PR Newswire Names Marco Franca Vice President of Latin American Markets
Strategic appointment will enable PR Newswire to enhance in-region presence
PRNewswire
NEW YORK

PR Newswire has appointed Marco Franca to lead its expansion in the strategically important Latin American region, the company announced today.

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A vice president reporting to Chief Executive Officer Charles Gregson, Franca, 44, will oversee integration of the recently acquired Notilog media monitoring and analysis business with PR Newswire's existing services that support public relations and investor relations professionals in the region.

"Marco comes to PR Newswire with significant operational expertise in the region, and solid experience in identifying key acquisition opportunities for growing Latin American businesses," said Gregson. "PR Newswire's Latin American practice has enjoyed great success over the past 10 years, and Marco is the person to build upon this success and create an in-region presence second to none."

PR Newswire was the first commercial newswire to establish offices in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico to serve the communications needs of local organizations. In July, the company completed its acquisition of Notilog, the leading Latin American media monitoring firm.

Franca will be responsible for PR Newswire's strategic business operations in Latin America, including driving existing business and identifying growth opportunities through acquisition and organic means. In addition to managing operations in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, he will expand businesses spanning Central and South America -- Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela -- and the Caribbean.

"The communications marketplace in Latin America is growing exponentially each year," said Franca. "Latin American organizations have increasingly sophisticated communications needs, and it is my goal to make sure that PR Newswire's in-region services continue to meet these needs.

"The tools that we currently offer and will continue to build upon -- news distribution, media monitoring and intelligence services -- allow communications professionals -- both in-house and on the agency side -- to focus on their strategic communications programs, while leaving the tactical implementation of the strategy to us," said Franca.

Most recently, Franca was a partner in Aquila Brasil, a Sao Paulo-based consulting company focused on providing executive-level interim management services. Prior to this, he was chief operating officer of Fidelity BPO Brasil, a business process outsourcing (BPO) company focused on back-office document processing for financial institutions in Brazil. Earlier in his career, Franca was a partner in DealMaker, a consulting company offering business development, interim management, strategic consulting and mergers and acquisitions services. He has also held strategic business, marketing and sales roles within the following organizations: .comDominio, Intelig Telecom, French-based Onduline, National Medical Care, and Jim Walter Corporation.

PR Newswire has offered Latin American companies and agencies unsurpassed communications services in-region since 1998. In addition to providing global news distribution through its industry-leading digital network which reaches tens of thousands of newsrooms, more than 85,000 specific journalists, and millions of individual investors, consumers and other interested parties, PR Newswire also offers communications professionals access to the largest distribution to Latin American media -- both general and trade -- via wire and email. In July, PR Newswire acquired Notilog, the leading Latin American media monitoring company that revolutionized the way Spanish- and Portuguese- language print, broadcast and online news is tracked and simultaneously analyzed. In coming months, PR Newswire will begin to offer other leading services in Latin America such as its social media and search engine optimization tools; media targeting database, MEDIAtlas™; online press center tool, MediaRoom; expert database, ProfNet(SM); multimedia and broadcast services; numerous ROI reporting services; and business intelligence services.

Senior executives in PR Newswire's Brazil, Mexico and Argentina offices will report directly to Franca, and new positions in the region will be filled in the coming months to service local clients.

About PR Newswire

PR Newswire Association LLC (http://www.prnewswire.com/) provides electronic distribution, targeting, measurement and broadcast services on behalf of tens of thousands of corporate, government, association, labor, non- profit, and other customers worldwide. Using PR Newswire, these organizations reach a variety of critical audiences including the news media, the investment community, government decision-makers, and the general public with their up- to-the-minute, full-text news developments.

Established in 1954, PR Newswire has offices in 13 countries and routinely sends its customers' news to outlets in 135 countries and in more than 40 languages. Utilizing the latest in communications technology, PR Newswire content is considered a mainstay among news reporters, investors and individuals who seek breaking news from the source. PR Newswire's leading services include ProfNet Experts(SM), eWatch™, MEDIAtlas™, Search Engine Optimization, MediaRoom, MediaSense™, MultiVu™, U.S. Newswire, the preeminent policy newswire in the industry, and Vintage Filings, the fastest growing Edgar filing company. PR Newswire is a subsidiary of United Business Media plc of London.

CONTACT: Rachel Meranus, Vice President, Public Relations, PR Newswire, +1-201-360-6776 or rachel.meranus@prnewswire.com

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CONTACT: Rachel Meranus, Vice President, Public Relations of
PR Newswire, +1-201-360-6776, or rachel.meranus@prnewswire.com