WASHINGTON, DC: KayAnn Schoeneman, market leader for Ketchum’s Washington, DC, office, has left for the role of SVP and director of corporate and public affairs at boutique communications firm Curley Company.
Schoeneman’s last day at Ketchum was December 6. She is set to start at Curley on January 6, reporting to president and CEO Jennifer Curley. Schoeneman said that she will supervise a similar number of staffers as she did at Ketchum and sit on the agency’s leadership team along with Curley, SVP and director of digital Caitlin Donahue and SVP and director of crisis Greg Wilson.
Schoeneman said she began thinking about making the move this summer as she approached her 10-year anniversary at Ketchum. An offer came after she met with Curley to discuss other options she was considering.
"What I was looking for wasn’t presenting itself in other opportunities," she said. "[Here], I have the ability to say which clients I work with and use the talent I have to call balls and strikes."
Schoeneman added that she was impressed by Curley’s creative thinking and its "intense focus on client service."
"Because it’s a boutique firm, you do not have to worry about billing for every 15 minutes every time a client calls," she explained.
On its website, Curley lists McDonald's, AARP, Samsung, Google and Expedia among its clients.
Mike Doyle, partner and North America president at Ketchum, said the firm wanted to wish Schoeneman "all the best for the future and thank her for the incredible work she delivered while at Ketchum."
"We have terrific leaders in the DC market and look forward to adding new talent and creating new opportunities for leaders in the new year," he said.
Schoeneman became Ketchum’s market leader in the nation’s capital last June after Jerry Olszewski, partner and MD of the office, retired. She was named SVP and head of the agency’s DC public and corporate affairs group that January.
