Carlyle appoints head of PR for Americas

The Carlyle Group has hired Ellen Gonda, formerly a financial communications director at PR firm Brunswick Group, to lead its public relations efforts in North and South America. It is part of a larger expansion that will double the size of Carlyle’s global communications department.

The Carlyle Group has hired Ellen Gonda for its newly created post of director of communications for North and South America.

Gonda was previously a director for corporate and financial communications at international communications consulting firm Brunswick Group. There, she advised firms in the midst of crisis situations, particularly involving transactions and restructurings. Before, she worked at US public relations firms Gavin Anderson & Company and Abernathy MacGregor.

“Bringing in an experienced person like Ellen to effectively be my deputy in these regions will enable me to do more strategic thinking and brand positioning,” Carlyle director of communications Chris Ullman told PEO.

At Carlyle, Gonda will oversee day-to-day communications matters in the Americas regions, effective 3 December.

Ullman said that the decision to create Gonda’s position was driven by a dramatic increase in the volume of Carlyle’s business in recent years, and a corresponding increase in the demands on his department.

“In the six years that I’ve been here, we’ve septupled assets under management, tripled the size of our staff, tripled the number of funds that we have and added new geographies and products,” Ullman said. “With each of these additions, whether it’s geographies, products or people, there’s a commensurate need to be able to communicate to different constituencies what we’re doing.”

The expansion of Carlyle’s communications team will likely result in three more hires, one in London and two in Asia, Ullman said. Currently, Ullman and just three others handle public relations for the firm.