NEW YORK—Montieth Illingworth has joined Ruder Finn to develop and lead a new practice group, Ruder Finn Financial, which will focus on the financial services sector, in particular commercial and retail banking, brokerage, insurance, fund management and the financial markets. The practice also targets the growing financial technology sector.
 
Illingworth joins Ruder Finn from TSI Communications Worldwide, a technology PR firm that is part of Golin/Harris International, where he built and led TSI’s e-business group, which represented Charles Schwab & Co. as well as a range of financial technology companies. In addition, Illingworth worked with IBM’s Internet division and represented clients in the content delivery, online learning, financial information, market data, enterprise software, insurance and defense sectors.
 
“With his diverse background and strategic leadership, Montieth will provide clients with the ideas and the communications tools they need to help make their business decisions successful,” says Richard Funess, president, Ruder Finn/Americas. 
 
Funess says Ruder Finn Financial will provide clients with a comprehensive set of marketing and communications services on a worldwide basis, beginning with a proprietary approach to developing communications strategy called “Value3.”  Value3 forms the basis for providing a set of integrated solutions designed around one core principle: enabling clients to achieve measurable competitive advantage.
 
The group has two clients already signed: a bank software solutions provider and a private equity fund.