Maja Pawinska Sims 01 Dec 2023 // 10:50AM GMT
LONDON — Outgoing FleishmanHillard UK & Middle East CEO Jim Donaldson was inducted into the ICCO Hall of Fame at the organisation’s global awards this week, while The PR Network leaders Nicky Regazzoni and George Blizzard were presented with the inaugural Angela Oakes Award for female leadership, alongside other agency and campaign awards.
The ICCO Hall of Fame recognises those who have “made exceptional progress in the internationalisation of the PR industry” and who have “combined cultural sensitivity with commercial acumen to create agencies that share global reach with local relevance.”
Announcing Donaldson’s induction into the Hall of Fame, PRovoke EMEA editor Maja Pawinska Sims said: “Under his leadership of nearly a decade at the agency, Jim has grown FleishmanHillard’s UK operation substantially. But he’s done much more than that: with his loyal team, he has transformed the agency into a progressive, innovative business that cares about its people and is deeply respected, creating something rather special within the Omnicom network. I know for sure that his next move will continue to be full of dynamism, super-smart counsel, and humour.”
On receiving the honour, Donaldson – who announced in August that he would be leaving FleishmanHillard at the end of this year – said: “I am deeply humbled and honoured to have joined this venerable group of achievers in public relations. I’m grateful to ICCO and will use this recognition to deepen my efforts to promote purposeful, ethical and inclusive communications that will inspire bedrock change around the world.”
The Angela Oakes Award is named after the co-founder of Global Women in PR, who passed away in March, and was presented to Regazzoni and Blizzard – who started their B Corp agency in 2005 and now have a team of 1,385 experts in over 60 countries – by Oakes’ long-time GWPR partner Sue Hardwick.
Hardwick (pictured, second left) said the award would be presented annually to recognise those who have “smashed glass ceilings and changed the game for empowering female leadership, making a significant contribution to improving the landscape for women working in PR.”
Presenting Regazzoni (pictured, left) and Blizzard (second right, with awards host, broadcaster and journalist Shamira Ahmed, right) with the award, Hardwick said they were “trailblazers for flexible and remote working, way ahead of anyone else in our industry and long before others recognised the significance of the model… Flexible and remote working is your mantra and you have made it work giving women an opportunity to shine in an environment that is adaptable and able to fit their needs.”
Additional individual honours went to Caroline Hsu, chief global officer of The Hoffman Agency, being named as PR Leader of the Year, and Anna Savchenko from the Ukrainian PR Army winning the Rising Star award.
The ceremony, which took place in London, also recognised agencies and campaigns from around the world, including Finnish digital and creative agency Kurio, which claimed four trophies, while FleishmanHillard won three.
Other big wins included large agency of the year for advocacy firm Cavendish (formerly BECG) in Europe, FleishmanHillard (Americas) and WE Communications (Africa and Asia). Small/medium-sized agency of the year Awards were won by Milk & Honey PR (Europe), 4CO (Americas) and Rice Communications (Africa and Asia).