Milwaukee-based public relations firm
Kane Communications Group has inked a deal to acquire Green Bay-based
Leonard & Finco Public Relations as part of a merger agreement between the two firms.
Established in 1992 by former WBAY TV journalists Charlie Leonard and
Susan Finco, Leonard & Finco has grown over the years to become a leading PR and communications firm in northeast Wisconsin. Today, the firm represents global, national, regional, and local clients ranging from blue-chip companies to small businesses and nonprofits.
Finco, a prominent leader in the Green Bay area, become the sole owner and chief executive officer of the company in 1999, following Lenoard’s retirement. She currently serves on many prominent boards, most notably as lead director for the Green Bay Packers, where she was the first woman on the Packers' seven-member executive committee.
Kimberly Kane, also a former TV journalist, founded Kane Communications Group in 2013, and has since grown the firm to a staff of more than two dozen. Kane serves clients in a bevy of industries, including nonprofits, government, and corporations, with a focus on environmental, social, and corporate governance and sustainability communications. The company has offices in Milwaukee, Racine and Geneva, Switzerland.
Mutual admirers of each other’s work, Kane and Finco met at an event in February, which prompted Finco to have Scott Bushkie of Cornerstone Business Services reach to out to Kane about a possible merger back in February, the pair told BizTimes Milwaukee on Thursday.
“I am excited about the synergies these two teams bring to our valued clients with additional service offerings, and the new opportunities we now have together. I look forward to seeing the company’s growth through this collaboration,” said Finco, who plans to stay on during the transition for about six months in a full-time role.
Kane’s acquisition of Leonard & Finco is part of the agency’s strategic growth plan to expand into new markets and industries, Kane said.
“Susan Finco and the Leonard & Finco team are extremely well-respected leaders in public relations,” Kane said. “Bringing our agencies together allows us to offer clients in both markets an even more powerful mix of service offerings, resources and expertise, including Kane’s focus on ESG and sustainability communications as well as our marketing, advertising, creative and video services.”
Although the two firms will spend the next several months fine-tuning their partnership, Kane said there no immediate plans to change Leonard & Finco’s name or make changes to current staffing levels at the Green Bay office. Kane said the entire Kane organization plans to add staff in 2024.
Both Kane and Finco said they were excited to expand the industries they serve and the services they offer. For Finco’s clients in Green Bay that means being able to offer some of the comprehensive video services that Kane offers. For Kane, that means expanding more into industries like manufacturing and energy, that have been key to Leonard & Finco’s success.
“We will spend a lot of time with each other,” Kane said. “I see this very much as an opportunity to co-create.”
