Sitrick Adds Dennis Kneale, Former Anchor at CNBC and Fox Business Network, Managing Editor of Forbes and Sr. Editor at WSJ and Stuart Pfeifer, Healthcare Journalist at LA Times, As Members of the Firm

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sitrick And Company has added two more experienced and accomplished journalists to the firm and hired a new Director of Research.

Dennis Kneale, a distinguished print and broadcast journalist who was an anchor and senior correspondent at CNBC and Fox Business Network after serving as managing editor of Forbes magazine and as a senior editor at The Wall Street Journal, has joined the New York office of Sitrick as a Member of the Firm.

Stuart Pfeifer, a well-respected biotech and healthcare journalist at The Los Angeles Times, has joined the Los Angeles office as a Member of the Firm.

Robin Mayper also joined the firm in its Los Angeles office as Director of Research after more than 25 years as a media researcher, 18 of them at The Los Angeles Times.

Michael Sitrick, founder, chairman and CEO of Sitrick And Company, said the addition of Messrs. Kneale and Pfeifer is in response to the firm's overall growth and in keeping with its philosophy of hiring top professionals, primarily journalists. They join a roster of reporters and editors from such media outlets as The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Bloomberg News, NBC and CBS Television. He said the addition of Ms. Mayper will bring an important added resource to the firm's ability to obtain and utilize information and data for its clients' needs.

"We are extremely pleased to be able to add individuals with the track records and depth of experience that Dennis Kneale, Stuart Pfeifer and Robin Mayper bring to our team of former journalists, business executives and attorneys," Mr. Sitrick said.

Mr. Kneale formed media-strategy consulting firm Dennis Kneale Media in early 2014 after spending six years at CNBC and Fox Business Network. For the nine years prior he was at Forbes magazine, where he served as the sole managing editor.

He started his career at The Wall Street Journal, where he rose to senior editor and oversaw much of the paper's coverage of AIDS breakthroughs that won a Pulitzer Prize in 1997. He focused on technology, media & entertainment, healthcare & science, and Wall Street and private equity.

"I have worked on the other side of the desk from Dennis for more than 15 years," Mr. Sitrick said, "and from the start I was impressed with his intellect, abilities and breadth of knowledge."

In 2009, while anchoring a nightly post-recession meltdown show on CNBC, Mr. Kneale accurately called the end of the Great Recession and began urging investors to buy stocks one month after what turned out to be the market bottom.  At Fox, in addition to serving as a correspondent and anchor, he was a frequent contributor to Greta Van Susteren's "On the Record" and "Forbes on Fox", and created "What's Bugging Me," a twice-weekly opinion segment.

"When a company has a serious public relations issue – whether it is a merger or acquisition, litigation or a reputational issue, as a journalist I have seen how important it is to have the best," Mr. Kneale said. "I never planned on a career in public relations, but Sitrick is not a traditional PR firm. Mike Sitrick is the best in the business. I have watched him do it for almost 20 years. It is a compelling opportunity to now work with the master."

Mr. Kneale began his career in journalism at the News/Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Mr. Kneale has been honored as a distinguished alumni of the University of Florida, where he graduated with a degree in journalism, and a member of the Hall of Fame of the student newspaper, The Independent Florida Alligator.

"Business is under scrutiny -- and often under direct fire -- like never before, thanks to 24/7 cable, the Internet, Twitter and Facebook," Mr. Kneale said. "Companies need help telling their story. I am delighted to join Sitrick And Company in that pursuit."

Mr. Pfeifer joins Sitrick after a career of more than 25 years as a newspaper journalist. He was a staff writer with The Times from 2000 to 2015, most recently covering biotech and pharmaceutical companies, healthcare and hospitals for the Business section. Mr. Pfeifer reported on the riots that followed the Rodney King verdicts, the Orange County bankruptcy, and several high-profile trials. He was also part of a team of reporters awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2004 for coverage of a series of devastating Southern California wildfires. His other assignments at the paper included coverage of legal affairs, law enforcement and government. Prior to that, he was staff writer at The Orange County Register. Mr. Pfeifer holds a bachelor's degree in communications from California State University, Fullerton.

"While Stuart's experience is much broader than biotech and healthcare, his in-depth knowledge in this area will be of significant benefit to the firm's current and future clients," Mr. Sitrick said. "I'm thrilled that Stuart is joining the firm to help clients in this critical component of the nation's economy. Having served on the boards of biotech and pharma companies and as public relations counsel to numerous other companies in those fields, Stuart's expertise in this area was immediately evident."

As a news researcher for The Los Angeles Times, Ms. Mayper investigated the backgrounds of individuals, companies and government agencies that were subjects of news coverage. Ms. Mayper worked extensively on The Times' coverage of corruption in the city of Bell, for which The Times was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2011. She assisted in the reporting of numerous page one stories, including allegations of sexual harassment against former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and stories about entertainer Michael Jackson.

Ms. Mayper's work involved every section of the newspaper: sports, business, entertainment, national, and international news. She supported the daily work of the newspaper, locating hard-to-find sources for reporters, researching business, government and court records, and fact-checking. She is skilled at background checks, locating individuals, researching court and legal records, financial, regulatory and government filings. Prior to her work with The Times, Ms. Mayper spent eight years as a researcher and librarian with the law firm Cummins & White in Los Angeles. She holds a master's degree in library science from the University of Southern California and a bachelor's degree in history and classics from University of the Pacific.

Based in Los Angeles with offices in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C., Sitrick And Company was founded by Michael Sitrick 27 years ago and is recognized as one of the nation's top strategic public relations firms. Best known for its handling of crises and other sensitive matters, the firm has a successful business in corporate, financial and transactional communications, as well. It has advised more than 1,000 public and private companies, organizations and individuals on myriad issues. It was acquired as a wholly-owned subsidiary by Resources Connection, Inc. RECN in November 2009.

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SOURCE Sitrick And Company, Inc.