Reflecting on our Growth and Recent Promotions
By: Angie Robinson
There are times when running an agency, you must stop, be present, and recognize what is happening around you. This is one of those moments.
When we officially announced the promotions of Cory Van Auken to Chief Operating Officer, Suzanne Hermann to Vice President of Client Services, and Katie Richter to Director of Outdoor PR this week, I worked on the release announcing it to the trade. While writing the release, I wanted to share the excitement of this shift in leadership while also highlighting the amazing growth we continue to see without sounding too braggy. The thing is, there were so many things I wanted to say that just weren’t press release-appropriate. That’s why Cory suggested I write this letter for The Darby Edit.
To start, I learned from our founder, Coral Darby, early on that an agency is only as good as its people and that you have to take care of those people above everything else. Those people, our team, are the ones who are getting after it every day and doing everything it takes to keep a client happy because they genuinely care. I’m not sure people understand the level of passion it takes to work in PR. Without that passion, you could never give 100% to your clients, the media, and your team, which is necessary to produce good work and get results. During my time here at Darby Comm, I’ve been lucky enough to help build a team of passionate people, and Cory, Suzanne, and Katie are prime examples of those kinds of people.
L to R: Cory Van Auken, Suzanne Hermann, Katie Richter
Cory joined Darby in 2018 as an Account Executive.
If you work with Cory, you know he gives every task his all. We often ask in the office – where does he find the time to research new services, build out amazing presentations, develop our entire reporting system, advise on accounts, and still be an amazing dad who spends quality time with his kids and write hilarious anecdotes on his blog The Shunpike. We don’t know the answer, but I’m extremely grateful for his hard work.
As our new COO, Cory will only continue to throw his passion into running the operations of this agency and making sure we’re prepared for whatever is around the next corner.
Suzanne hit her 10-year mark with us this year, which is a pretty big deal in the agency world.
To celebrate, she got her 10-year Darby-versary canoe and a cake with her face on it. Suzanne and I have worked closely for years (our offices have been side by side for at least 5 years), and she is dependable, wise, and the person everyone on the team goes to when they need advice. Every day, I witness her passion for the industry and our agency.
As VP of Client Services, she’ll leverage that passion to lead and mentor our client team and oversee the quality and consistency of everything that leaves this agency.
Katie came in as an Account Coordinator back in 2018 (right around the same time as Cory) and has worked her way through every level of the account team.
She’s the project manager on many of our flagship outdoor accounts, and most recently she started serving on the Outdoor Media Summit steering committee. Katie genuinely lives the lifestyle of the clients we represent, and if you’ve ever been on a media trip she planned and executed, then you’ve experienced her passion for it.
There is no one better to move into the Director of Outdoor PR role than Katie, and I know she will excel at leading our outdoor department and developing the next generation of outdoor PR talent here.
Before I wrap up this way too long letter from the President, I have to acknowledge I’ve been with the agency for over 16 years now, and it is crazy to me that we’re about to celebrate our 20th anniversary. Since 2010, Coral Darby has trusted me to work alongside her and help grow this agency to where we are today. During that time, she has taught me so much of what it means to be a leader, and her influence of putting people over profit can be found throughout the work we do. Darby Comm is where it is today because of Coral and this amazing team, who put their passion for PR and the outdoor, hunt, fish, and endurance industries into all the work they do.
These promotions are a reflection of our team’s passion and a statement about where we’re headed. As we open our next chapter of growth across outdoor, hunt, fish, and endurance, we have a team that’s ready for it.
