Burson-Marsteller Appoints David Vermillion As New York Public Affairs Market Leader

Burson-Marsteller, a leading global public relations and communications firm, announced today the appointment of David Vermillion as New York Public Affairs Market Leader and Deputy Public Affairs Practice Chair. Vermillion has more than 15 years of experience working in public affairs and political communications, specializing in the New York market. He was most recently Executive Vice President and New York Public Affairs Practice Leader at Edelman. Vermillion will be based in Burson-Marsteller’s New York office and will report to Mike Lake, Chair of the U.S. Public Affairs Practice.

Burson-Marsteller Appoints David Vermillion As New York Public Affairs Market Leader (Photo: Business Wire)

"David has a wide array of expertise in public affairs, political communications and media consulting that will enhance the practice’s entire client offering,” said Lake. "New York has always had a dynamic political landscape, and our clients will also benefit greatly from David’s knowledge of this bellwether market.”

At Edelman, Vermillion provided public affairs counsel to global corporate reputation campaigns and advised major foundations on communicating policy agenda. He led a regional campaign for New York City Off-Track Betting during its Chapter 9 restructuring. He also spearheaded a national campaign for the American Chemistry Council to promote plastic bag recycling and protect the industry from heavy regulation. This award winning public affairs campaign resulted in landmark environmental legislation in New York City.

"Burson-Marsteller continues to be at the forefront of the type of cutting edge public affairs and issues management work that has been the hallmark of my career,” said Vermillion. "I am proud to be joining a firm with such a rich public affairs tradition.”

Prior to joining Edelman, Vermillion was Vice President of Sheinkopf Ltd., a New York-based political and public affairs consultancy. At Sheinkopf, he served as a key strategist on a variety of sensitive communications campaigns and played a central role in the successful reelection campaign of New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. Vermillion began his career at Connelly & McLaughlin Communications, a boutique public affairs and lobbying agency.

Vermillion holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Fairfield University and a Master’s in Strategic Communications from Columbia University.

About Burson-Marsteller

Burson-Marsteller (http://www.burson-marsteller.com), established in 1953, is a leading global public relations and communications firm. It provides clients with strategic thinking and program execution across a full range of public relations, public affairs, reputation and crisis management, advertising and web-related strategies. The firm’s seamless worldwide network consists of 67 offices and 71 affiliate offices, together operating in 96 countries across six continents. Burson-Marsteller is a part of Young & Rubicam Brands, a subsidiary of WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY), one of the world’s leading communications services networks.

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