Burson-Marsteller, a leading global public relations and communications firm, announced that Brett Pulley has joined the firm as a Senior Advisor. Pulley will work closely with senior leadership to build business and strengthen client relationships.
Pulley is the Dean of the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications at Hampton University, a 147-year-old historically black university in southeastern Virginia. Before joining the university in 2012, Pulley spent three years covering the media and entertainment industries at Bloomberg L.P., the global information services, news and digital media company. Formerly a Senior Editor at Forbes, Pulley wrote many cover stories for the magazine on topics ranging from the legendary Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to the entertainment giant The Walt Disney Co. Earlier in his career, Pulley spent five years at The New York Times as a national correspondent and as a local reporter covering politics and economic development. His work at The Times was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He also spent five years as a correspondent at The Wall Street Journal covering the airline industry and national urban affairs.
“Brett is an extraordinary addition to Burson-Marsteller, as he joins us with decades of experience as an award-winning journalist, author and educator,” said Michael Law, U.S. CEO, Burson-Marsteller, to whom Pulley will report. “His diverse background across journalism and academia and his commitment to mentoring the next generation of communications professionals will be extraordinary assets to our clients and staff. We are thrilled to have an individual of Brett’s calibre join our firm.”
“Brett’s deep experience working in and covering the world’s most influential media businesses has given him an unparalleled understanding of the dramatic forces transforming the world of news and information,” said Donald A. Baer, Worldwide Chair and CEO, Burson-Marsteller. “His insights, coupled with his great judgement, far-reaching network and management experience at one of America’s top communications schools will make Brett an extraordinary resource at Burson-Marsteller.”
Pulley has received numerous journalism awards, including two first place annual prizes from the National Association of Black Journalists, one in 1994 and another in 2002. He has appeared frequently as a guest on television programmes, providing commentary and insight on media and entertainment industry issues, and is the author of “The Billion Dollar BET” (John Wiley & Sons, April 2004), a book that takes an in-depth look at Black Entertainment Television and its founder Robert L. Johnson.
“It’s an incredibly exciting time to be in the communications field,” added Pulley. “Traditional journalism and media are melding with public relations, creating a hybrid profession that is as much about developing original content as it is about the distribution of information.”
