Julie Batliner Named Managing Director of Carmichael Lynch Spong

MINNEAPOLIS, April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Julie Batliner has been named managing director of Carmichael Lynch Spong, assuming day-to-day operational responsibility for the PR firm's clients and staff in New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco and its Minneapolis headquarters. Prior to her promotion, Batliner served as the firm's chief client relations officer with responsibility for ensuring the consistency of high-value thinking; smart and creative execution; best practices in client-relationship management; and outstanding achievement on behalf of the firm's 30 clients served by six offices.

Batliner joined Carmichael Lynch Spong five years ago from PR agency Fleishman-Hillard, where she served as senior vice president. Since then, she has led a number of key client teams that have achieved remarkable business results while increasing revenue for the public relations firm and its parent company Carmichael Lynch Inc.

Batliner's promotion is part of a succession plan that has been in progress for the past 18 months after founder and namesake Doug Spong assumed added responsibility as president of parent agency Carmichael Lynch. Batliner will continue to report to Spong, who now serves as president of the entire 200+ member creative agency as part of a new leadership structure designed to foster collaboration across all disciplines—from advertising and public relations to digital communications and consumer engagement.

In announcing Batliner's promotion to managing director, Doug Spong, founder of Carmichael Lynch Spong, says, "Julie models collaboration, passion for her clients and remarkable achievement both individually and collectively. In every respect, Julie is a natural-born leader who inspires the best from everyone around her. There is no one I trust more in leading the firm forward."

Batliner is committed to maintaining and growing the firm's longstanding clients while adding new clients. She says the firm has a distinct advantage in its ability to create ideas that will build a client's brand and make those ideas work across the multiple platforms.

"Gone are the days when sending out a news release and doing some media pitching make up the PR plan," says Batliner. "Carmichael Lynch Spong is uniquely positioned for the current needs of sophisticated clients in today's marketing environment. We have the added advantage of pulling in consumer engagement, digital, social and creative experts to take our PR ideas to the highest level of effectiveness."

"Doug is an excellent businessperson and an all-star PR professional," says Batliner. "He has been a great mentor, and I am looking forward to partnering with him to continue the success he has established since he founded Carmichael Lynch Spong almost 20 years ago."

Batliner has received many accolades during her career. In the past four years alone her client work has won 31 awards, including four from PRWeek, 13 national Silver and Bronze Anvil awards and 13 local PRSA awards and one SABRE award. She has also received personal recognition for her achievements. Batliner was named one of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal's Forty Under 40 honorees in 2009 and a finalist for PR News' 2009 Account Director of the Year.

Outside of work, Batliner is a board graduate of the Minneapolis Community Capital Alliance, a nonprofit organization committed to preparing the next generation of citizen leaders. The Community Capital Alliance focuses on volunteer services in the Twin Cities. She also has volunteered on the marketing committee for the Jeremiah Program, a community initiative designed to assist low-income mothers, helping them to complete their education and achieve economic self-sufficiency. 

Batliner is also a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

About Carmichael Lynch Spong

Carmichael Lynch Spong is one of the most decorated public relations firms in the world. It is the three-time recipient of the "PR Agency of the Year" award by national trade journals The Holmes Report and PRWeek. With its headquarters in Minneapolis and offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver and San Francisco, the firm represents a select portfolio of blue-chip clients. Carmichael Lynch Spong is a division of Carmichael Lynch Inc., which is owned by the Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE: IPG), New York. Visit www.carmichaellynchspong.com for more information.

SOURCE Carmichael Lynch Spong