Access PR co-founder Rochelle Burbury steps down
Burbury
Access Public Relations – one of the biggest players in the niche of trade marketing for agencies and media companies – has announced a change in management with co-founder Rochelle Burbury stepping back from the business to spend more time with her family.
Managing partner Andrea Kerekes will become the majority shareholder while non-executive chairman Simon Corah, a former CEO of M&C Saatchi Australia, has increased his shareholding.
The restructure sees senior consultant Simon Lloyd promoted to head of consulting, taking on a more strategic and business management role.
Burbury will finish up with the company at the end of the year, but will be still involved with the media training business, Access Media Training.
Burberry and Kerekes originally worked together at Open Dialogue, which was owned by M&C Saatchi but severed ties with the company in January 2008. The pair took all 31 clients with them after a disagreement with M&C over the direction of the agency.
Access has a large client list that includes Fairfax Media, SBS, Mamamia, Freeview, Adstream, Active International, Faulkner Media management, The Newspaper Works, Pizza Hut, Fairfax Events, BWM, MCM Media, Starcom MediaVest Group, Zenith Optimedia, Amnesia Razorfish, TigerSpike and FremantleMedia Australia.
Burbury said: “I am personally enormously proud to have created and grown with Andrea what has become a successful and thriving business. While I am of course sad to leave, Access PR is in great shape with long-term clients and a brilliant, dedicated team.”
“I have worked as a journalist and more recently in PR for 25 years and the time has come for me to take a break and focus on my two young children. And despite the euphemism associated with that, it is actually what I intend to do for a time and then I will consider my options.”
Kerekes added: “We are both very proud of the successful, independent agency we have built together and the calibre of clients and staff we work with. I completely understand and support Rochelle’s decision and of course wish her all the best. It will remain business as usual at Access PR and the agency continues to grow.”
