Matt Labov is bolting BWR to start his own one-man PR shop — and is taking most of his A-list, comedy-heavy clients with him.
Labov, whose roster includes Sacha Baron Cohen, Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Steve Carell and Jon Stewart, had recently been promoted co-president of BWR, along with Leslie Sloane Zelnik.
He’ll go it alone — with an assistant — in Los Angeles, he told TheWrap on Wednesday. He said he was still working on the name of the new agency.
It’s been a tough few months for Hollywood’s top PR shops, in terms of retaining talent.
Immediately after PMK/HBH announced its merger with BNC in December, a significant group of top publicists — co-CEO Simon Halls, Stephen Huvane, Robin Baum and Andy Gelb — chose to split, founding Slate PR with fellow PR vet Ina Treciokas.
Editors Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified Jennifer Allen as having joined Slate PR. She left PMK along with her colleagues, but started her own shop, Viewpoint, along with former colleague Melissa Kates.
