MARLBOROUGH, MA: Former Fleishman-Hillard partner Ellen Barry has left the company’s London office to serve as director of public relations for CompUSANet.com.
MARLBOROUGH, MA: Former Fleishman-Hillard partner Ellen Barry has
left the company’s London office to serve as director of public
relations for CompUSANet.com.
Barry will handle internal and external communications for the
130-person company, which has put together a new management team over
the course of the past three months, led by CEO Stephen Polley. She will
report to VP of marketing Michael Laskoff.
In fact, Barry’s hiring can partially be traced to her longstanding
relationship with Laskoff, who joined the company in April. The two had
worked together during Barry’s FH tenure when his previous employer,
Bertelsmann Online, tapped the agency for PR.
’It’s a fabulous opportunity,’ said Barry. ’I’m really excited to not
just work in what is basically a start-up, but a start-up with brand
equity. To rebuild their web site and online business is really
exciting.’
CompUSANet.com, the e-commerce subsidiary of CompUSA, plans to re-launch
its site in the fall. PR is definitely a priority: in addition to
Barry’s hiring, the site is working with an outside agency, the Wenham,
MA-based Mullen. As the company grows, Laskoff said two or three
internal PR practitioners (who would report to Barry) will likely be
added.
Barry praised Polley’s vision for the site. ’Stephen has worked with a
number of technology companies and was a real driver in my decision,’
said Barry. ’He’s a real technology visionary.’
While at FH, Barry held several positions, working with clients such as
Microsoft.
