Ruder Finn is a public relations firm with co-headquarters in the United States and China. It is one of the world's largest privately owned communications agencies. The agency has four divisions: Health & Wellness, Corporate Reputation & Transformation, RFI Studios, and Consumer Connections."
History
Ruder Finn was established in 1948 in New York by David Finn and Bill Ruder. The firm is currently led by CEO Kathy Bloomgarden, Ph.D., daughter of David Finn. Their first client was Perry Como, and over time they expanded their network to include consumer products companies as well as government agencies. In the 1960s through late 1990s, while representing long-time client Philip Morris, Ruder Finn was instrumental in crafting the public relations campaign that disputed the evidence tobacco smoking is hazardous to health. In 1997, Ruder Finn ran the Global Climate Coalition, a group of mainly United States businesses opposing action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In 1999 Ruder Finn established RFI Studios, a digital practice, to help clients protect and build their reputation online. The agency expanded in Asia, establishing offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Singapore, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. In 2005, pro bono work done for the UN raised speculation when Kofi Annan's nephew, Kobina, worked as an intern at the firm. In 2011, Ruder Finn acquired Thunder Communications, a Chinese event management, brand and marketing consultancy, and formed a partnership with Kyodo Public Relations. The agency has won the PRSA Bronze Anvils, Big Apple Awards, SABREs and PRWeek Awards. David Finn received a Big Apple Award. In 2015, Ruder Finn acquired Kyodo Public Relations, one of the largest independent PR firms in Japan and the first PR agency to be listed on JASDAQ Securities Exchange. In April 2015, the firm paid $30.7 million for a 34,000-square-foot property on East 53rd Street for new corporate headquarters for the firm. In 2016, the firm launched a Storytelling & Media offering with Rachel Spielman as lead. Spielman, former head of Corporate Communications, had tripled the size of the corporate practice over the previous 16 years, and took on a newly created role of EVP, Storytelling & Media. The new position was created to formalize the agency's expertise in story mining and help bring these stories to life across traditional and new mediums. Ruder Finn also launched a new reputation and risk management practice in 2016, focused on developing Ruder Finn's leadership across four core business areas: predictive analytics, intelligence, preparedness and precision response. The practice is led out of Hong Kong, the UK and New York. Bloomgarden is the author of Trust: The Secret Weapon of Effective Business Leaders, and holds a B.A. from Brown University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University in Political Science. Bloomgarden also sits on the board of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Partnership for New York City, the Atlantic Council. She is a regular contributor to Fortune Magazine. In 2017, Bloomgarden became a PRWeek Hall of Femme Honoree, recognized along with eight other women for their dedication to the industry. In 2006, David Finn, received the John W. Hill Award for leadership, service and ethical conduct for his work at Ruder Finn. That year, Ruder Finn also won the 2006 Caregiving Freddie Award for its work on the Johnson & Johnson Strength for Caring website. In July 2020, Ruder Finn acquired the video content studio Osmosis Films, headquartered in Brooklyn, New York.
