type subsidiary industry public relations marketing services founded cleveland ohio u.s. 1927 1927 founder john w. hill headquarters new york city new york u.s. number of locations 90 offices in 52 countries 2013 area served worldwide key people jack martin global chairman and ceo services marketing communications corporate communication digital marketing full list of services parent wpp group website www.hkstrategies.com hill knowlton strategies is a global public relations consulting company headquartered in new york city united states with 90 offices in 52 countries . the company was founded in cleveland ohio in 1927 by john w. hill and has been led since 2011 by chairman & ceo jack martin . it is owned by the wpp group . contents 1 history 1.1 early history 1.2 1980s and 1990s 1.3 2000s to present 2 current operations 3 recognition 4 controversies 5 references 6 further reading 7 external links history edit early history edit john hill founder of hill knowlton c. 1960 the company that became hill knowlton strategies was founded in 1927 by newspaper reporter and businessman john hill in cleveland ohio . hill s first two clients were cleveland based union trust company and the otis steel company . 1 2 when union trust company was shutdown by the great depression in 1933 hill hired its former director of advertising and publicity don knowlton and they together established hill & knowlton of cleveland . 1 hill moved to new york city in 1934 to open a new hill & knowlton office . knowlton remained in cleveland and operated the original location until his retirement in 1964 . 1 hill served as chairman and chief executive until 1962 but remained on the firm s policy committee and continued to go into the office until shortly before his death in 1977 . 3 starting in the 1930s the firm became known for its representation of steel manufacturers which it also did during the steel strike of 1952 . 2 4 the company also represented the dairy industry during congressional debates on margarine regulation in the late 1940s . 4 5 other early clients included the tobacco industry which the firm worked for when smoking was first publicly linked to cancer in 1953 as well as many other industries including the aircraft industry the american shipbuilders council the national retail dry goods association the national fertilizer association and soap producers . 4 5 6 7 when hill died in 1977 the company had 560 employees with 36 offices in the united states and 18 abroad . 3 1980s and 1990s edit the firm acquired in 1980 by the jwt group one of the largest advertising agencies at the time . 2 8 following the acquisition hill & knowlton continued to operate as an independent entity under the jwt group . 8 the company expanded to china in 1984 9 and acquired both gray & company and carl byoir & associates two public relations firms with a national presence in the united states in 1986 . 2 10 11 jwt was acquired by the wpp plc a london based marketing and communications holding company in 1987 . 2 12 in 1989 hill & knowlton acquired canada s largest pr agency the public affairs resource group . 13 also during the late 1980s hill & knowlton represented the bank of credit and commerce international bcci during its money laundering scandal hill & knowlton s work was investigated by a u.s. senate subcommittee and allegations made that the firm had pressured regulators to not investigate the bank though no evidence was found to support the claims . after bcci was convicted of money laundering the firm severed their relationship with bcci . 1 14 hill & knowlton was hired in 1990 by citizens for a free kuwait a group predominantly funded by the government of kuwait 1 10 15 to assist its campaign for u.s. intervention in response to the invasion and annexation of kuwait by saddam hussein s ba athist regime . 2 16 17 the firm arranged for a kuwaiti girl nayirah to testify in october 1990 to the human rights caucus of the united states congress about events she had allegedly witnessed . 16 she reported seeing iraqi soldiers kill babies in a kuwaiti hospital 17 but it was then learned that she was the daughter of the kuwaiti ambassador to the united states and her story was false . 1 15 16 18 hill & knowlton was accused of spreading false information to increase support for the gulf war which the company denied . 17 19 19 the company received around 10 million for their work for citizens for a free kuwait . 1 16 18 hill & knowlton represented the church of scientology from 1987 until may 1991 . 20 21 the ever litigious church of scientology then sued the firm claiming that their contract was terminated because hill & knowlton was pressured to do so by eli lilly and company a client of jwt . eli lilly and company produce the drug prozac which the church staunchly and publicly opposed . the matter was settled out of court . 10 20 22 2000s to present edit the firm continued to expand through acquisitions in the 2000s including the acquisition of a portion of argentine company vox consulting in 2000 23 miami based public relations agency samcor in 2002 24 and a majority ownership of the hong kong based rikes communications in 2008 . 25 in 2010 the company opened three new offices in china as well as new offices in india and colombia . 26 in 2009 the firm opened its first office in nairobi in partnership with kenyan company scangroup . 27 in january 2011 hill & knowlton announced a merger with public strategies another wpp company founded in austin texas in 1988 . 12 28 in december 2011 the firm was rebranded as hill knowlton strategies 29 29 29 30 30 current operations edit services provided by h k strategies include public relations public affairs media relations digital communications marketing communications content development and marketing corporate advisory corporate reputation management business to business communications risk and crisis management and crisis training research product launch support global brand positioning lobbying and grassroots campaigning . 31 32 33 as of late 2014 h k strategies is headquartered in new york city and operates more than 80 offices in nearly 50 countries . 31 34 35 36 37 the current leadership includes chief executive officer and global chairman jack martin and americas president and chief executive officer mike coates . 38 39 as of 2014 the firm employed approximately 2 500 people worldwide and had reported annual revenue of between 350 and 400 million . 40 the firms clients reportedly represent fifty percent of fortune 500 companies . 41 the company serves a variety of industries including automotive banking and finance energy governments sports marketing healthcare and pharmaceuticals technology communications consumer goods and services food and beverage and the travel leisure and tourism industry . 31 42 the company has also worked with governing bodies federations and sponsors for every olympic games since the 2000 summer olympics in sydney . 30 recognition edit from 2008 to 2012 h k strategies worked for the special court for sierra leone to draw attention to the court s work prosecuting war criminals in sierra leone . the court was able to raise more than 12.5 million in financing and convict former liberian president charles taylor . in 2013 the firm s work was included in prweek s list of great work of the last 15 years . 43 controversies edit as described above a number of firm s clients over its history have been involved in controversial events . these include the tobacco industry in the 1950s and 1960s 44 the bank of credit and commerce international from 1988 90 the government of kuwait in the lead up to the gulf war and the church of scientology from 1987 1991 . the company has also been criticized for representing governments seeking to improve their reputations while being accused of human rights violations such as indonesia turkey maldives and uganda . 7 45 the company is one of a number of firms engaged by fracking interests in recent years . 46 references edit a b c d e f g scott m. cutlip 2013 . the unseen power . routledge . isbn 9781136690006 . retrieved 5 october 2014 . a b c d e f jeffrey goodell 9 september 1990 . what hill & knowlton can do for you and what it couldn t do for itself . the new york times . retrieved 5 october 2014 . a b 18 march 1977 . john w. hill 86 dies ; led hill & knowlton the new york times a b c karen miller . business and economic history volume 24 pdf . business history conference . retrieved 5 october 2014 . a b karen miller 1999 . the voice of business hill & knowlton and postwar public relations . university of north carolina press . p. 70 . isbn 0807824399 . retrieved 5 october 2014 . richard pollay 1990 . publicity and american culture . public relations review . pp. 40 52 . retrieved 5 october 2014 . a b goodell jeffrey 9 september 1990 . what hill & knowlton can do for you and what it couldn t do for itself . new york times . retrieved 10 january 2011 . a b j. walter thompson to acquire all assets of hill and knowlton . the globe and mail . 12 february 1980 . retrieved 5 october 2014 . philip h. dougherty 3 october 1984 . hill & knowlton to open peking office . the new york times . retrieved 5 october 2014 . a b c the pr problem at hill & knowlton . bloomberg businessweek . 1 september 1991 . retrieved 5 october 2014 . george lazarus 6 august 1986 . hill & knowlton byoir make deal . chicago tribune . retrieved 5 october 2014 . a b kirk ladendorf 15 november 2010 . public strategies merger with h & k creates global pr powerhouse . austin american statesman . retrieved 5 october 2014 . george lazarus 15 february 1989 . h & k acquiring canadian pr firm . chicago tribune . retrieved 5 october 2014 . bruce horovitz 21 august 1991 . ethics questioned in pr work for clients such as bcci colombia . los angeles times . retrieved 5 october 2014 . a b tom regan 6 september 2002 . when contemplating war beware of babies in incubators . the christian science monitor . retrieved 5 october 2014 . a b c d phillip knightley 4 october 2001 . the disinformation campaign . the guardian . retrieved 5 october 2014 . a b c deception on capitol hill . the new york times . 15 january 1992 . retrieved 5 october 2014 . a b john stauber 2004 . toxic sludge is good for you . constable & robinson limited . isbn 1841199540 . retrieved 5 october 2014 . a b stuart elliott 14 may 1992 . a dispute in the public relations industry . the new york times . retrieved 5 october 2014 . a b cassandra burrell 25 march 1994 . scientology to face hill & knowlton . timesdaily . retrieved 5 october 2014 . patrick j. kiger july 1994 . monkey business pdf . regardie s. retrieved 5 october 2014 . wayne garcia 7 july 1994 . church of scientology settles suit with pr firm . st. petersburg times . retrieved 5 october 2014 . argentina hill & knowlton acquires vox consulting . south american business information . 3 november 2000 . retrieved 5 october 2014 . elaine walker 10 june 2002 . hill & knowlton acquires south florida public relations agency . tribune business news . retrieved 5 october 2014 . hill & knowlton acquires majority