New public affairs and government relations expertise at H+K Canada

TORONTO, July 12, 2016 /CNW/ - On the heels of announcing that public affairs veteran Peter Donolo will join Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada (H+K), the firm is also pleased to announce additional strategic hires in the government relations space—for which it's traditionally the most well-known. Effective immediately, Mohamed Dhanani joins the public affairs group as vice-president, with Emmanuel (Manny) Morin, Gabe De Roche and Luca Bucci joining as senior account director, account director and senior consultant, respectively.

"Hill+Knowlton continues to have a thriving public affairs practice," says senior vice-president and practice lead Elizabeth Roscoe. "Growing the practice and helping it evolve in the ever-changing communications space across all levels of government—municipal, provincial and federal—is important for the firm's momentum and our clients' successes."

Mohamed, Gabe and Luca are all Toronto-based while Manny is in H+K's Ottawa office. Their public affairs expertise, deep understanding of integrated research and social media in public affairs strategies complements H+K's service offering.

Mohamed has extensive experience in government relations and strategic planning. His most recent position at His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan Shia Imami Council for Canada gave him an opportunity to work with all three levels of government and as a volunteer member of Mayor John Tory's Transition Advisory Council. He has held senior advisor roles within Queen's Park, and was the chair of the board of directors for the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network. With a master of public health degree from Yale University, Mohamed brings integrated health experience to the team as well.

An expert public affairs professional specializing in telecommunications, transportation, organizational development, human resources and procurement, Manny brings more than 15 years of experience of thoughtful, well-executed campaign experience to H+K. He is fluent in English, Spanish and French and has worked at a boutique public affairs firm, as well as with the Liberal Party of Canada—where he helped drive an impressive 21,000 vote swing. Manny was most recently the director of business development for Monster.ca.

Gabe is a seasoned public affairs strategist with an extensive network in the provincial and federal governments. Serving clients in the energy, economic development, health, financial services, non-profit and retail sectors, Gabe helps his clients position their policy issues to motivate action by government and elected officials. Prior to joining H+K, he held a number of senior leadership roles in the Government of Ontario, providing strategic communications, marketing, policy and stakeholder relations advice to top government cabinet ministers and ministries.

Luca has experience with the Ontario provincial and Canadian federal governments and joins H+K from the former Office of the Prime Minister of Canada where he was responsible for strategic planning, negotiation, logistical development and execution of events pertaining to the Prime Minister's domestic and international schedule. Prior to the PMO, Luca was a senior policy advisory and issues analyst in the Office of the Leader of the Opposition at Queen's Park where he supported the development of post-election policy and legislative strategy.

Hill+Knowlton Strategies
With nine offices across the country, Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada is a leader in both public relations and public affairs. Headquartered in Toronto, the company is the No. 1-rated strategic communications firm in the country. Its experts specialize in corporate communications, content marketing, research and measurement, public affairs, marketing communications, crisis, energy, technology, health care, social and digital communications, financial communications and transactions. The only communications firm to have earned the Canada Order of Excellence for Quality from Excellence Canada, it has been recognized as one of the Best Workplaces in Canada for 10 consecutive years. Its parent company, Hill+Knowlton Strategies Inc., has 87 offices in 49 countries as well as an extensive associate network; and it is a member of WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY), one of the world's largest communications services groups.

SOURCE Hill & Knowlton Canada

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