MIAMI—Public relations agency leaders from the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle East will be among those discussing critical management issues at this year’s Independent Public Relations Firm Forum, which will take place on Monday October 23 at the St Regis Bal Harbour in Miami, kicking off PRovoke17, the Global Public Relations Summit.

Law firm Davis & Gilbert will lead a panel discussion on “Going for the Gold and Embracing The Future,” which will explore the transformation of public relations agencies to offer a range of services including integrated marketing, content creation, digital storytelling and measurement. The session will explore how individual firms have launched multiple operating companies and attracted new kinds of talent.

Panelists include:
Jim Weiss, CEO of W2O (pictured)
Donna Murphy, global CEO of Havas Health & You
Nijay Nair, director of Indian PR giant Adfactors
Jose Antonio Llorente, CEO of Llorente & Cuenca, which has operations throughout the Spanish and Portuguese speaking world

The panel will be moderated by Davis & Gibert partner Michael Lasky.

Longtime IPRFF partner thenetworkone—which builds custom global agency networks for clients—will be leading a discussion of convergence, looking at how public relations firms can carve out a niche in an ecosystem that also includes search, social, advertising, media planning and buying, data management and analytics, influencer marketing, and more, moderated by Julain Boulding.

Panelists include:
Kate Midttun of Acorn Strategy, an Abu Dhabi PR firm
Salvador da Cunha from Lift Group in Lisbon, which includes a data-driven influencer marketing business
Mandy Sharp of London creative boutique—and Marketing Agency of the Year winner—Tin Man
Shattuck Groome of Generator Media and Analytics in New York

Tickets for the Independent PR Firm Forum  (and the broader Provoke17 conference and Global SABRE Awards dinner) are available at a 25% discount from now until midnight on September 5.