EXCLUSIVE: Metro Public Relations, the communications and creative marketing company founded by Tess Finkle, has upped Partner, President & COO Laura Michael to CEO, also adding five new members to its senior entertainment team.
Laura Jalaie joins as SVP, Strategy & Communications, with Bree Jones now serving as VP of Consumer Communications & Culture; Kathryn White as Account Director; Angela Keane as Account Supervisor, and Kelsey Finn as Senior Publicist.
Michael will continue to be a driving force behind the company’s growth and expansion, as CEO, overseeing Metro’s leadership team, and offering strategic counsel to clients. In fulfilling her duties, she will continue to work closely with Finkle, whose primary focus will be to further fuel company business development and partnerships, while broadening the agency’s services through Metro’s creative marketing and content strategy arm.
New hires will look to accelerate PR and content marketing offerings to support an expanding roster of entertainment, brand, culture, and consumer technology clients, including World of Wonder, Dan Harmon, Marta Kauffman, Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud, LL Cool J’s Rock The Bells, iHeartMedia, Group Nine, Betches, The Shade Room, Bright, Wave, Tiltify, VidCon, RuPaul’s DragCon, Instagram and Facebook.
Watch on Deadline
These staffing updates come as Metro celebrates its 15th anniversary.
“We teamed up at 23 years old to build a company rooted in innovation, passion and respect – ultimately a place where we want to work,” said Finkle and Michael in a joint statement. “We’re looking forward to leading Metro into this next phase of growth and are proud to welcome such talented individuals to our team.”
Laura Jalaie boasts more than 15 years of experience across entertainment, content, consumer products, retail, licensing and video games. She comes to Metro from The Walt Disney Company, where she helped lead communications and content strategy for the Consumer Products, Games and Publishing businesses.
Bree Jones previously held roles at Cashmere Agency and PMK*BNC, leading PR, influencer and culture marketing campaigns for Netflix, HBO, Jack in the Box, Pepsi, Audi and more.
Kathryn White joins from Sparkpr, where she worked with a diverse group of start-ups and brands including MagicLeap and Walmart, among others.
Angela Keane comes from 160over90, an Endeavor Company, and DKC where she worked on lifestyle and consumer clients including Calia by Carrie Underwood, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Ken Burns’ documentary films and more.
Kelsey Finn is a film festival and awards specialist who most recently led campaigns for films including 2020’s Best Picture winner Parasite.