CHICAGO — Cathy Calhoun, a 30-year veteran of Weber Shandwick and IPG Dxtra, will be retiring on 1 June.

“I’ve been fortunate to have a rewarding career here with seven different roles that challenged me in so many ways and took me to Shanghai, New Delhi, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Paris, London, Stockholm, Milan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Berlin, Bangkok and beyond,” Calhoun, currently IPG Dxtra’s chief growth officer, wrote in a LinkedIn post. “It has been an extraordinary journey of wins, losses and learnings for which I am so grateful.”

Calhoun assumed her group-level role with IPG’s PR and marketing group in 2019 in conjunction with then-Weber Shandwick CEO Andy Polansky taking charge of the division. IPG Dxtra’s PR agencies include Golin, DeVries, Rogers & Cowan PMK and Current Global in addition to Weber Shandwick.

Calhoun previously spent 27 years with Weber Shandwick, where she held several senior leadership roles including chief client officer, president of North America and Chicago president.

“Throughout her career Cathy has set an extraordinarily high bar through her advocacy of client centricity as a guiding principle for our business,” said Polansky, who also will be retiring in June. “She has been a driving force behind IPG DXTRA’s efforts to create a collaborative approach in delivering integrated services and better outcomes for clients. In addition, her leadership and vision guided some of our most successful and enduring client relationships.  I’m grateful for all that Cathy has accomplished and congratulate her on a career that will have a lasting impact on our business and our people.”

Calhoun said: “I will miss my clients and colleagues around the world who have taught me so much, but I cannot wait to spend more time doing what I love with the people I love.

“My new to-do list includes summers in Sicily, winters in Chile, learning another language (Spanish currently edging out Italian), more travel, reading all the books on my Kindle, time with my incredible daughter, connecting with my dear, dear friends and long walks along the beach with my beloved partner and our dog in Michigan. It is not lost on me how lucky I am.”