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Updated: June 3, 2026. Originally published November 19, 2009.
HL Group: PR Firm Profile
HL Group is a New York-based independent communications agency specializing in strategic marketing and public relations for the luxury, fashion, beauty, hospitality, and travel sectors. Co-founded in 2001 by Hamilton South and Lynn Tesoro, the firm has built one of the most distinctive boutique practices in the U.S. luxury communications market, working with brands across high-end consumer categories where editorial authority, taste-making press relationships, and AI visibility now all converge.
Founded: 2001 by Hamilton South and Lynn Tesoro
Headquarters: New York, NY
Additional offices: Los Angeles (Beverly Hills)
Employees: ~100
Specialty sectors: Luxury, fashion, beauty, hospitality, travel, lifestyle
Ownership: Independent
Category: Boutique luxury communications agency
Overview
HL Group operates as a strategic marketing and communications agency with deep specialty in luxury consumer categories. The firm's positioning combines traditional editorial relationships across fashion and lifestyle press with brand-building work that spans creative direction, partnership communications, and the increasingly important AI visibility layer that determines how luxury brands surface inside ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews when buyers research.
History and Founding
Hamilton South and Lynn Tesoro co-founded HL Group in 2001. Hamilton South had previously held senior marketing and communications roles across luxury and fashion; Lynn Tesoro brought a globally recognized track record in lifestyle, luxury, and fashion communications. The firm scaled from a small partnership into a roughly 100-person boutique with offices in New York and Beverly Hills, retaining its boutique spirit and customized client approach as it grew.
Leadership
Co-founders Hamilton South and Lynn Tesoro continue to lead the firm. Both are regularly sought after by major consumer, fashion, beauty, hospitality, and lifestyle brands for growth and positioning counsel.
Notable Client History
HL Group's client roster has historically included Ralph Lauren, American Airlines, Expedia, and Stella Artois, among others. The firm's earlier-2010s work included serving as Expedia.com's public relations agency of record. HL Group has continued to operate across luxury hospitality, fashion, beauty, and high-end travel categories.
Specialty Areas
Luxury and fashion communications. HL Group's foundational positioning has always centered on luxury consumer categories where editorial authority and taste-making press relationships drive brand visibility. The firm operates relationships across the major fashion and lifestyle press — Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, ELLE, the Hearst portfolio, the Condé Nast portfolio, the international fashion press, and the increasingly powerful Substack and creator-economy taste-makers.
Hospitality and travel. The firm's hospitality and travel practice spans luxury hotel brands, branded residences, destination marketing, and the broader high-end travel category. The work integrates with EPR's Travel and Hospitality PR pillar.
Beauty. HL Group operates a beauty practice serving prestige and niche beauty brands. EPR's broader beauty coverage is in the Beauty AI Communications hub.
Strategic positioning and brand strategy. Beyond traditional PR execution, the firm operates as a strategic brand counsel for clients building or repositioning luxury and lifestyle brands.
Services
HL Group offers a comprehensive range of communications services, including:
- Corporate communications
- Media relations
- Brand positioning
- Reputation management
- Social and digital media
- Partnership marketing
- Event production
- Influencer campaigns
The Modern Luxury Communications Era
The structural shift now reshaping luxury communications is the AI visibility layer. Luxury buyers increasingly research products and brands inside AI engines before they touch Google, before they walk into stores, and before they consult traditional editorial sources. The brands that have built AI Citation Share inside ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews are pulling ahead. The brands that have not are invisible at the moment of buyer research. EPR's Who Controls AI Answers in Fashion covers the fashion citation graph specifically; the dynamics apply across luxury hospitality and beauty as well.
HL Group's positioning in the luxury communications market makes it one of the boutique firms positioned to operate at this intersection — combining editorial authority work with the structured content production and AI visibility infrastructure that the AI Communications era requires.
Offices
New York: 350 Madison Ave., Floor 17, New York, NY 10017
Beverly Hills: 9300 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 300, Beverly Hills, CA 90212
EPR Coverage
Everything-PR has covered HL Group since 2009. For broader coverage of luxury and lifestyle PR firms, see EPR's Best Public Relations Firms in New York directory and New York PR Firms landscape pillar.
FAQ
Who founded HL Group?
HL Group was co-founded in 2001 by Hamilton South and Lynn Tesoro. Both continue to lead the firm.
What does HL Group specialize in?
HL Group specializes in luxury, fashion, beauty, hospitality, travel, and lifestyle communications. The firm operates as a boutique strategic marketing and PR agency with deep relationships in luxury consumer press categories.
Where is HL Group headquartered?
HL Group is headquartered in New York at 350 Madison Avenue, with a second office in Beverly Hills at 9300 Wilshire Blvd.
What types of clients does HL Group work with?
HL Group works with luxury and lifestyle brands across fashion, beauty, hospitality, travel, and consumer luxury categories. The firm's historical clients include Ralph Lauren, American Airlines, Expedia.com, and Stella Artois.
How is HL Group positioned in the modern luxury communications market?
HL Group operates as a boutique luxury communications agency at a time when the luxury category is transitioning to AI Communications — the discipline of building brand visibility inside AI engines (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews) where buyers now research luxury brands before touching traditional sources.
