LOS ANGELES — Hunter has named Samantha Turtle head of its LA operation. Turtle (pictured), a nearly 15-year veteran of Hunter, has served as chief officer, entertainment & media since last October. She established Hunter’s entertainment division by brokering talent deals to support brand activations, fuel earned media coverage and create compelling content in the early days of social media.

NEW YORK — Brunswick Group has hired Suzy Welch as a senior advisor in New York. Welch is an advisor to executives and boards, best-selling author, business journalist and entrepreneur. She is also an adjunct professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business and a regular contributor on The Today Show and CNBC. She is the former editor of the Harvard Business Review, the author of three best-selling business books and was also a consultant at Bain.

FAIRFIELD, NJ — Stacey Hajdak has joined SPI Group as senior VP. Hajdak serves as a senior account leader and counselor for her clients and team and helps to raise awareness to support growth of the 25-year-old firm. Previously, Hajdak served as VP of marketing & communications for Affiliated Distributors, director of marketing and communications for Aqua America (now an Essential Utilities company), chief of corporate communications for Defense Logistics Agency and director of communications for Bucks County, Pennsylvania government.

WASHINGTON — Strategic Elements has added Kathy Didawick to its team as a strategic partner. Didawick also joins the company's political consulting agency, Kdence. Prior to Strategic Elements, Didawick served as VP of political and external affairs for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association where she led their political and external activities by managing and directing all political advocacy, PAC engagement, and third-party alliance development.

ATLANTA — Arketi Group has hired Judson Phillips as VP and member of the firm’s senior leadership team. Phillips joins Arketi following two-plus years leading marketing healthcare technology startup BioIQ, which was acquired by LetsGetChecked in May 2022. He has also held key executive, product marketing and communications roles leading to the acquisitions of 2Order.com by Primus, Advectis by Xerox, Brightree by ResMed and Preparis by Agility Recovery.

NEW YORK — Beth Wiegard has joined Lambert as a director in its capital markets group. Weigard will be a member of the firm’s private equity practice. Previously, Wiegard worked in the financial communications field at Ogilvy Adams & Rinehard, where she developed and implemented client programs in the financial services, energy, defense and telecommunication industries.