Jessica Kleiman Joins Sandow

GDA Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 11/13/2012 1:18:44 PM

NEW YORK - Sandow, parent company of Gifts and Decorative Accessories, has appointed Jessica Kleiman as executive vice president of communications.

In her new position, Kleiman will manage internal and external corporate communications as well as all PR efforts for the company and its various brands, including Culture + Commerce, Fred Segal, the Furniture Today Group, Interior Design, Luxe Interiors + Design, Material ConneXion, NewBeauty and Worth. Her appointment is effective immediately and she will report to Adam Sandow, chairman and CEO, Sandow. She will be based in New York.

Prior to joining Sandow, Kleiman served as vice president, public relations for Hearst Magazines, where she was responsible for all PR efforts for 20 consumer magazine brands in the US, including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper's Bazaar, House Beautiful, O, The Oprah Magazine and Town & Country, as well as the company's international, digital, brand development, integrated media and consumer marketing divisions. In 2000, Kleiman served as director of PR at The Knot (now called XO Group), the nation's leading wedding website and media company, where she managed the public relations and investor relations for the company's online sites, books, magazines, gift registry and products for nearly two years and helped lead the company to a successful IPO. Prior to The Knot, she spent four years at The Rosen Group, a magazine publicity firm.

"A seasoned PR and communications executive, Jessica brings her unique depth of experience in the media, digital, luxury and lifestyle sectors to our company," said Sandow. "Having worked with Jessica many years ago, where we helped build The Knot into a global wedding media company, I know that she's exactly what we need to take Sandow to the next level and help spread the word about our company's explosive growth and innovation."

Kleiman, a graduate of the University of Michigan, started her career as a freelance magazine and newspaper writer. In 2011, she published the career guide, "Be Your Own Best Publicist: How to Use PR Techniques to Get Noticed, Hired and Rewarded at Work" (Career Press) with co-author Meryl Weinsaft Cooper. Kleiman has lectured about publicity and promotion at various universities, conferences and professional organizations around the country and was nominated in 2011 as "Publicist of the Year" by PR News.

"I am thrilled to join Sandow, especially at such a pivotal time in the company's growth," said Kleiman. "Adam is a visionary entrepreneur who has built an amazing group of brands and I look forward to working with him and his team to communicate all of the company's innovative initiatives, both internally and externally."