Cooksey Communications
Jason Meyer, left, and Colby Walton
Cooksey Communications said on Thursday in a news release that Colby Walton and Jason Meyer had fully acquired the Irving-based strategic communications agency.
The transaction fulfills the multi-year succession plan put in place by Gail Cooksey, who founded the company in 1994. The company’s name and branding will remain unchanged.
Walton, who began his PR agency career at Cooksey Communications in 1998 and was named a partner in 2015 and most recently served as president, has been named Cooksey’s chairman and CEO. Meyer joined the firm in 2011, also became a partner in 2015, and most recently served as executive vice president. He has been elevated to president.
Gail Cooksey has been named chairman emeritus.
“Over nearly three decades, our agency earned a well-deserved reputation for providing communications solutions with extraordinary attention to detail, and Gail thoughtfully assembled a team of experts with diverse skill sets who are deeply dedicated to their craft,” says Walton in a statement. “Jason and I are honored to have been entrusted with leadership roles in recent years and to build on that legacy as she now retires. We are committed to sustaining the agency’s unmatched service ethos and enriching its collaborative culture as we continue helping clients navigate their most critical stakeholder communications issues.”
Walton and Meyer have more than four decades of combined experience in public relations and marketing communications.
Walton is a Duke graduate (history and public policy studies) and earned a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law before joining Dallas-based Haynes and Boone LLP’s business development department in 1997. During his 23-year tenure at Cooksey, Walton helped establish and grow the agency’s proficiency in professional services marketing and municipal communications for clients facing an array of complex, high-stakes public relations issues.
Meyer, a U.S. Navy veteran and an alumnus of the University of North Texas (bachelor’s in business administration), was hired on at Cooksey in 2011. Meyer brought with him communications experience in the field of national and local politics as well as in education.
Walton and Meyer have been involved in numerous professional and community service organizations, including leadership positions and memberships in a number of groups, including Fort Worth Chamber and Leadership Fort Worth.
“Thanks to Gail’s thoughtful succession plan and our talented Cooksey teammates, what clients can expect is stability and a smooth transition with respect to service delivery and their interactions with us,” says Meyer. “Day-to-day account teams remain the same, and our commitment to the agency’s clients absolutely remains the top priority. At the same time, we are closely monitoring the latest issues emerging in each of our core focus areas so we can anticipate and address future communications challenges, including by partnering with high-quality, aligned professional services providers to offer creative solutions that comprehensively meet clients’ evolving needs.”
Says Cooksey: “As I reflect on the last 28 years, it has been a privilege to build Cooksey Communications with Colby’s and Jason’s invaluable assistance, plus the contributions of so many others. I’m thankful for the relationships we have developed and the outstanding reputation we have earned. I am also completely confident that Colby and Jason will provide strong, capable leadership. They have already demonstrated a clear capacity for doing so in recent years, during which time they have been entrusted with significant duties as they became partners and as I eased back from active agency management. There is no doubt that Cooksey’s clients and colleagues are in great hands.”