Fleishman-Hillard Saunders (FHS) was set up just eight years ago, but has expanded rapidly in recent years to become one of the largest public relations firms in the country.
A joint venture between the US-based Fleishman-Hillard, now a part of the Omnicom Group, and a group of Irish public relations professionals which holds a 59 per cent stake in the company, FHS employs 50 people in its Dublin and Belfast offices.
Clients include Budweiser, Gillette, Dell Computers, Marlborough Recruitment and Musgraves. Managing director, Mr John Saunders, said the firm enjoyed fee income of £1.8 million last year and expects to make more than £3.0 million this year. "In two years, we would hope to be at £5 million," he says. The company has doubled in size every two years since it started.
However, FHS has not been without its share of problems of late. A recent walkout by five of the six staff in the Belfast office raised eyebrows in the industry. Mr Saunders says general manager, Ms Darlene McCormick, had been indicating for some time that she was considering going out on her own and had decided to do so. "I respect that. My only disappointment was to get just 30 minutes notice," he says. The firm is rebuilding its Belfast team under a new general manager, Mr Kieran Donnelly, and it is thought the bulk of the firm's Northern Irish clients are staying with it.
