Growth is an important part of life at Walker Sands. Throughout our evolution from a boutique PR firm to a fully integrated B2B marketing agency, we’ve focused on growing both ourselves and our clients’ businesses. And last year was no exception — in 2021, we grew revenue by 41% and expanded to the East Coast through our acquisition of March Communications, adding offices in Boston and Atlanta.
But none of this growth would be possible without the work of the talented employees and leaders at our agency. I’m excited to announce promotions for several Walker Sands leaders: Annie Gudorf to senior vice president of PR, Payal Pathak to senior vice president of PR, Rosita Vivanco to vice president and head of Client Services and Drew Hower to vice president, creative director. These elevations will further strengthen and support our PR, Creative and Client Services teams, enabling them to continue to deliver award-winning work to some of the world’s top B2B tech brands.
- Annie Gudorf, Senior Vice President of PR: Annie has played a pivotal role in accelerating the growth of the agency’s PR department by increasing the caliber of clients the agency works with, driving award-winning work and nurturing talent across the PR department. In her new role, Annie will continue serving as strategic PR counsel for her clients, while also growing the agency’s PR department in Seattle through employee and client development. Annie is also the managing director of Walker Sands’ Seattle office where she oversees operations, including growing and engaging the team, while leading client work for B2B tech brands throughout the West Coast.
- Payal Pathak, Senior Vice President of PR: Since joining Walker Sands in 2013, Payal has steadily risen in the ranks of the PR department by leading some of the agency’s largest and most complex PR engagements, building the agency’s executive media training program and growing a team of 20 talented PR and media relations professionals. Her media relations work has been recognized by both the Publicity Club of Chicago and the Public Relations Society of America, and has played an important role in establishing the agency’s expertise in financial technology. In her new role, she will remain a first call and trusted advisor for public and private company marketing and communications executives, continue to shape the agency’s next generation of PR leaders and executives, and support the growth and expansion of the department.
- Rosita Vivanco, Vice President, Head of Client Services: Known for her ability to flawlessly navigate and support Walker Sands clients, Rosita has played a critical role in maturing the Client Services department since joining the agency in 2018. Over the last year, she expanded the Client Services team by recruiting and onboarding a dozen new hires, all while building a culture of inclusivity and accountability. In her new role as Vice President and Head of Client Services, Rosita will oversee the account and management teams responsible for bringing together Walker Sands services to meet the needs of the agency’s clients.
- Drew Hower, Vice President, Creative Director, Branding + Web Division: Since starting in 2018, Hower has helped transform Walker Sands into the agency that it is today. His efforts began with a rebranding project that solidified Walker Sands’ positioning as a full-service B2B marketing agency that spans creative, demand generation, marketing strategy and more in addition to public relations. For the past two years, he has been overseeing Walker Sands’ branding division — working with clients such as Hub Group, Adlucent and Social Solutions. His branding work has also earned repeated recognition from industry leaders, including, most recently, two Hermes Creative Awards, a MarCom Award and an IN2 SABRE Finalist. Now, in his role as Vice President, Hower will absorb the agency’s website development division while continuing to create strategy-driven brands that help accelerate growth for B2B clients around the globe.
We are fortunate to have talented leaders like Annie, Payal, Rosita and Drew at our agency. They have each played a vital role in the growth of our PR, Creative and Client Services teams and I am excited to see how they will continue to push the limits, produce great work and propel the agency forward.