Potomac Flacks

Myers Joins AHLA from NCGA

First reported in the Politico Playbook Power Briefing, Jennifer Myers has joined the American Hotel and Lodging Association as Senior Director of Communications for Government Affairs. She previously led policy communications for the National Corn Growers Association.

Myers previously worked at Edelman as a Senior Account Supervisor, as Communications Director for Jon Bruning for Governor (R-NE) and as Project Director for Public Opinion Strategies.

She is a 2004 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan University and holds a Masters in Media and Public Affairs from The George Washington University. (Politico / PF reporting)

Spotify Names Former Hill Flack Tucker New Head of P.R. in Advance of Public Offering

Variety reports: In advance of long-anticipated Spotify’s public offering — which is now expected in the first quarter of 2018 — the company has brought in a new head of public relations: Dustee Jenkins, who until recently held a similar role at Target. The move, which was first reported by Recode, was confirmed to Variety by a rep for Spotify.

Jenkins’ appointment is seen as an effort to streamline the company’s PR and messaging in advance of the public offering: she will report to chief marketing officer Seth Farbman, while veteran company publicist Graham James in New York and Angela Watts in London will report to her.

Jenkins will relocate to New York from Target’s Minneapolis headquarters. She served with the company for seven years, vacating in July. Previously she held communications roles with Hill & Knowlton PR consulting agency, with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under president George W. Bush, and with Texas Republican U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Spotify, the world’s largest streaming service, passed 140 million worldwide users as both its revenue and operating loss grew significantly in 2016, according to the company’s annual financial statement released in June. The company announced in July that it had passed 60 million paying subscribers. Its closest competitor in the streaming market, Apple Music, announced in September that it had passed the 30-million subscriber mark.

Rather than a traditional IPO, Spotify is expected to launch a public offering, whereby it will list shares directly to buyers. The move has been anticipated for several years but has been delayed as the company shores itself up, not least by closing new licensing deals with the three major labels and the independent label collective Merlin; it completed the last of those, with Warner Music, in August. (Variety)

Former Obama Admin vet Esser Joins GPG as Managing Director

Leading strategic communications and government affairs firm The Glover Park Group (GPG) announced today that Victoria Esser has rejoined the firm as a Managing Director. Esser will work in the Strategic Communications division, providing strategic and media counsel for a broad range of firm clients, including in the technology and financial sectors.

Esser returns to GPG after serving for six years in senior roles in the Obama Administration, including as Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Treasury and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Digital Strategy at the U.S. Department of State. In her most recent role at Treasury, Esser was the principal communications advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury and oversaw all strategic positioning, media relations and stakeholder engagement for the agency on issues ranging from international affairs, to economic and tax policy, and sanctions and illicit finance.

Esser previously held various leadership positions at GPG from 2004 to 2011, having served most recently as Managing Director. She co-led GPG’s International Affairs practice, and was a trusted advisor on corporate reputation and strategic positioning issues, financial communications and complex, global issues management efforts.

Esser graduated from Colby College and received an M.A. from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Esser is a recipient of the Alexander Hamilton Award, the Treasury Department’s highest honor, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. (PF tipster)