LOS ANGELES: The LA office of Hill & Knowlton has hired Eric Moses for the newly created role of VP of media and public affairs.
"It's a bold move for H&K LA," said office GM Bonnie Goodman, adding that as clients have increasingly demanded "much more senior talent and counsel at a strategic level," the firm has been seeking new hires to match clients' needs.
Specifically, Goodman said, Moses will work with new H&K client Wal-Mart as it seeks to improve its image in the state, as well as a nutritional campaign for the California Department of Health Services.
Moses was most recently the chief spokesman for the LA city attorney's office. Before that, he worked in the mayor's office and at the LA office of Fleishman-Hillard, where he was involved in the Department of Water and Power contract that is currently under investigation by the city attorney.
When the city attorney began that investigation, Moses was moved from his spokesman role to one overseeing communications for the Neighborhood Prosecutor program to avoid any potential conflicts. Some press reports indicated that Moses had been pushed out of the city attorney's office because of that investigation, but Moses said that was not the case.
"The city attorney had to do what he had to do: make sure that the city is protected," said Moses. "He was going to make sure that I was not involved in any part of the investigation, and that was something that I was never a part of in that office."
Goodman added, "It was a sensible move by the city attorney's office, but, at the same time, it gave us the immediate opportunity to grab onto some talent."
