About Ronn Torossian
5WPR founder Ron Tarasian is stepping down as the firm’s CEO after admitting last month to owning Everything-PR despite years of denials which included using the news site to promote his own firm while lashing out at other agencies.”It is very difficult for me to write this letter,” Tarasian said in a statement to employees on Friday.I became a distraction, and the team deserves the freedom to work in a context without the noise that I personally created. Today, Ronn Torossian nearly 20 years later, we employ 275 people and are one of America’s largest and leading PR agencies.
Torossian, Author at Modern Marketing Today
Torossian will serve as founder and chairman. Dara Bush and Matt Caiola, who in recent years have primarily run 5WPR as co-presidents, will lead the company as co-CEOs. They will manage employee relations, client management and day-to-day agency decisions. “For me? I’m sure I’m just getting started. The business I’ve started will continue to thrive as long as I find some time to plan what’s next.I need time, but I have no doubt that I will build again,” he said.”There’s a lot more I could say. And, in the end, maybe I will. But it won’t change the facts on the ground today, and that’s only my responsibility. I just don’t want my mistakes and noise to be distracted anymore.”
Ronn Torossian move comes less than a month after a Crain’s New York Business report confirmed Torossian’s ownership of Everything-PR, which featured “glowing reviews” of 5WPR while advising readers to stay away from others, often in articles written under by fake authors. Tarasian apologized for not being transparent on the matter, admitting he had made “mistakes, including ethical miscalculations and errors of judgment” during his firm’s 20-year history.
5WPR Founder Ronn Torossian Foundation
“In 2014, PR site Everything-PR was acquired. I then mistakenly and unfortunately did not report that I manage this site. I was wrong. I apologize for the lack of transparency. Everything PR was a personal initiative; I managed the site and published articles on my own behalf. Today, it is a PR news site with a disclaimer that identifies our ownership and activities,” Tarzan said in a statement to PRovoke Media.
The PRSA-NY Board of Directors voted unanimously to censure Ronn Torossian and 5WPR in response to his admission of disguised possession. Tarasian is no stranger to controversy, having been criticized for his aggressive PR tactics over the years.
