Barry Finkelstein is vice president and director of public relations for Erwin-Penland, one of the Southeast’s largest full-service marketing firms and a division of Interpublic Group’s Hill|Holliday. He brings more than 20 years of experience to his role, overseeing a team that manages PR duties for such clients as Denny’s, Bojangles’, BI-LO Supermarkets, Lennar Homes and Hanesbrands’ Barely There line of women’s intimates.
A recognized expert in media relations, crisis communications and strategic PR planning, Barry began his career in Atlanta working with global PR firms Fleishman-Hillard and MS&L, serving such clients as Anheuser-Busch, General Motors, Champion Sportswear and Mattel Corp. He also established the first in-house PR department at one of the Southeast’s largest residential developers and later joined the Atlanta office of integrated marketing agency MRA Group, where his clients included The Athlete’s Foot and Bio-Lab Pool & Spa products.
Barry joined Erwin-Penland in 2001 and has helped the PR team win numerous awards and more than triple in size during his tenure. In 2008 he took a brief detour to join Pittsburgh’s MARC USA, one of the nation’s largest independent full-service agencies, directing PR efforts for a diverse client roster including Rite Aid, All-Clad Cookware and the American Dental Association. He returned to EP in 2010, the same year the agency was recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in PR by leading industry publication PR News, and most recently expanded EP’s PR capabilities by establishing a presence in New York City to better serve the agency’s national clients.
In addition to overseeing day-to-day PR activities for Erwin-Penland and its clients, Barry serves on the agency’s senior management team, participates in business development efforts and contributes to EP’s Diversity & Inclusion Council. He also sits on the Carolinas Council of the American Association of Advertising Agencies and is a past board member of both the Georgia and South Carolina chapters of the Public Relations Society of America.
