Carmichael Lynch Spong has recently promoted two integral team members from its Minneapolis and San Francisco offices. Curtis Smith has been promoted to director of business development, and Leslie Jones has been promoted to counselor.
“We’re pleased to announce the promotions of two achievement addicts at Carmichael Lynch Spong,” says Douglas K. Spong, APR, president of Carmichael Lynch Spong. “With Curtis leading all new business development initiatives that come through our door and Leslie directing our San Francisco office and many client accounts, both are key to our growth.”
Smith joined the firm in 2006 as business development manager, and brought with him over a decade of marketing and business development experience, and over seven years experience with two of the largest public relations agencies in the world.
Prior to joining Carmichael Lynch Spong, Smith was senior coordinator at the Minneapolis office of Fleishman-Hillard. For nearly five years, Smith directed marketing and new business opportunities and managed the production of that office’s client marketing material. Before joining Fleishman-Hillard, Smith was a member of the marketing and new business team at the Bloomington , Minn. , office of Weber Shandwick. There he was responsible for distributing promotional material, managing the prospect database and preparing capabilities and collateral for new business presentations.
Since arriving at Carmichael Lynch Spong, Smith has led each new business opportunity from beginning to end. He’s also played an integral role in developing business development strategies for all of the agency’s practice group marketing plans, as well as helping increase the firm’s national presence to leverage Carmichael Lynch Spong’s reputation as the national champion of best practices.
Smith is a member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and serves on that organization’s PRSA Classics Awards committee. He is also a paid, on-call firefighter for the City of Golden Valley, Minn., where he also resides.
Two years ago, Jones joined the Minneapolis office of Carmichael Lynch Spong as senior associate and brought with her more than 10 years of experience in PR, television and business/technology consulting.
In her new role as counselor, Jones will continue to manage client accounts such as Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Dixie-Pacific, Hasbro, PETCO, Therma-Tru and TRANE. Jones relocated to San Francisco in October 2006 to open the firm’s first West Coast office.
Prior to joining Carmichael Lynch Spong, Jones was a general news reporter and fill-in anchor at KMSP-TV (FOX) in Minneapolis , KRNV-TV (NBC) in Reno , Nev. , and KNVN-TV (NBC) in Chico , Calif.
Before entering into broadcast TV, Jones was a business process consultant and analyst at ACCENTURE in Minneapolis . There she specialized in customer relationship management and worked with clients such as Marriott International, Ford Motor Company and Best Buy. She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota ’s Carlson School of Management and is currently pursuing her MBA in San Francisco .
Jones is a member of PRSA as well as the local PRSA chapter in San Francisco , where she chairs two committees. For the past four years she’s been a motivational speaker for high school students across the country with Monster’s “Making it Count” program and is a National Press Foundation Fellow.
