NEW YORK – January 19, 2023 – ICR, a leading strategic communications and advisory firm, today announced that it has hired senior industry veterans Lee Pacchia, Esq. and Joan Vollero as Managing Directors in its Special Situations Practice Group. They will join a growing team of communications advisors, where Mr. Pacchia will focus on bankruptcy and corporate restructuring and Ms. Vollero will focus on litigation support communications.
ICR’s Special Situations Group provides comprehensive strategic communications around crises and other corporate events such as M&A, activist defense, proxy contests, and executive transitions that require dedicated teams of experts to help inform, educate and persuade key stakeholders to achieve critical company objectives. With their deep category expertise and proven advisory backgrounds, the addition of Mr. Pacchia and Ms. Vollero will complement the existing Special Situations team and strengthen their ability to provide premier advisory services across ICR’s client base of more than 1,000 public and private companies.
“To protect reputation and valuation in times of crisis, corporations must deploy a team of advisors with the range of experience to manage all aspects of the issue at hand,” said Tom Ryan, Co-Founder & CEO, ICR. He added, “Our multifaceted teams regularly advise clients on how to address complex situations. Our Special Situations team helps clients manage through challenging situations, whether it is a reduction in force, an out-of-court restructuring, distressed M&A, complex litigation, or another unplanned event. Adding Lee and Joan to our team is another key step in our commitment to helping our clients manage the communications around those situations.”
“We are excited to have Joan and Lee join ICR. They will be valuable additions to our Special Situations team and they will provide us the opportunity to represent an increasingly wider spectrum of clients across a broad range of communications needs. In the current business climate where companies are increasingly facing restructurings, litigation and other crisis situations, their experience and expertise will be of great value to our clients,” stated Phil Denning, head of ICR’s Special Situations Group.
Mr. Pacchia has nearly 20 years of experience in the bankruptcy and restructuring industry having most recently served as a Director at Traxi, a consulting firm specializing in providing financial and operational advisory services to organizations in bankruptcy, restructuring, turnaround and crisis. Following completion of his law degree, Mr. Pacchia clerked for the U.S Bankruptcy Court before joining Bloomberg as a journalist covering bankruptcy and the legal industry where he also established a multimedia group within Bloomberg Law, a leading media platform in legal journalism. Mr. Pacchia earned a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University, a law degree from New York Law School and was admitted to the bar in New York and New Jersey.
Ms. Vollero has over 20 years of experience in communications and public affairs, most recently focusing on crisis and litigation support as Senior Vice President at communications firm Prosek Partners. She brings significant experience navigating clients through criminal and civil court matters, particularly relating to class- and mass-action. Prior to her career in public relations, Ms. Vollero spent 11 years in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, where she was a senior advisor to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. during his three terms in office, leading communications and external affairs. Joan also ran Prosecutors Against Gun Violence, a national, non-partisan organization of 50 leading prosecutors. Ms. Vollero began her career in broadcast journalism, serving as a political producer for NY1 News. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University and a master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
About ICR
Established in 1998, ICR partners with its clients to execute strategic communications and advisory programs that achieve business goals, build awareness and credibility, and enhance long-term enterprise value. The firm’s highly-differentiated service model, which pairs capital markets veterans with senior communications professionals, brings deep sector knowledge and relationships to approximately 1,000 clients across more than 20 industry groups. ICR’s healthcare practice operates under the Westwicke brand (www.westwicke.com). Today, ICR is one of the largest and most experienced independent communications and advisory firms in North America, maintaining offices in New York, Norwalk, Boston, Baltimore and Beijing. Learn more at www.icrinc.com. Follow us on Twitter at @ICRPR and LinkedIn.
Contact
Brian Ruby, ICR, 203-682-8268, brian.ruby@icrinc.com
