Italian communication agency Negri Firman opens offices in London, Los Angeles

Tracy Le Marquand has been appointed managing director of the Los Angeles office, while Catherine Bowman and Cloudia Charalambos are the joint managing directors of the London office. Chris Constable remains in charge of Negri Firman New York, and Ottavio Gallone continues in the role of managing director of the agency’s Milanese headquarters.

 

The new offices’ directors will be working alongside the agency’s team of international executives specialised in management consulting, public relations, digital innovation, influencer marketing and event management.

“We have 50 employees globally, but we are looking for more because we are growing fast. Thanks to the London and LA offices, we have taken on a few major contracts, and we have 10 open positions. Interviews are being conducted to add to the three employees already active in London, and the four in Los Angeles,” said Silvia Negri Firman talking to FashionNetwork.com. She stated the agency had been “determined to open” new offices in order to “convey our deep understanding of our clients’ needs and of how global communications are evolving and transforming. The job of a press office is no longer limited to producing press releases and PR activity, it is now integrated by eclectic digital marketing services,” added Milan-born Negri Firman.

 

The daughter of a renowned 1950s and 60s graphic designer, Negri Firman studied as a lawyer, but soon enrolled in a fashion design school. After a year working as an assistant and stylist for a Milanese photographer, she met Karla Otto and joined her communication agency, where she worked on product launches by Jean Paul Gaultier, Jil Sander and Prada. A few years later, she decided to move and joined Giorgio Armani as an all-round PR executive, curating anything from store design and window displays to runway shows, advertising campaigns and magazine features. After the birth of her first child, she moved to Alberta Ferretti as head of communication, then to Calvin Klein, before having a second child and meeting the Capasa brothers. They named her worldwide head of communication of their Costume National label, for which Negri Firman produced international events and helped design clothes for pop icons like David Bowie and the Rolling Stones.

 

Negri Firman wants her global agency to “have soul. From early on, people mattered for me: from my experiences with Giorgio Armani and Calvin Klein to Jane Goodall and his Holiness the Dalai Lama, personal connections have always come first,” she said. In a note, Giorgio Armani himself said he remembers “with affection” the times when Silvia used to work for him. “She was just at the start of her career then, and I am very pleased to see how she has grown, and how successful her PR company has become. I like to think that perhaps what she learned at that time helped her achieve success,” added Armani.

 

The Negri Firman agency generated a revenue of €7 million in 2022, “but thanks to the openings in Los Angeles in the summer and London at the end of November, we are expecting to grow significantly in 2023. In addition, we have signed a number of new partnership contracts starting this year,” concluded Negri Firman.