Cunningham Communication

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Cunningham Communication, Inc. was a prominent public relations firm in Silicon Valley in the 1980s and 1990s that had many well-known clients in high-tech,[1][2] including Adobe, Cisco, Motorola, PeopleSoft, Hewlett-Packard, and the IBM Consumer Division.[3] It was founded by Andy Cunningham in 1985, after she left Regis McKenna.

Cunningham Communication developed the Momentum Management methodology[4] that was documented in the book Momentum: How Companies Become Unstoppable Market Forces by John Volkmann and Ron Ricci.[5]

In 1999, Cunningham Communication was reorganized into five subsidiaries with their own separate brands - Cunningham Public Relations, the Brand Momentum Group, the Momentum Research Group, Cunningham Ventures, and Fifth Gear.[6] The firm was acquired in 2000 by Incepta and renamed Citigate Cunningham.[7] After the dot-com bubble burst, the five companies were brought back together under the Citigate Cunningham brand.[8] Andrea Cunningham stepped down from her position as CEO in 2003 to form CXO Communication.[9][10]

Incepta merged with Huntsworth in 2005. In 2009, Huntsworth, merged Citigate Cunningham with Connecting Point Communications.[11] The remnants of the firm are now part of Grayling Communications.

Recognition[edit]

  • Ranked 412 in Inc. Magazine's 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies in 1991

Notable alumni[edit]

  • Andy Cunningham, Founder of ZERO1 and currently the Founder and President of Cunningham Collective
  • Zach Nelson, President and CEO of NetSuite[12]
  • Ron Ricci, Vice President, Executive and Customer Engagement at Cisco, and noted co-author of The Collaboration Imperative: Executive Strategies for Unlocking Your Organization's True Potential and Momentum: How Companies Become Unstoppable Market Forces[13]
  • John Volkmann, former Vice President of Corporate Communications at AMD and co-author of Momentum: How Companies Become Unstoppable Market Forces
  • Andrew Wittman, Former Chief Marketing Officer of CA Technologies and currently the Chief Marketing Officer of Okta[14]
  • Julie Meyer, American born entrepreneur and inventor
  • Nick Sturiale, Managing Partner, Ignition Partners
  • Dan Race, Vice President of Corporate Communications, GoDaddy
  • Brett Murray, Vice President of Marketing, View, Inc.
  • Amanda McPherson, Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President of Developer Programs, The Linux Foundation
  • Hadley Wilkins, Head of Marketing, Redpoint Ventures and former Executive Vice President, U.S. Technology Practice at Hill+Knowlton Strategies
  • Mary Moslander, President and CEO of LiveHealthier, and former Vice President of Strategy and Product Development for The Washington Post[15]
  • Maxine Friedman, Senior Vice President of Bionic Solution

References[edit]

  1. ^ Fast Company. March 31, 1998. The Power of Public Relations
  2. ^ Kawasaki, Guy (1992). Selling the Dream, p. 172. (Google Books). Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  3. ^ Cunningham Communication Clients (Web archive May 10, 2000)
  4. ^ Momentum Management Methodology (Web archive May 10, 2000)
  5. ^ Momentum: How Companies Become Unstoppable Market Forces (excerpt). October 28, 2002. Harvard Business School.
  6. ^ PR Week, November 22, 2013 Cunningham set to grab dot-coms. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  7. ^ The New York Times, July 27, 2000. THE MEDIA BUSINESS: ADVERTISING -- ADDENDA; 2 Agencies Agree To Be Acquired
  8. ^ The Holmes Report, February 18, 2001. Cunningham Announces Layoffs, Restructuring
  9. ^ New Strategic Communication Firm Formed by Industry Veteran; Andy Cunningham Leaves Incepta to Form Privately Held Consultancy for Business-Critical Communication Assignments. (Press release)
  10. ^ PR Week, March 24, 2003. Cunningham and Incepta part ways after three years. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  11. ^ Huntsworth acquires Connecting Point, folds in Citigate Cunningham, November 3, 2009, PR Week
  12. ^ IT Business Edge, October 10, 2008. There's Method Behind Zach Nelson's Madness. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  13. ^ Soundview Executive Book Summaries. Book Review
  14. ^ "Andrew Wittman". LinkedIn. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  15. ^ LiveHealthier Corporate Biographies. Retrieved June 12, 2013.

External links[edit]