A&R Partners Expands Government and Entertainment Practices; New Hires in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles Deepen Agency Expertise.

SAN MATEO, Calif. -- A&R Partners Inc., one of the nation's leading independent technology PR firms, has expanded its government and entertainment PR practices with new hires in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. Laura Taylor, previously senior PR manager at Sprint Nextel Inc. and a former chairperson of the High Tech Committee at the National Press Club, brings solid experience in government PR to A&R's Washington, D.C., staff. In Los Angeles, Michelle Gross, who led publicity efforts for the critically acclaimed talk show "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" during the show's first two seasons, brings a decade of experience in the Hollywood entertainment industry.

"Laura and Michelle bring a vast amount of PR experience in two fast-growing areas of our business and broaden our presence in the cities central to the government and entertainment industries," said Bob Angus, A&R Partners' president and managing partner. "This fuels A&R's continued growth into broader market areas where technology is a key component."

Taylor brings experience in successfully managing large-scale, complex PR programs. Prior to joining A&R, Taylor held several senior PR management positions at Sprint Nextel, where she played a role in merger and public sector communications. She focused on driving awareness for all federal, state and local government products and services initiatives. Preceding that, Taylor spent three years as an independent consultant, where she served in leadership positions at the National Press Club and cultivated government media relationships with key publications. She also worked in a communications capacity at EDS Government Industries Group, as well as other Washington, D.C., area companies such as USinternetworking Inc. and iBiquity Digital Corp.

"Laura knows how to create awareness for clients within the highly specialized ecosystem of government-focused public relations," said Angus. "She has an excellent grasp of government and military organizations and understands the audiences served by them."

In the entertainment sector, Gross joins A&R after serving as publicist for the Emmy Award-winning "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" for the past two years. There, she prepped the talk show host for press interviews and worked daily with key Hollywood entertainment press to drive both national and local awareness of the show. Prior to that, Gross worked for six years at the ABC Television Network, first as a publicist for the popular daytime drama "General Hospital," then as a manager, overseeing the publicity efforts for the spin-off series "Port Charles." She worked closely with production, directing, marketing and writing staff and coordinated communication efforts among ABC, actors and the media. Additionally, Gross served an integral role in promotional campaigns and events involving talent from the ABC daytime dramas, overseeing publicity campaigns with major corporate partners. Gross began her career at Rogers & Cowan in entertainment PR.

"As the entertainment world continues its love affair with consumer technology, A&R's entertainment practice has grown tremendously," said Maria Amundson, senior partner at A&R. "Michelle will open our presence in Los Angeles, bringing us her outstanding combination of creative thinking, pragmatic planning and an extensive network of relationships to help our clients reach their entertainment industry goals."

About A&R Partners

A&R Partners Inc. is a team of communications professionals and creative thinkers working with clients to raise visibility, build momentum and increase market advantage. The agency's clients are among the industry's most innovative and closely watched companies, from groundbreaking start-ups to industry leaders such as Adobe and Palm, Inc. In the past four years A&R has been named an "Agency of the Year" by PRWeek, The Holmes Report and by Adweek's Technology Marketing magazine. A&R also consistently ranks in the top 10 of the Holmes Report's "Best Agencies to Work For" survey.

With staff in Silicon Valley, New York, Denver, Portland (Ore.), Louisville (Ky), Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Research Triangle Park (NC), A&R offers complete public relations and investor relations programs, representing technology companies from groundbreaking startups to global leaders, representing all disciplines from business to consumer.