NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Abernathy MacGregor, a leading strategic financial communications advisor to global companies, investment firms and other organizations, today announced that Carina Davidson, a member of the firm for more than 20 years and most recently Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, has been appointed the firm’s President effective May 7, 2018.
“Carina is the embodiment of Abernathy MacGregor’s culture — smart, collaborative and committed to her clients,” said Tom Johnson, chief executive officer of Abernathy MacGregor. “In her roles up until now, she has helped drive growth across the business by advising clients through a multitude of challenging and transformative situations, and making our operations more productive and efficient as COO. She embodies our philosophy of providing sophisticated counsel to clients that produces business results, and we look forward to Carina taking on an even more visible role for our firm moving forward.”
“I am taking on these new responsibilities at one of the most exciting times in Abernathy MacGregor’s history,” said Ms. Davidson. “This has always been a great place to work, with a culture dedicated to excellence, collaboration and a true spirit of partnership with our clients. I share with Tom an absolute commitment to continuing our outstanding recent momentum by continuing to position Abernathy MacGregor as the financial communications firm of choice for companies and organizations in need of smart strategic counsel, flawless execution and the ability to help clients navigate the most complex situations.”
Carina succeeds Chuck Burgess, who after 24 years at Abernathy MacGregor, the last eight as its President, is moving full-time to Europe. Mr. Burgess will continue to be affiliated with the firm in a consulting role, and will continue to advise certain clients through Abernathy MacGregor and its international network AMO.
Mr. Johnson added: “All of us at Abernathy are sorry to see Chuck step away from his day-to-day role here. His contributions to our culture and our success are too numerous to name, but we are incredibly grateful for all he has done through the years. We share his excitement on beginning a new phase in his career, and anticipate a continued close collaboration with him on behalf of our clients.”
Abernathy MacGregor also announced that two of the firm’s senior leaders will assume additional responsibilities. Chuck Dohrenwend has been named the firm’s Managing Director, Head of Operations, with oversight over IT, research and marketing. Kate Murray will become Managing Director, Head of Talent Strategy and Senior Level Recruiting, in which capacity she will help ensure that the firm continues to recruit and develop experienced professionals.
Abernathy MacGregor’s recent engagements have included T-Mobile’s announced combination with Sprint; Keurig’s announced acquisition of Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, two significant acquisition announcements for Sanofi, and Silver Lake’s take private of Blackhawk Networks. The firm continues to be the leading communications advisor for private equity transactions, ranked number one by The Deal in this category in both 2016 and 2017. Additionally, the firm provided counsel to QEP Resources in its discussions and settlement with Elliott Management, and has worked closely with Altaba in its engagement with shareholder TCI Management. Abernathy MacGregor also helped AB InBev announce a North American leadership transition, advised The Carlyle Group in its announcement of a leadership transition from the firm's three founders to a new executive team, and is advising Philadelphia Energy Solutions in connection with the company’s restructuring process.
About Carina Davidson
Carina Davidson is a senior advisor to clients and as chief operating officer also has overseen certain firm operations and projects. She provides strategic communications and investor relations counsel for companies in the financial services, consumer goods, healthcare, energy, real estate, business services and technology sectors, among others. She has significant expertise helping clients manage their corporate reputations, crafting and delivering corporate messages to Wall Street and assisting companies in preparing for shareholder activism defense scenarios. She also has counseled several employee-owned companies transitioning to public entities.
Carina manages many of the firm's IPO mandates, bringing to bear Abernathy MacGregor's full suite of capabilities, assisting pre-public and newly public companies with media relations, IPO messaging/positioning, investor relations, infrastructure build-out and executive recruitment, listing day coordination, and post-offering IR, PR, issues management and transaction support.
She also oversees communications for some of the leading private equity firms and their portfolio companies including profile-raising initiatives, fund close announcements, investment positioning, issues management, M&A transaction announcements and IPO activities.
Prior to joining Abernathy MacGregor, Carina specialized in issues management and public affairs at Edelman. She is a citizen of the Netherlands, and holds a B.A. degree from Skidmore College.
Among her many charitable endeavors is Carina’s involvement with the United Way of New York City’s Women’s Leadership Council. She is a longstanding and active member of the National Investor Relations Institute. She was honored in 2016 by PR Week as a “Champion of PR,” one of the women who represent the gold standard in the industry.
About Abernathy MacGregor
Abernathy MacGregor (abmac.com) is a leading strategic financial communications firm with offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Houston. We provide strategic communications counsel and services to companies large and small, public and private, typically in times of transition. Since 1984 we have brought to every engagement superior, customized communications planning, 24/7 hands-on implementation and an intensely collaborative and high- energy commitment to our clients. Abernathy MacGregor is a founding member of AMO (amo-global.com), the leading global partnership of corporate and financial communications consultancies.
