, ever-evolving regulatory and communications environment."

Finn Partners

Founded in 2011 on the core principles of innovation and collaborative partnership, Finn Partners has more than tripled in size in six years, becoming one of the fastest growing independent public relations agencies in the world. The full-service marketing and communications company's record setting pace is a result of organic growth and integrating new companies and new people into the Finn Partners world through a common philosophy. With 600 professionals, Finn Partners provides its clients with global access and capabilities in the U.S., Europe and Asia, in addition to PROI worldwide. Headquartered in New York, Finn Partners' other offices are in Chicago, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Frankfurt, Jerusalem, London, Los Angeles, Munich, Nashville, Paris, Portland, San Francisco, Shanghai, Singapore and Washington, D.C. Find us as finnpartners.com and follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @finnpartners.