RICK FRENCH | CHAIRMAN & CEO
Rick is one of the nation's highest profile public relations counselors and is a frequent speaker at marketing conferences around the world. He is regarded within the communications field as a leading expert in consumer marketing, crisis management and corporate branding, and has co-authored a book detailing "best practices" in public relations. Prior to forming FWV in 1997, Rick served in senior management positions with several large public relations firms, and has also worked as director of corporate communications for an international chemical company and public relations manager for a national bank holding company. He began his career in Detroit as a print and television journalist, following his graduation from Oakland University, where he earned a B.A. degree in journalism.
Rick is past vice chairman of the board of directors of Special Olympics North Carolina and helped lead the successful bid to bring the 1999 World Special Olympics Summer Games to the Triangle region. He has held more than a dozen other civic and community board positions and is the current chairman-elect of the Downtown Raleigh Alliance; and immediate past chairman of The Greater Raleigh Sports Council. He also sits on the international board of advisors of the Global Water Foundation, a global charity that is committed to helping bring clean water and proper sanitation to underdeveloped parts of the world. Rick is also a member of the board of trustees of the internationally renowned Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.
Rick's other business interests include his participation as a partner and member of the board of directors of Reagan Williams Licensing Group, a $100 million home furnishings and fine arts company headquartered in High Point, N.C.; a partner and member of the board of directors of Vincent Shoes, an international children's shoe company; and owner of the historic Tucker Furniture office and retail complex in downtown Raleigh. In 2001, Rick and a small group of investors bid for and were awarded a South Atlantic League expansion franchise. That minor-league baseball club, a Class A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, played one season in Wilmington, N.C. before it was moved to South Georgia, where it continues to operate today.
DAVID GWYN | PRESIDENT
He oversees all of FWV's lifestyle and consumer product accounts including Wrangler Jeans, GeneralSports Venue, AstroTurf, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Ford Motor Company, Justin Boots, Coca-Cola's tea brand portfolio (Nestea and Gold Peak) and orange juice portfolio (Minute Made and Simply Orange), Gatlinburg, TN, Poyner & Spruill LLC, the North Carolina Beer and Wine Wholesaler's Association and Tweetsie Railroad, among others.
As General Manager of the firm's home office in Raleigh, David spends a great deal of time working closely with young associates and effectively managing the office work flow and intra-office activities. Prior to joining the agency, he was a founding partner in a marketing consulting firm that developed and executed programs for Pepsi-Cola Company, BellSouth Mobility, Heinz Pet Foods and BB&T and a $200 million Nabisco Foods Group promotions account.
He began his marketing career with Intervisual Communications in New York City, and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master's degree in business from Wake Forest University, and a master's degree in sports and special events marketing from New York University.
JON PRITCHETT | VICE CHAIRMAN AND PRINCIPAL
Jon serves as the agency's Vice Chairman and is a principal in the firm. In this role, he leads the agency's business development efforts and provides strategic counsel to the agency and to its current and future clients.
Jon has 20 years of sports, entertainment and media business success. His career has included several management positions in a diverse group of sports and entertainment companies. His experience includes marketing, sales and C-level leadership of a variety of businesses, including being the CEO of a major brand in the sports and recreation industry. He has developed a consistent record and reputation for building new businesses or energizing stagnant ones through dynamic leadership, effective marketing and communications and creative management skills.
Jon was previously the CEO of General Sports Venue, a sports specialty marketer of brands, including the AstroTurf brand. During his tenure, Jon led a highly successful effort to re-build the brand as the industry leader. Before GSV, Jon served as President/COO of Team Sports Entertainment and ScheerSports, Inc., where he led the sales & marketing efforts of the very successful development of a 16,000-seat, downtown arena. Previous to ScheerSports, Jon worked at Host Communications, Inc., the largest amateur and collegiate sports marketing firm, as Vice President of Sales and at the University of South Carolina as Assistant Recruiting Coordinator.
Jon received a Bachelor of Science degree from Appalachian State University in 1988. He previously served as Vice Chairman of the Alumni Advisory Board for the School of Communications at ASU and as a Member of the Clemson University Advisory Board for its Center for the Advancement of Marketing and Social Sciences. Jon is also a 1996 graduate of the Sports Management Institute Executive Program held at the Universities of Southern California and North Carolina.
JACK GLASURE | EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
A native Floridian, Jack currently leads the agency’s Tampa, Fla. office, which was opened in 1999, two years after the firm was established in Raleigh, N.C. Prior to co-founding FWV in 1997, he worked for 15 years in domestic marketing, retail operations and public affairs for oil industry brands Chevron (San Francisco), Ashland (Louisville, Ky.) and Clark (St. Louis). Recognized for his creativity and as a “Jack of all Trades,” he’s been instrumental in developing and executing award-winning campaigns to drive awareness, distribution and sales for hundreds of consumer products — from boats, blue jeans, rum and restaurants, to race cars, golf clubs, island resorts, furniture, art, books, celebrities, real estate properties and tourist attractions. In 2006, Jack authored the agency’s proprietary Communications Strategy Process™ which helps uncover a brand’s Unique Selling Proposition and Key Messages.
As a media relations expert, Jack’s earned favorable editorial coverage for agency clients with The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Today Show, People Magazine, Smart Money, Conde Naste Traveler, GQ, Fox & Friends, Good Morning America, Yahoo, Sports Illustrated, HBO Real Sports, Oprah and scores of vertical trade publications, daily newspapers, television news broadcasts, radio programs and social media sites.
An active member of the community, Jack has been recognized as one of Tampa’s “Most Fashionable and Charitable Men,” reflecting the firm’s non-profit pro bono work over the past decade. As a travel industry veteran, he’s listed as a “Who’s Who in Travel & Tourism,” and has been honored by the Dude Rancher’s Association of Cody, Wy. for lifetime achievement promoting the “Western Way of Life.” In 2002, Jack financed and produced the first post-911 effort to bring Tall Ships from around the world to the United States — culminating in a weeklong festival that attracted more than 150,000 people and a flotilla of nearly 3,000 vessels. In his spare time, Jack has published two books on college and pro football, executive produced three National Lampoon comedies, and supported numerous causes as a board or committee member, most notably the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, Children’s Dream Fund, Chair Scholar’s Foundation and Metropolitan Ministries.
Jack has a B.A. degree in business administration and international marketing from St. Leo University, and an M.B.A. from Nova University. He’s currently on the advisory board for The College of Management at North Carolina State University, and has served similarly for The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, Eckerd College President’s Associates, and The School of Communication Arts, where he is an adjunct professor.
LAUREN TAYLOR | EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Lauren is one of FWV's co-founders and is also an agency principal.
With more than 20 years experience in television news and public relations, Lauren is involved with a number of the agency's consumer marketing practice areas such as home, fashion, apparel, accessories and consumer packaged goods.
She has managed key agency clients such as VF Corporation, Wrangler, Riders, Wrangler Home, Dearfoams, Kasper A.S.L., Diana Vincent Jewelers, Lily of France and Vanity Fair.
Lauren has received the prestigious Peabody Award for excellence in television news reporting and is a graduate of Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Communications.
NATALIE BEST | SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & DIRECTOR OF CLIENT SERVICES
Natalie joined FWV in 2002 with over seven years of public relations and marketing experience including six years in the National Basketball Association. Working for the NBA league office in New York first, and then with the Charlotte Hornets, she handled the day-to-day public and media relations efforts for the Hornets including national media relations for over 100 games per year at venues across the country.
Natalie has developed and executed marketing and public relations programs for a wide variety of FWV clients including Coca-Cola (Minute Maid, Nestea, DASANI, Simply Orange), SunTrust Bank, the Oakland County, Michigan Office of Economic Development, the Gatlinburg Department of Tourism and AstroTurf. She also served in media relations roles for clients including Wrangler, Ford Motor Company, the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and the Greater Raleigh Convention & Visitor's Bureau.
Natalie was named by the Triangle Business Journal as a "40 Under 40" business leadership award winner in 2007 and is a 2008 graduate of Leadership Raleigh. She has a B.A. in Journalism from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Natalie's currently on the Board of Directors of the Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education, North Carolina Action for Children and the UNC School of Journalism Alumni & Friends.
BARRIE HANCOCK | VICE PRESIDENT
Barrie is responsible for the strategy and oversight of multiple FWV accounts within the consumer marketing practice area.
Barrie is instrumental in developing earned media strategies for a number of agency clients including the International Gemological Institute, North Carolina State University and Campbell University School of Law.
Barrie has been with FWV since 2000 and prior to joining the agency, was a marketing and communications manager for Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, responsible for developing, implementing and evaluating Fuqua's marketing and communications strategies.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Connecticut, Barrie completed Duke's Program for Manager Development in 1999.
CHRIS SHIGAS | Vice President, Digital and Social Media
Chris Shigas is an award-winning digital and social media expert with an emphasis on integrating traditional public relations campaigns with social media. Chris' clients include Coca-Cola, Wrangler, Canada Post, Dearfoams, Melitta and many more premium corporate brands.
Chris is a frequent speaker on emerging social media techniques and he leads the firm's virtual marketing practice. His team recently won the Best in Category "Integrated Communication Award" from the Public Relations Society of America for a campaign that utilized a number of social media platforms, including Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr and Second Life. The award was given for a groundbreaking project with WaterPartners International to raise awareness about the global water crisis.
In 2007, Chris developed a virtual city for Canada Post in the online community of Second Life. The retail city of Maple Grove features stores from ten national and international retailers. At the time, it was the largest collection of real-life retailers in the Second Life virtual world, featuring the likes of Sears, Toys "R" Us and many others. The Maple Grove project won an ECHO Award presented by the Direct Marketing Association.
Before his public relations career, Chris was an Emmy award-winning television news producer and has the distinction of producing the first high-definition newscast in the country.
Chris is on the Board of Directors of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Eastern North Carolina and has a B.A. degree from the University of Georgia.
JACQUELINE BURTON | VICE PRESIDENT
With her 20+ years of experience in the home furnishings, construction and lifestyle industries, Jacqueline Burton is known among journalists for her creative leadership and innovation in delivering the right message to the right audience in the most effective way.
As the former head of her own agency, she developed a client list of sophisticated products from around the world and continues to be called upon to give foreign companies a dynamic start in the U.S. marketplace. She has developed long-range public relations strategies for giant names such as Bosch, Marimekko, Sony and 3M, handled significant product launches, and has a considerable track record revitalizing brands, including Armstrong Floors and Scotchgard.
WENDY MCCARTHY | VICE PRESIDENT
Wendy's diverse professional experience extends across all aspects of marketing into the consumer products, healthcare, lifestyle, professional services, public affairs, real estate and entertainment industries for clients including Procter & Gamble, Universal Studios, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, bioMérieux, Capital One, Virgin Atlantic and more.
She is currently overseeing the fight to stop the US Navy from selecting rural Camden County, N.C as the location for an outlying landing field as well as the effort to create an urban park on the site of Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh, N.C. Previously, she served as marketing director for Integrative Therapeutics, a manufacturer of more than 250 nutritional supplements distributed exclusively through physicians, experience she currently puts to use on behalf of the nutritional cleansing and wellness company Isagenix.
During her 12-year career, Wendy has also served in account management roles with Edelman Worldwide, Porter Novelli and Curley & Pynn, the Orlando, Fla. Manning, Selvage & Lee affiliate. Wendy graduated magna cum laude from Central Connecticut State University with a B.A. in politics and journalism
JESSICA O'MAHONY | VICE PRESIDENT
Since joining FWV in 2006, Jessica has been responsible for developing and executing public relations programs for a variety of agency clients including Minute Maid, NESTEA, Wrangler, Justin Boots, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and TrustAtlantic Bank.
Jessica's diverse career in public relations began more than nine years ago with Ketchum (Atlanta) - one of the world's largest PR agencies - where she worked primarily with The Home Depot and Georgia-Pacific Building Products. She managed the national long-lead and women's magazine media relations program for both clients, and also served as the account lead for The Home Depot's Southern Division and EXPO Design Center. In these roles, Jessica managed public relations programs and product launches designed to raise company visibility and drive product sales.
Her media relations efforts have earned placements for clients with a host of national outlets including the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, CBS "Early Show," AOL and Associated Press as well as top trade and regional outlets nationwide.
Jessica graduated from Wake Forest University with a major in Communications and a minor in Journalism.
PAIGE PARKER | GROUP ACCOUNT DIRECTOR
Paige is responsible for planning and implementing public relations programs for healthcare and technology clients at FWV.
Her account experience includes management of multiple healthcare clients including bioMérieux, New Hope Fertility Center, Pfizer, Structure House, Triangle Orthopaedic Associates and Wellspring. Additionally, Paige oversees media programs for the charitable organization, Global Water Foundation. She has particular expertise in healthcare and trade media relations, physician outreach programs, trade show planning and crisis communications.
Paige's work on behalf of her clients has resulted in high-profile media placements in top national outlets including The New York Times, Newsweek, Glamour, Reader's Digest, the Associated Press and "The Today Show." Throughout her career, she has been awarded industry accolades for public relations writing and campaign management. Prior to joining FWV, Paige worked for a business-to-business marketing communications agency, managing technology accounts such as AVX/Kyocera, Siemens and Honeywell.
Paige graduated magna cum laude from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications and a minor in Music.
