Lantern Group’s Niki White starts new agency Nikstar
Former Lantern Group MD Niki White has left the agency after seven years to start her own operation, taking several clients and two members of staff with her.
The move comes after the departure of Lantern Group boss Victoria Buchan who left in January to become director of communications and public relations at Nine Network in January. Buchan retained ownership of Lantern after her departure to Nine, but it appears that it will become a slimmed down operation with Buchan’s daughter Louisa Read running operations, particularly unit publicity on Wolverine. It is to close its Fox Studios office.
White: “Lucky”
White – who was promoted to MD of Lantern in January – has called her new agency Nikstar. Also joining her are former Lantern Group publicist Stella Katsaros and publicity assistant Jessica Long. Senior publicist Susan Hoerlein left Lantern in March for a role at Nixco.
Among the accounts White had brought across are the Australian Academy of Cinema & Television Arts, the Australian Film Institute, The Logies, publicity for Hugh Jackman and Deborah Lee Furness, Australian film Around The Block and music awards the ARIAs.
White told Encore: “When you’re starting a new business the scariest thing is who is going to be your founding clients but I’m lucky. They were comfortable coming with me to my new business.”
White has previously managed the publicity for premieres and press conferences for 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount and Universal. She said the move of the clients from Lantern was an amicable arrangement.
