Fleishman-Hillard Canada and High Road Communications are both getting new bosses with the departures of Mia Pearson and Justin Creally.
“Justin and I resigned and we’re starting a new agency together,” said Pearson, who was president of Fleishman-Hillard Canada while Creally was president of High Road.
John Blyth and Annalise Coady are replacing Pearson and Creally in their respective titles, and will both be based in Toronto. Blyth will oversee operations in the region, including the combined 10-office network of Fleishman-Hillard and High Road Communications.
Pearson said she notified Fleishman-Hillard in late February of her decision to leave, staying on until mid-April to ensure a smooth transition. Creally’s last day was yesterday.
“I want to go back to what I love and it is growing great companies,” said Pearson who started High Road in 1996. “I have done this before and what I think I’m great at is building really high-performance companies.”
Pearson said there is no start-up client, no employees or office at this time, just herself and Creally in a true start-up, one that will not be a “PR agency” in the traditional sense. “It’ll be more communications and it is going to be much more integrated,” she said. “I think we are going to be taking it in a whole new direction.”
The new agency will be called North Strategic–just “North” for short.
“North gets to the whole new direction in the industry,” said Creally. “It’s based on what we think is going to be a new model that is really aligned with what clients are looking for today.”
The still-in-development website urges visitors to “Get ready to change course. On to the next. It is time to go north.”
Creally said the goal is to work with marketers to “solve business challenges through communications,” but the focus will still be on earned media, including PR and social media, a burgeoning specialty of High Road in the past couple of years.
Blyth has more than three decades of communications experience, working in senior global assignments with McDonald’s including chief communications officer for McDonald’s Australia and vice-president of corporate relations for Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa.
He joined Fleishman-Hillard in early 2010 as a senior communications strategist working with some of the firm’s major accounts, including AT&T and General Motors.
After running the company’s San Francisco office, Coady was appointed managing director for Fleishman-Hillard’s Middle East office in March 2010, and is currently the co‑chair of Fleishman-Hillard’s global technology practice.
“There are few professionals in our industry with John and Annalise’s depth of experience and global perspective,” said Dave Senay, president and CEO of Fleishman-Hillard, in a release.
“They both have proven track records as leaders, and as managers who bring out the best in our people,” he said. “They have proven ability to work across international borders and are first-rate client counselors.”
