PR & Marcom Industry Veterans Launch
McDougall Travers Collins
New Firm Offers Senior-Level Reputation Counsel to Businesses Worldwide

ROCHESTER and BUFFALO, N.Y., September 22, 2011 — Public relations and communications executive Mike McDougall today announced he is partnering with Buffalo, N.Y.-based marketing communications agency Travers Collins to form a new firm. McDougall Travers Collins (MTC) focuses on domestic and international businesses that require senior-level strategic counsel and execution to restore, protect and enhance their brands.

McDougall Travers Collins is headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., and will closely collaborate with Travers Collins, which has grown to 40 people since its founding in 1995.

“Over the past several years, Bob Travers, Bill Collins and I have discussed joining forces when the time was right,” said McDougall, MTC’s managing partner. “After spending nearly a decade in corporate leadership roles, it became increasingly clear that there’s a growing need for deeply experienced reputation counsel – peers who have walked in the shoes of our clients.”

McDougall was most recently the global vice president of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs for eye health giant Bausch & Lomb Incorporated, helping steer the organization through a highly tumultuous period. From 2003 to 2007, he served as worldwide public relations director and worldwide market development director for Eastman Kodak Company’s consumer digital business, driving a renewed appreciation for the company’s consumer electronics portfolio and underlying technologies. Earlier in his career, he advised more than 50 entrepreneurial ventures, mid-sized businesses and Fortune 100 enterprises while holding leadership roles at Buck & Pulleyn, Inc. and Giles Communications.

“In today’s high-pressure, high-return business environment, there’s no substitute for experienced leadership,” noted Collins, principal of Travers Collins. “Adding Mike’s expertise in global affairs as well as multiple business-to-business and consumer industries complements the senior team we’ve cultivated in our Buffalo office. This collaboration is a win for our current and future clients across the region and around the world.”

The firm’s reputation-related services include public relations, social/digital media development, employee communications, advertising, marketing communications, investor relations and corporate philanthropy management. It will operate under the McDougall Travers Collins brand from its Rochester operations, while the Buffalo office will retain the Travers Collins brand. Supplementing their in-house expertise, both firms have direct access to an extensive network of agency partners across six continents. For additional information, visit www.McDougallTC.com.

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Headquartered at the Larkin at Exchange Building, Travers Collins (www.traverscollins.com) is one of Buffalo-Niagara's largest locally owned and operated marketing communications firms, employing a staff of 40. Travers Collins has expertise in advertising, public relations, investor relations and digital strategies. Founded in 1995, the firm is a member of one of the leading networks of advertising agencies, the Transworld Advertising Agency Network (TAAN).