Exclusive: Penta Group names Jim O'Leary as CEO
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Jim O'Leary is departing Weber Shandwick to join corporate advisory firm Penta Group as CEO.
- Penta co-founder and current CEO Matt McDonald will continue to serve on the firm's board and will work closely with O'Leary as he steps into the role this summer.
Why it matters: O'Leary's departure from a large holding company to a smaller, private equity-backed advisory firm speaks to the shifting PR agency landscape.
Catch up quick: O'Leary served as Weber's North America CEO and global president since 2023 and helped guide the PR giant through the recent IPG-Omnicom merger.
- Before joining Weber, he spent more than 15 years at Edelman, where he most recently was U.S. chief operating officer and global corporate affairs practice chair.
What they're saying: "I've been advising CEOs and others across the C-suite for decades now," O'Leary told Axios. "And they are increasingly faced with consequential decisions across all of the risk domains — whether that's reputational risk, political risk, financial risk, cultural risk, technological risk. And I think that in the modern risk era, it requires a different approach."
- "If you sat down with a clean sheet of paper and you designed the modern corporate advisory firm of the future from scratch, it would look a lot like Penta."
State of play: Penta Group was originally founded as Hamilton Place Strategies in 2009 by President George W. Bush administration alums McDonald, Tony Fratto and Stuart Siciliano.
- In 2022, Ballast Research, Hamilton Place Strategies, Flag Media Analytics, Alva, Gotham Research Group and Decode M merged to create Penta.
- Since then, Penta acquired the global public affairs firm Hume Brophy and brand communications consultancy Copperfield Advisory.
- In 2025, Los Angeles-based investment firm Shamrock Capital acquired Penta Group for an undisclosed amount.
- "Legacy agencies built on geographic breadth and traditional marketing services models are giving way to something different: expertise-driven, technology-native advisory firms built to move at real-time speed," said Laura Held, partner and member of the executive committee of Shamrock Capital.
- Penta on Tuesday laid off 37 people, less than 10% of its staff, according to a person familiar with the cuts. The news was earlier reported by Politico.
The big picture: The agency landscape is undergoing a rapid reset, as holding companies consolidate their PR offerings to drive scale and reevaluate those bets.
- Private equity deals in the space have surged, with money pouring into strategic comms advisory firms Penta, FGS Global, Teneo, Narrative Strategies and Bully Pulpit International.
- At the same time, a wave of senior talent is breaking away from the traditional PR model to launch specialized, high-touch boutique firms. Also notable is a rise in fractional work, collectives and independent consultants.
What to watch: AI is likely to shake things up further.
- Penta previously told Axios it brought in over $100 million in revenue in 2025, half of which is attributed to its proprietary AI, data and predictive analytics work.
- With new leadership and a recent influx of private equity cash, the firm is expected to continue to scale across public affairs, financial communications and advisory services using an AI-enabled strategy.
