All Abuzz about talk
My close friends know that I love a caffeine-induced buzz, bouncing-off-the-walls energy, ideas and thoughts buzzing around in my head, and feeling like I am on fast forward. That’s how I am feeling as I write this to share some buzz-worthy news.
Three years ago, I took the helm of the agency as CEO and Managing Partner. Together with my ride or die executive team members, Laura Hotten and Kristine Smith, we were at our best during some of the worst of times: managing through a pandemic, transitioning the firm to a remote office, navigating our clients through their own challenges, managing two high-profile referendums, and so much more. Alongside the most amazing team and our client partners, we came through it stronger and better.
This challenging period not only drove us to dig deeper professionally, it forced Laura, Kristine and myself to really consider our personal roles on the team and ultimately the kind of agency we wanted to be.
Having successfully come through it all (with the aid of a few Kir Royales and lots of coffee), I am thrilled to announce that I have acquired talkStrategy. That’s right—I am now the sole owner of the agency; a Latina, small business owner. My first course of business was to formalize the positions of my executive team, and I am also proud to announce Laura’s ascension to Chief Creative Officer/Chief Digital Officer; and Kristine’s elevated role as Chief Operating Officer/Chief Strategy Officer.
Anamaria Suescun-Fast, CEO and Owner
As I face my new roles as owner, entrepreneur, and CEO, I am proud to be backed by a fierce all-female executive team, a wicked-smart all-female leadership team, and sharp, creatives and account managers who inspire me each day.
As I reflect on my 30–plus-year career, I realize I have been training for this role my entire life. The majority of my career has been spent in agency life. I’m honored to have learned from some of the best in the business. For those reading this, you know who you are. And after more than 30 years, I still love it.
As I look to our future, I am feeling optimistic, and excited. There is a special secret sauce in how we collaborate and integrate within the team for the success of our clients. We have created something unique at talkStrategy and the following three thoughts come to mind.
talkStrategy has evolved into a full-service, fully integrated communications agency.
I started my career right out of college in 1991 as the secretary for the public relations department at Fiesta Texas. Public relations, public affairs and crisis communications will always be a foundational skill set for myself and of our agency services. However, successful communications today requires a sophisticated blend of earned, owned, and paid disciplines. So over the past several years, we have intentionally and successfully re-engineered the agency into a fully integrated, full-service firm, anchored by strategy. The talkStrategy team is at its best when we are creating strategy and executing campaigns through an integrated mix of public relations and marketing, traditional and nontraditional, among a highly curated channel mix.
We are growing.
The next chapter for talkStrategy is filled with executive team promotions, new client announcements, as well as familiar faces. I am beyond proud to announce that talkStrategy has been chosen as the marketing and communications agency of record for San Antonio’s Pre-K 4 SA. This is a huge honor for us, and we look forward to furthering their vision of developing a world-class workforce in one generation through high-quality early childhood education for all young children in San Antonio. As of this writing, we received word about two additional new clients that we are thrilled about. I am also excited to soon share our newest senior level addition to the leadership team. She’s a familiar face bringing extensive communications experience coupled with strong marketing know-how to the team, not to mention great energy and new ideas. (Stay tuned—I can’t give away all the good news at once!)
Flexibility, Balance, Spark.
We look forward to continuing to redefine traditional agency norms and structures. We have created a supportive environment and collaborative agency approach that fuels creativity, invigorates integration, embraces flexibility, and creates space for personal balance. We will continue to push ourselves to successfully meet—and exceed—the needs of our clients. And we will continue to push ourselves to be one step ahead of an ever-evolving marketing and communications ecosystem on behalf of our clients.
With Kristine and Laura by my side, we have big plans for talkStrategy. We are energized and ready to forge a new path ahead. A huge, heartfelt gracias goes out to all our clients, past and present, who have placed their trust in us and inspired us to evolve into the agency we are today. And, to the entire talkStrategy team for their continued trust in me, let’s do this!