ICR, a strategic communications and advisory firm, hired senior industry veterans Lee Pacchia, Esq. and Joan Vollero as managing directors in its special situations practice group. They will join a growing team of communications advisors, where Pacchia will focus on bankruptcy and corporate restructuring and Vollero will focus on litigation support communications.
ICR’s Special Situations Group provides strategic communications around crises and other corporate events such as M&A, activist defense, proxy contests and executive transitions that require dedicated teams of experts to help inform, educate and persuade key stakeholders to achieve critical company objectives. With their deep category expertise and proven advisory backgrounds, the addition of Pacchia and Vollero will complement the existing special situations team and strengthen their ability to provide advisory services across of ICR’s client base of more than 1,000 public and private companies.
“To protect reputation and valuation in times of crisis, corporations must deploy a team of advisors with the range of experience to manage all aspects of the issue at hand,” Tom Ryan, co-founder and CEO of ICR, said. “Our multifaceted teams regularly advise clients on how to address complex situations. Our special situations team helps clients manage through challenging situations, whether it is a reduction in force, an out-of-court restructuring, distressed M&A, complex litigation or another unplanned event. Adding Lee and Joan to our team is another key step in our commitment to helping our clients manage the communications around those situations.”
“We are excited to have Joan and Lee join ICR. They will be valuable additions to our special situations team and they will provide us the opportunity to represent an increasingly wider spectrum of clients across a broad range of communications needs. In the current business climate where companies are increasingly facing restructurings, litigation and other crisis situations, their experience and expertise will be of great value to our clients,” Phil Denning, head of the special situations group at ICR, said.
Pacchia has nearly 20 years of experience in the bankruptcy and restructuring industry having most recently served as a director at Traxi, a consulting firm specializing in providing financial and operational advisory services to organizations in bankruptcy, restructuring, turnaround and crisis. Following completion of his law degree, Pacchia clerked for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court before joining Bloomberg as a journalist covering bankruptcy and the legal industry where he also established a multimedia group within Bloomberg Law, a leading media platform in legal journalism.
Vollero has more than 20 years of experience in communications and public affairs, most recently focusing on crisis and litigation support as senior vice president at communications firm Prosek Partners. She brings significant experience navigating clients through criminal and civil court matters, particularly relating to class- and mass-action. Prior to her career in public relations, Vollero spent 11 years in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, where she was a senior advisor to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. during his three terms in office, leading communications and external affairs. Vollero also ran Prosecutors Against Gun Violence, a national, non-partisan organization of 50 prosecutors.
