Peter Finn, former co-chief executive of Ruder Finn, announced the launch of Finn Partners early in 2011, ending months of speculation and creating a third brand within the Ruder Finn Group (following the launch of RF|Binder, led by sibling Amy Binder, a decade earlier). Explaining the decision to split from the firm he had led with sister Kathy Bloomgarden, he cited a desire to return to his entrepreneurial roots—“the leader of an independent agency can follow his own vision and create the kind of culture he believes in”—and to create a work environment that ranks among the best in the industry, one where “every member of staff will be a partner.”

The new firm launched with a staff of around 160 spread across five US offices, and fee income of around $25 million. The leadership includes six senior partners from Ruder Finn: Richard Funess, who was president of Ruder Finn Americas; Howard Solomon, who leads the firm’s west coast operations; Alicia Young, head of the Ruder Finn technology practice in New York; Gail Moaney, who heads the firm’s travel and tourism business; and Noah Finn, who will lead the digital practice.

Launch clients included the Jamaican Tourist Board, IEEE, Liz Claiborne, Logitech, The North Face, Rosetta Stone, StubHub, Vonage, Whitney Museum of American Art, and a recently-added corporate responsibility assignment for Korean automaker Hyundai, and in short order the firm announced new business wins including assignments from Marsh, one of the world’s leading insurance brokers and risk advisers, for executive visibility and thought leadership/content marketing outreach in the US; and CTIA–The Wireless Association, an international organization representing the wireless communications industry, to promote the association and its trade shows.

The firm has particular strength in the technology arena, but has capabilities spanning all of Ruder Finn’s practice areas, including digital and social media, consumer, travel and economic development, global issues, the arts, and public and corporate affairs. It has offices in New York (home to slightly more than half of its 160 employees); Chicago; Washington, DC; and Los Angeles and San Francisco (where the 2010 acquisition of LA-based Rogers Group gives it about 60 people in the two California offices).

The firm will also have an office in Israel, and will continue to have access to the Ruder Finn Group’s international operations, which include offices in London and Paris and an extensive network in the Asia-Pacific region.