Bite Communications names new global CEO

Armitage will be leaving to start a new sister company to Bite, within umbrella group Next Fifteen. 

In her new role, Cunningham will be responsible for leading the 14-office global agency to grow the company and augment it with creative, content, digital and technology products. She will report to Tim Dyson, CEO, Next Fifteen. 

In January 2012, Cunningham took on the then newly-created position of president, Bite Communications North America.

A veteran with more than 30 years experience, Cunningham's CV includes handling Apple's PR during its early years and working with Steve Jobs on the launch of the original Macintosh and his NeXT and Pixar ventures. During her tenure she played a key role in launching a number of new categories, including video games, personal computers, desktop publishing, digital imaging, RISC microprocessors, software as a service, very light jets and clean tech investing.

"From working with Andy, the vision for the company is very much about providing marketing services, building on and taking the company past our PR roots," said David Ketchum, president of Bite Communications Asia-Pacific. 

In the year ahead, Ketchum sees opportunities for great global alignment within Bite Communications, with the Asia team contributing search expertise (following the acquisition of search company Red Bricks) while drawing on the web-development and design talent Bite has in the UK. 

"Key initiatives for 2013 will be rolling out a much-expanded set of marketing services around demand generation, strategy and insights as well as marketing data and analytics," said Ketchum. 

Bite Communications will not be dialing down on its PR offering, he clarified, but rather "fleshing it out into a full, rounded portfolio of marketing services".