DiGennaro Communications Grows North American Footprint and Strengthens Offering With New LA Office

SANTA MONICA, CA--(Marketwire - Mar 26, 2012) - Samantha DiGennaro, founder and CEO of DiGennaro Communications (DGC), a leading independent PR firm based in New York, today announced the company is expanding its North American footprint by opening an office in Santa Monica, California to service a growing roster of West Coast-based clients. Alysha Walker rejoins the agency as Vice President, Group Account Director, charged with leading DGC West and overseeing the office's day-to-day operations, client relations and business development activities.

Ms. Walker brings over a decade of strategic communications and media relations experience to the post. Most recently, she was Vice President, Global Marketing & Communications at Cohn & Wolfe, part of WPP, based in New York. Previously, Ms. Walker held positions with DiGennaro Communications and Starcom MediaVest Group.

"Since building out our executive management team last year and expanding our service areas into content creation and consumer PR, we are thrilled to mark yet another significant milestone that will help us better respond to the local market needs and opportunities of our client partners," said Ms. DiGennaro. "With the addition of an LA office, a UK presence, and the growth of our New York team, we continue to elevate our ability to deliver for the marketing, media, advertising, entertainment and tech sectors."

DGC New York Grows: Welcomes Sally O'Dowd and Elkie Griffin
Sally O'Dowd joins DGC as VP, Group Account Director driving brand strategy for clients in the digital space while drawing on a decade of senior corporate communications roles at Publicis Groupe agencies in Chicago and Paris. Most recently, Ms. O'Dowd served as Engagement Editor at Paris-based MSLGROUP, Publicis Groupe's 22- country communications and events network. Previously she held communications positions at Arc Worldwide, Leo Burnett and Razorfish.

Elkie Griffin has been named Account Director at DGC. She joins from IPG's DraftFCB where she was Corporate Communications Manager, leading internal and external communications for the New York office. Ms. Griffin was previously an account lead at Burrell Communications and Taylor Public Relations, where she worked on Diageo brands such as Smirnoff, Crown Royal and Baileys on general market and multicultural PR.

The expansion follows a tremendous growth year for DGC. In 2011, the agency created its first executive management team, consisting of President Howard Schacter and Chief Content Officer Melanie Wells, in addition to Ms. DiGennaro. DGC recently formed a strategic partnership with London-based PR firm Eulogy!, to service the multi-national PR needs of the media, marketing, entertainment and tech sectors. Since opening its doors in January 2005, DGC has been achieved consistent year-over-year growth and has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America by Inc. Magazine.

About DGC
DiGennaro Communications (www.digennaro-usa.com) is the leading full-service strategic communications company specializing in the marketing, media, entertainment and business sectors. Its clients include premiere global and boutique companies such as GroupM, David & Goliath, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Organic and Live Nation. In 2011 DGC was named one of the top five most entrepreneurial companies in New York City by the New York Enterprise Report, was named a finalist in the HR category of the New York Enterprise Small Business Awards and is listed on the Inc. 500|5000 list.