Skip to main content

For several decades, Franco has had deep experience providing communications and marketing support for automotive clients. Auto/mobility remains a core industry focus for our agency, and we’ve since expanded to providing integrated communications services to not only our auto clients, but clients across all industries.

Our commitment to delivering the best partnership and services to clients is now strengthened with the addition of Brent Snavely, a well-respected journalist and communications professional who joins Franco as our vice president of media relations.

In this new role, Brent will leverage the skills he acquired working in newsrooms and in the PR industry to provide media relations strategy and counsel to Franco’s automotive and B2B clients. He will also support Franco’s overall media relations approach and best practices, along with providing crisis communications strategy to clients.

A little bit about Brent…

Brent is a veteran journalist and communications expert with more than two decades of experience. Prior to transitioning to the PR industry, he spent 23 years as a journalist. He was a reporter for nine years at the Detroit Free Press, nine years at Crain’s Detroit Business and six years at newspapers in the Columbus, Ohio metro area.

At the Detroit Free Press, Brent covered the restructuring of Ford Motor Co. while Alan Mulally was CEO and, later, the restructuring of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles while Sergio Marchionne was CEO. In 2011, Brent was part of a team of reporters who won a Gerald Loeb Award for coverage of the UAW’s groundbreaking contract talks with General Motors. He also served as a key member of the paper’s team of reporters that chronicled Detroit’s descent into and out of Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

In his most recent role at Lambert & Co., Brent led account teams primarily for automotive and crisis communications clients.

Brent’s addition to the team is an exciting milestone that’s aligned with our agency vision, and Tina and I are very optimistic about the value he will bring to our team members and client partners. His vast experience will enable us to maintain our status as a leader in automotive communications while also ensuring our commitment to providing the best partnership and services to our clients.

In preparing for this new role, Brent shared this feedback:

“I’m very excited to join Franco! I have known and respected Tina Kozak for more than 15 years, and I’ve also respected Franco for 20 years. I’m looking forward to working with Franco’s talented team and engaging with the agency’s impressive clients. This new role provides me with an opportunity to take everything I’ve learned about public relations over the past five years and apply it in new ways in a role that is designed to capitalize on my strengths and the things I am passionate about: team building, mentoring and maintaining and strengthening ties with journalists in Michigan and in the automotive industry.”

Brent SnavelyVice President of Media Relations

Connect with Brent on Twitter or LinkedIn to stay updated on his work at Franco.

Tina Benvenuti Sullivan is president and COO at Franco. Connect with her LinkedIn.