Main News Desk

LEWIS PR hires Steven Shimek to drive growth in Los Angeles

Former SVP From Ruder Finn joins US management team

Los Angeles - January 14, 2010

LEWIS PR has hired Steven Shimek as general manager of its Los Angeles, CA office. Shimek will be responsible for account servicing, business development, HR and operations. Shimek joins from Ruder Finn where he was SVP of national business development and marketing. During his three-year tenure he helped win clients as diverse as Longs Drugs, Demand Media, Silver Spring Networks, APP Pharmaceuticals, Radware, the AVP and the NFL Players Association. Steven will help drive the agency's presence beyond technology and digital entertainment into broader consumer and vertical sectors, such as travel and tourism. 

LEWIS has also hired Nicola Piggott as senior account manager to work alongside Shimek. Nicola has over eight years of experience in PR and journalism. She worked agency-side at Hill & Knowlton managing campaigns for Motorola and Walt Disney Worldwide Home Entertainment, and in-house with The McGraw Hill Companies, Hilton Hotels Corporation and Nestlé USA. Nicola also brings her experience as a former journalist, most recently as a freelance features writer for the National Enquirer. 

On his new role, Shimek commented: "I was attracted to the commercial, can-do approach of LEWIS which makes it stand out and is a hallmark of its campaigns. I'm looking forward to helping the agency raise its profile in Los Angeles and work with larger brands on a global platform."

"LEWIS presents a great opportunity to work with clients in the sectors I’m most passionate about, while also expanding my experience. Despite the transition to social media, it’s still important to be able to tell a strong, compelling story and to create exciting content," said Piggott. "I’m looking forward to using my experience with major brands in the technology, tourism, entertainment and FMCG sectors to help make LEWIS Los Angeles a recognized leader in communications."

Executive quote

Lucy Allen, SVP of global account servicing at LEWIS PR said: "Steven Shimek and Nicola Piggott bring valuable new skills and experience to LEWIS. They are deeply connected to the influencers in Los Angeles, have strong commercial track records and have advised organizations from a range of industries. We’re actively adding to our senior team, which benefits our clients and enables us to implement a wider range of communications programs. We’ll combine this with some new tools we’ve developed to take advantage of the changes in the PR industry." 


Technorati tags: LEWIS PR | Steven Shimek | general manager | Nicola Piggott | Lucy Allen | hires |

Bookmarklets: