Edelman announced that Sonia Sroka has joined the firm as executive vice president and group head, in the New York office.
Leading a team of 15 specialists, Sroka will provide expert counsel to clients across the Edelman portfolio to reach diverse multinational and multilingual audiences. Additionally, Sroka will participate in Edelman’s US Multicultural and Diversity Task Force.
“As the so-called ‘general market’ becomes more and more culturally diverse, our goal is to make multicultural marketing a more integral part of our communications and consumer engagement strategies,” said Adrienne Hayes, general manager of consumer brand marketing, New York. “Sonia has the perfect mix of expertise, passion and vision to help us propel this practice into the future. It’s no longer a nice to have for brands, it’s a must have.”
Clients represented by the Edelman multicultural marketing team in New York include: Unilever, American Heart Association, Kimberly-Clark, AstraZeneca and Darden Restaurants.
Recently named one of PR Week’s “40 Under 40: Rising Stars”, Sroka was recognized as a high-achieving marketing communications executive and trailblazer of diversity and inclusion in the field. In her previous role as a Senior Vice President at Porter Novelli, she established the multicultural marketing group with an emphasis on the burgeoning Hispanic market. During her time at PN she managed global brands such as Procter & Gamble’s Gillette and Crest as well as Sony PlayStation, Hewlett Packard, Bayer, Microsoft and McDonald’s. She served as chairperson of Porter’s National Diversity Council and last year, the TORCH program which she helped to conceive and manage, won the “Diversity Distinction in PR Awards” from the Council of PR Firms and PRWeek. She also served two terms as the national chair of the PRSA’s Diversity Committee and sat on Omnicom’s Diversity Development Advisory Committee.
Sroka was also named to Profiles in Diversity Journal’s 2013 Women Worth Watching list, celebrated as a successful female executive who demonstrates outstanding achievements and leadership in her career. She was awarded the “2012 Multicultural Leadership Award of the Tri-State Area” by the Tri-State Diversity Council for demonstrating leadership excellence, sustaining a record of accomplishments, retaining commendable reputation and exhibiting a commitment to the highest ethical standards and professional excellence. Earlier in 2012, Sroka was named a CSR Professional of the Year by PR News, and a 2011 LATINA Corporate Executive of the Year by LATINA Style magazine, for excellence in corporate leadership, mentorship and dedication to working with the community.
“I am very excited to join the Edelman family for its innovative nature and rigorous focus on identifying the next economic growth opportunity for clients,” said Sroka. “The potential for brands to expand their offerings to the multicultural market is great. I look forward to working with our clients to help them engage these communities at the strategic level in order to establish loyalty and lifelong relationships.”