A defection in deal PR

Three years ago, when Andrew Merrill left Edelman Inc. to establish a New York presence for London-based Finsbury Ltd., he put out feelers for what he calls "a partner-level hire." Now the chief executive of Finsbury U.S. has that partner in Jeremy Fielding, a fellow Briton who joins the financial, regulatory and political communications firm this month after a decade at Kekst and Co. in New York.

"It's a very important hire for me," Merrill says. "Jeremy will be a partner in the true sense of the word -- a right-hand man, in effect."

Fielding's jump to Finsbury didn't surprise those conversant with such matters. The office's three years here demonstrate sufficient staying power, and its acceptance by clients places it in New York's top tier of deal PR firms.

But Fielding's leaving Kekst surprised them. After all, the saying goes, nobody leaves Kekst.

Fielding's doing so at 36 may be attributable to several factors, including, perhaps, Kekst's takeover last year by Paris-based Publicis Groupe SA; Finsbury's international platform, with outposts in Dubai and Brussels, in addition to the offices in London and New York; as well as a motivating mix of ennui after 10 years in one place and the promise of being an entrepreneur in another place. The defector himself offers little elaboration beyond calling his lateral shift "a great opportunity and a good fit."

What Fielding does offer is enthusiasm as fervid today as it was when he entered the esoteric profession after graduating from Yale University with a Ph.D. in history. This enthusiasm, it's worth noting, is because of the economy rather than in spite of it.

"The government's changing role in economic matters and the continued internationalization of the economic cycle -- that type of thing -- are creating new opportunities," Fielding says. "These are much different from what might have come forth [had the economy stayed on course]. But, frankly, that's exciting. Depending on the situation, you have to think about each aspect of this business either slightly differently or very differently."

Fielding also sees the provincialism once ascribed to the handful of New York firms that define deal PR as fading. "Clients today want an offering that can effectively and seamlessly service their needs in Europe, the U.S. and, increasingly, Asia," he says. "They're no longer looking for someone who does the announcement and moves on."

That said, Finsbury's Merrill believes at least one core activity will keep Fielding in touch with his old partners. "You're not going to see shareholder activists disappear," he says of what has been an industry windfall in recent years. And so the clubby but combative world of deal PR will in some ways continue.

Only Finsbury's newest partner and his old Kekst partners will be across the table from each other after years of sitting side by side.