New York, September 5, 2023 – Morrow Sodali (the “Firm”), the global stakeholder engagement and ESG consulting firm, today announced that Barri Rafferty has been named CEO, Americas and as a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee. In this newly created role, Rafferty will oversee the Firm’s operations in North and South America. Rafferty is based in Stamford, CT and New York, NY, and reports to Alvise Recchi, Morrow Sodali’s Global Chief Executive Officer.
“As we continue to grow and expand our platform, we are focused on adding exceptional leadership talent to our team,” said Recchi. “Barri has global experience as a senior leader at dynamic companies and a track record of enhancing sales, building organizational effectiveness, and creating collaboration across teams. I am excited to welcome Barri to Morrow Sodali and am confident she will drive the growth of our Americas franchise.”
Rafferty joins Morrow Sodali after serving as Head of Communications and Brand Management for Wells Fargo and as CEO and President for Ketchum. She is known for her effectiveness modernizing organizations and positioning them to meet the challenges of today’s marketplace. She is also a strong advocate for persity and inclusion and served as a fractional interim CEO of C200, a non-profit committed to inspiring, educating, supporting, and advancing women entrepreneurs and corporate, profit-center leaders. She has also served as a strategic consultant for start-up and mid-sized companies scaling their businesses and aligning organizational structures toward effective and efficient growth through Rafferty Consulting.
“I am excited to work closely with the leadership team at Morrow Sodali and our investors at TPG to continue to grow this global corporate consultancy and leverage the Firm’s recent acquisitions in ESG and sustainability advisory services,” said Rafferty. “As stakeholder relations becomes more complex, corporate governance and activism more pronounced, and the need for companies to take stands on ESG topics more controversial, Morrow Sodali has a unique role to play in enhancing corporate value.”
Rafferty joins Morrow Sodali at a time of considerable momentum for the Firm. With support from TPG and following a significant investment from TPG Growth, the firm’s middle market and growth equity platform, Morrow Sodali has made several highly strategic acquisitions. This includes acquiring HXE Partners and Framework ESG, two market-leading ESG strategy and implementation advisory firms, and Citadel Magnus, an Australian financial communications and investor relations agency. The Firm remains focused on being a global acquiror-of-choice across our core services.
“Barri is a proven leader with a strong track record and we are confident she will help position Morrow Sodali for further growth,” added Ransom Langford, Partner at TPG. “We are pleased to partner with Barri as we continue building and broadening the Firm’s suite of stakeholder engagement and ESG consulting services.”
“Morrow Sodali’s team is the driving force behind the Firm’s success and Barri brings considerable experience attracting and retaining exceptional and perse talent,” added Rachel Stern, EVP, Chief Legal Officer and Global Head of Strategic Resources at FactSet and Morrow Sodali Board Director. “Together with the leadership team and our partners at TPG, we are focused on advancing Morrow Sodali’s position as a world-class professional services firm, with clients at the center of everything we do.”
Rafferty has been recognized as a NYWICI Matrix honoree, Provoke Influence 100, PRWeek Outstanding Agency Professional and named multiple times to PRWeek’s “Power 50” list. She was recognized with the Flex Leader Award, persity & Flexibility and has spoken on gender parity at the World Economic Forum and TedxEast. She also serves on the board of C200.
