WASHINGTON, DC—Witt O’Brien’s, a leader in crisis and disaster relief and a subsidiary of transportation and logistics company SEACOR Holdings, has hired public relations veteran Sean Fitzgerald to expand its crisis communications offering.

Fitzgerald brings more than 20 years of corporate and crisis communications experience, including 17 years with Ketchum, where he led the corporate and public affairs practice in North America, and served as president of the firm’s Greater China region, as well as leading its operations in the western US.

He has been involved in mapping crisis-preparedness and reputation vulnerabilities; creating crisis communications plans and response protocols; leadership training and exercises; and on-site, real-time communications support for companies in crisis.

Until recently, Witt O’Brien’s supported its clients with trained and accredited public information officers during times of actual crisis response activity and training exercise play. It has brought Fitzgerald on board to augment its tactical public information support on a global level and broaden its reputation-driven communications offerings in response to client demand.

Prior to Ketchum, Fitzgerald held in-house leadership roles in global communications at Mattel and Levi Strauss.

“Corporate executives, boards and governments face a dramatic increase in potential business disruptions, both natural and man-made,” said Fitzgerald. “Robust communications are a critical ingredient in pre-event preparedness, as well as crisis response and recovery. Combining these skills with Witt O’Brien’s proven capabilities in operational crisis response and preparation will create a truly differentiated service for both corporate and public sector clients.”