Public Affairs: Gardant ushers in Kennedy as partner

Kennedy joins the expanding public affairs and corporate comms agency next week as a partner. The move comes 18 months after the agency stalwart ended a 16-year spell at Grayling by leaving without a new role lined up (PRWeek, 8 December 2009).

Kennedy is the fourth senior addition to Gardant's ranks over the past year, and his arrival next week will take the total number of partners to seven.

In November 2009 the independent agency appointed Mantra PR founder Lawrence Dore as a partner. In recent months the agency has also brought in Nick Vaughan, a former chairman of Conservative Future and consultant at FD Public Affairs, and Katherine Bergen, previously a senior Sun journalist, as associates.

Gardant managing partner Claire Davidson told PRWeek the agency had experienced 'a year of double-digit revenue and profit growth, and a series of new client wins from high-profile litigation work to strategic communication advice for Fortune 500 companies'.

She added: 'We are very ambitious and keen to build the business.'

Kennedy spent a decade as global chief executive at Grayling. His departure in 2009 coincided with the end of a management buy-out of Grayling from previous parent company Havas, led by Kennedy.