Lagrant Communications has announced that Keisha N. Brown has been appointed president of the organization. In her new role, Brown is expected to utilize her more than two decades of experience to focus on client services and new business development. She will continue as the chair of the Health and Wellness Practice. Kim L. Hunter, former president and CEO, will remain the chairman & CEO of the agency.
“Lagrant Communications is my first enterprise and I feel now is the right time to pass the torch to a long-standing and dedicated employee that I trust will continue to move the agency forward”, Hunter said. “Keisha Brown brings a tremendous understanding of client service and new business development experience to this position and I look forward to working with her as we both focus on our new roles at the agency.”
Brown will be responsible for identifying and securing new business, and providing integrated and innovative client service to all of the agency’s clients. In this role, she will lead teams in developing and executing creative oriented solutions communication programs for the firm’s advertising, marketing and public relations accounts; manage a team of client-focused and results oriented individuals; create a thriving environment of collaboration and creative problem-solving that is responsive to and inspired by new ideas; and oversee the firm’s creative and media planning and buying teams.
As the chair of the Health and Wellness Practice, Brown has a decades-long understanding of health disparities and cultural nuances within the African American and Latino communities to concentrate on new business development targeting entities such as hospitals, healthcare plans, not-for-profit, government, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Her healthcare experience includes working with clients such as the Ad Council, American Cancer Society, California Department of Public Health, Covered California, L.A. Care, Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital, Novartis, the Office of National Control Drug Policy, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, among others.
“I am excited to start this new chapter of my career as president of an agency that has fulfilled me in so many ways and allowed me to make contributions to clients that target consumers (African American, Hispanic, and LGBTQ) that are important to me,” Brown said. “I look forward to partnering and collaborating with Kim in this new role to build upon the agency’s accomplishments and to continue developing and executing creative solutions for clients that position us for success in the future.”
In addition to client service and new business development, Brown will partner with the CEO to raise the firm’s profile and position the agency as a premier multicultural agency.
Brown is an integrated marketing communications (IMC) specialist with hands-on knowledge managing advertising, marketing and public relations accounts on a local and national basis for clients striving to effectively communicate to both African American and Hispanic consumers. She has worked with corporate, not-for-profit and government clients throughout her time at the agency including Carnival Corporation, California Department of Insurance, City of Los Angeles, Community Health Councils, MetLife, Southern California Edison, U.S. Army, and Verizon.
Brown holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism with an emphasis in public relations and a minor in business administration from Howard University in Washington, DC.
