Andrew Leslie joins the Ottawa team as an associate

OTTAWA, ON – April 25, 2013 – Hill+Knowlton Strategies (H+K), Canada’s No. 1-rated public relations and government relations firm, today announces the appointment of Andrew (Andy) Leslie as an associate in the Ottawa office, effective immediately.

Before retiring in 2011, Andy was with the Canadian Armed Forces as the chief of transformation, leading a multidisciplinary team of military and civilian personnel. During this time,  Andy was responsible for completing the “2011 Report on Transformation”. He comes to H+K as an associate focusing on strategic consultancy with expertise in tactical advisory and cyber resilience. Andy will be able to advise the firm’s wide range of private- and public-sector clients across the country.

“Andy brings stellar experience from a 35-year career to our team,” says Michael Coates, chairman and CEO of H+K. “We continue to focus on diversifying our talent pool to meet our clients’ evolving needs. Andy represents the high  calibre of talent that H+K attracts, and we know that clients appreciate having access to the best of the best.”

During his career, Andy served at home and abroad with NATO and United Nations-dedicated forces in a variety of mission areas, and held senior positions in the former Yugoslavia. He returned to Western Canada as the area chief of staff in 1996, and subsequently led 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group during the ice-storm disaster relief operations in Québec in the late-1990s.

In 2003, as a major-general, Andy was deployed as the deputy commander of the International Security Assistance Force and Commander Task Force in Kabul, Afghanistan. In 2006, he was promoted to lieutenant-general and appointed chief of the land staff and commander of the land forces, a position he held for four years – during the height of the most recent Afghan war.

Andy has studied at Ottawa University, Royal Military College of Canada, University of London and the Harvard Business School, and has degrees in economics and strategic studies.

About Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada
With nine offices across the country, Hill+Knowlton Strategies is a leader in both PR and government relations. The company is the No. 1-rated strategic communications firm in Canada. It specializes in corporate communications, public affairs, marketing communications, crisis, energy, technology, health care, digital communications, financial communications and transactions. The only communications firm to have earned the Order of Excellence from Excellence Canada, it is also recognized as one of the 2013 Best Workplaces in Canada. Its parent company, Hill+Knowlton Strategies Inc., has 89 offices in 52 countries as well as an extensive associate network and is a member of WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY), one of the world’s largest communications services groups.