Cunningham Communication Explained

Cunningham Communication, Inc. was a prominent public relations firm in Silicon Valley in the 1980s and 1990s that had many well-known clients in high-tech,^{[1] [2]} including Adobe, Cisco, Motorola, PeopleSoft, Hewlett-Packard, and the IBM Consumer Division.^[3] It was founded by Andy Cunningham in 1985, after she left Regis McKenna.

Cunningham Communication developed the Momentum Management methodology^[4] that was documented in the book Momentum: How Companies Become Unstoppable Market Forces by John Volkmann and Ron Ricci.^[5]

In 1999, Cunningham Communication was reorganized into five subsidiaries with their own separate brands - Cunningham Public Relations, the Brand Momentum Group, the Momentum Research Group, Cunningham Ventures, and Fifth Gear.^[6] The firm was acquired in 2000 by Incepta and renamed Citigate Cunningham.^[7] After the dot-com bubble burst, the five companies were brought back together under the Citigate Cunningham brand.^[8] Andrea Cunningham stepped down from her position as CEO in 2003 to form CXO Communication.^{[9] [10]}

Incepta merged with Huntsworth in 2005. In 2009, Huntsworth, merged Citigate Cunningham with Connecting Point Communications.^[11] The remnants of the firm are now part of Grayling Communications.

Recognition

• Ranked 412 in Inc. Magazine's 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies in 1991

Notable alumni

• Andy Cunningham, Founder of ZERO1 and currently the Founder and President of Cunningham Collective
• Zach Nelson, President and CEO of NetSuite^[12]
• Ron Ricci, Vice President, Executive and Customer Engagement at Cisco, and noted co-author of The Collaboration Imperative: Executive Strategies for Unlocking Your Organization's True Potential and Momentum: How Companies Become Unstoppable Market Forces^[13]
• John Volkmann, former Vice President of Corporate Communications at AMD and co-author of Momentum: How Companies Become Unstoppable Market Forces
• Andrew Wittman, Former Chief Marketing Officer of CA Technologies and currently the Chief Marketing Officer of Okta^[14]
• Julie Meyer, American born entrepreneur and inventor
• Nick Sturiale, Managing Partner, Ignition Partners
• Dan Race, Vice President of Corporate Communications, GoDaddy
• Brett Murray, Vice President of Marketing, View, Inc.
  • Amanda McPherson, Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President of Developer Programs, The Linux Foundation Hadley Wilkins, Head of Marketing, Redpoint Ventures and former Executive Vice President, U.S. Technology Practice at Hill+Knowlton Strategies
• Mary Moslander, President and CEO of LiveHealthier, and former Vice President of Strategy and Product Development for The Washington Post^[15]
• Maxine Friedman, Senior Vice President of Bionic Solution

External links

• Cunningham Communication Website (Web archive May 10, 2000)
• Grayling Connecting Point Website
• The Collaboration Imperative

Notes and References

1. [Fast Company (magazine)|Fast Company]
2. Kawasaki, Guy (1992). Selling the Dream, p. 172. (Google Books). Retrieved June 4, 2013.
3. https://web.archive.org/web/20000510230543/http://www.cunningham.com/f_clients.html Cunningham Communication Clients
4. https://web.archive.org/web/20000613041633/http://www.cunningham.com/f_momentum.html Momentum Management Methodology
5. http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/3151.html Momentum: How Companies Become Unstoppable Market Forces
6. PR Week, November 22, 2013 Cunningham set to grab dot-coms. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
7. The New York Times, July 27, 2000. THE MEDIA BUSINESS: ADVERTISING -- ADDENDA; 2 Agencies Agree To Be Acquired
8. The Holmes Report, February 18, 2001. Cunningham Announces Layoffs, Restructuring
9. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/New+Strategic+Communication+Firm+Formed+by+Industry+Veteran%3b+Andy...-a099100444 New Strategic Communication Firm Formed by Industry Veteran; Andy Cunningham Leaves Incepta to Form Privately Held Consultancy for Business-Critical Communication Assignments.
10. PR Week, March 24, 2003. Cunningham and Incepta part ways after three years. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
11. http://www.prweekus.com/huntsworth-acquires-connecting-point-folds-in-citigate-cunningham/article/156922/ Huntsworth acquires Connecting Point, folds in Citigate Cunningham
12. IT Business Edge, October 10, 2008. There's Method Behind Zach Nelson's Madness. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
13. Soundview Executive Book Summaries. Book Review
14. Web site: Andrew Wittman . . February 22, 2016.
15. http://www.livehealthier.com/who-we-are/the-livehealthier-team LiveHealthier Corporate Biographies