Our Team
Prosper Group is a consultancy of former agency owners who have built, grown and sold successful PR and Comms agencies. We created this executive collaborative on the foundation of “For Current Agency Owners by Former Agency Owners.”
Alex Halbur
Managing Partner
Alex is a former owner of award-winning firms including Healthcare Firm of the Year (Holmes) and Creative Agency of the Year (PR Week). After starting his career at various Omnicom agencies with the role of helping them grow, Alex eventually co-founded and built two independent agencies that were successfully sold to Omnicom. After completing a highly successful earn-out and integration, Alex has devoted his career to helping independent agency owners achieve success with their agencies. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside with a BS in Business Management.
David Bosses
Partner, M&A Practice Leader
David has led agency M&A transactions for more than 20 years and is experienced in all equity-related deals. Additionally, David has served as CFO/COO to multiple agencies providing invaluable guidance to his partner CEOs. He has a track record of identifying risks and opportunities while maximizing profitability. David’s expertise includes: financial management, agency operations, commercial negotiations and performance analytics. He began his career at Interpublic directing M&A terms negotiation, financial analysis and due diligence. He earned his JD and MBA from Villanova University.
Kathy Cripps
Senior Counselor
Kathy was president of the PR Council, the industry trade association, for 14 years where she worked with CEOs, CFOs, COOs and HR on industry issues; she built learning and development programs for PR agency employees at all levels, and guided procurement. She founded, built and sold a mid-sized healthcare PR firm. Kathy has also held leadership positions in health care and consumer marketing at Burson-Marsteller and Hill & Knowlton. While on the PRSA Foundation Board, she focused on diversity in public relations. She received her MBA in Marketing from Fordham University and was inducted into the International Communications Consultancy Organization (ICCO) Hall of Fame.
Rich Jernstedt
Senior Counselor
Rich has more than 40 years of agency experience. During his 26 years at Golin (12 as CEO), he helped it grow from a single office to a global firm. He joined FleishmanHillard (including serving as CMO); launched his own firm; and was a full-time consultant to Porter Novelli. He’s been a board member of the Page Society and the Institute for Public Relations, as well as chairman of the PR Council. He is currently a member of the board of Communication Leaders of Chicago and was the The Plank Center’s Legacy Award honoree in 2019 for his career-long commitment to mentoring. Rich graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism.
John J. Seng
Senior Counselor
John brings 25 years of entrepreneurial savvy and 35 years of PR expertise to our clients. His vast experience makes him an effective counselor on client service, management, and branding. He founded and sold two healthcare PR firms: Spectrum Science Communications and GLOBALHealthPR. He now serves on the Board of Visitors of the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. In 2015 he was elected to the Arthur W. Page Society of Communications Counselors.
Virginia Devlin
Senior Counselor
An accomplished CEO and entrepreneur, Virginia is an expert in business differentiation and transformation; P&L management, mergers, and market expansion; new business and organic growth strategies; client service best practices; talent management; and culture development. She grew Current Global from a boutique consumer agency into a $40 million global powerhouse with expertise in corporate, consumer, healthcare, and technology marketing. Virginia’s honors include Publicity Club of Chicago Lifetime Achievement award, PRSA Chicago Professional of the Year, and PRWeek Woman of Distinction. She served on the boards of the Institute for Public Relations, PR Council, and PRSA Chicago. Virginia graduated from Northern Illinois University with a degree in Journalism.
Ken Jacobs
PCC, CPC, Senior Counselor, Leadership Coach
Ken is a leading executive coach for agency owners and senior managers. He has held senior leadership roles with Ogilvy & Mather PR and Marina Maher Communications. Ken earned his professional certification from the distinguished Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC). He writes “Taking the Lead” the monthly leadership column for PRSA’s Public Relations “Strategies & Tactics”. He is an honors graduate of Syracuse University’s S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
William Gibbons
Counselor
Bill has spent 30 years in media as a journalist, editor and senior marketer for magazine, digital and streaming video media businesses. He held senior positions at Condé Nast, Hearst, Forbes, American Express Publishing and CBS Digital where he developed strategies that drove advertising revenue and reader/viewer engagement on behalf of brands. He now advises marketers and agencies on content practice development, content monetization, and increasing client and audience engagement through digital outreach. He is a graduate of Syracuse University where he studied Journalism and English Literature.
“Because of Prosper Group, I’ve been able to realize this dream for my companies beyond my wildest expectations. If it weren’t for them, it would be a different outcome.”
John Seng
Spectrum Science Communications, Inc.
