John Hollywood Joins Cohn & Wolfe as EVP and U.S. Consumer Practice Leader

New York, NY – October 8, 2009 – Cohn & Wolfe, a leading global public relations agency, announced today that John Hollywood has joined the firm as Executive Vice President and U.S. Consumer Practice Leader. John will provide senior counsel to Cohn & Wolfe’s roster of consumer clients in the U.S., spearhead business development efforts in the region, and contribute to the agency’s overall global consumer offering. He will report directly to Donna Imperato, CEO of Cohn & Wolfe.

John joins Cohn & Wolfe from Porter Novelli where he was Senior Vice President in the Consumer Marketing practice. Most recently, he served as chief liaison for the Wal-Mart business and was responsible for a wide-ranging portfolio of products from Reckitt Benckiser.

“John is an exciting addition to Cohn & Wolfe. He is a strategic brand marketer who brings extensive experience leading some of the most recognizable brands in the world,” said Donna Imperato.  “His energy and proven ability to build brands through creative, cross-channel programming will impress and motivate our clients and our people.”

During his 12 year career with Porter Novelli, John led the agency’s Timberland business, overseeing their entire portfolio of footwear and apparel brands, marrying product initiatives with Timberland’s extensive corporate social responsibility efforts.  He was also account lead on the Mercedes-Benz business, spearheading communications efforts in the U.S. across their full line of automobiles as well as lead counsel for all executive visibility and thought leadership activities.  John also managed communications programs for Procter & Gamble, MasterfoodsUSA and Hewlett Packard.

Said John, “I’m thrilled to be joining an agency devoted to insight-driven creativity and propelled by a fun and entrepreneurial culture.  This is a consumer practice that consistently develops bold, integrated campaigns for major client brands. I'm really excited to be a part of it.”

About Cohn & Wolfe
Cohn & Wolfe is a strategic public relations agency dedicated to creating, building and protecting the world’s most prolific brands. With offices around the world, the agency is committed to breaking new ground in the delivery of cross-channel media strategies, creative programming, and practice area excellence.
Cohn & Wolfe is recognized year after year by clients and the industry for excellence in creativity, client service, digital communications, media strategy, senior management and strategic counsel. Cohn & Wolfe also consistently ranks among the top “Best Agencies to Work For” in an annual, industry-wide employee survey. For more information, visit: www.cohnwolfe.com. Cohn & Wolfe is part of WPP (Nasdaq: WPPGY), one of the world's largest communications services group.

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Contact:  
Eric Litchfield
212-537-8145
Eric.Litchfield@cohnwolfe.com