Updated June 3, 2026
Related: PR Firms · PR Leaders · Celebrity PR Case Studies
The Lede Company
The Lede Company is a strategic communications and public relations firm founded in 2018 by Sarah Rothman, Amanda Silverman, and Meredith O'Sullivan — three senior publicists who left 42West to launch the firm. Christine Su, formerly CEO of Heir Agency in New York, joined as a fourth co-founder and co-CEO in late 2018, bringing fashion and lifestyle brand work alongside the firm's entertainment practice. Lede is headquartered in Los Angeles and New York with international offices in London (2022) and Paris (2023).
Origins and rapid growth
Lede's founders launched the firm in June 2018 without bringing clients with them — abiding by the industry's standard non-solicitation conventions on departure. Within days of the news breaking, talent the founders had previously worked with at 42West began calling. Lede's early client roster came to include Pharrell, Lady Gaga, Shawn Mendes, Reese Witherspoon, Rami Malek, Jennifer Garner, Charlize Theron, Halle Berry, Will Smith, theSkimm, and Illumination Entertainment. By the end of 2018, Observer placed Lede at number two on its Most Powerful PR Firms list — a placement Observer noted at the time was the highest position the publication had ever given to an agency in its first year.
International expansion
Lede opened its London office in October 2022 — the firm's first international expansion. In June 2023, Lede acquired Paris-based Olivier Bourgis Communication and Marketing (OBCM), rebranding the operation as Lede Paris under managing director Olivier Bourgis. The Paris acquisition extended the firm's European footprint into fashion, hospitality, and luxury brand work.
Element Brand Group acquisition
In June 2025, Lede completed an LBO acquisition of Element Brand Group, expanding the firm's brand strategy and integrated marketing capabilities. The transaction added consumer brand strategy, creative, and culture practices to the firm's existing entertainment, fashion, and social impact bench.
Specialization
Strategic counsel and communications, public relations, social impact campaigns, talent representation, brand-building, and partnerships. The firm has built a distinctive practice combining entertainment talent representation with cause and social-impact communications — including the founders' signed New York Times advocacy on reproductive rights and ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion work.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded The Lede Company? Sarah Rothman, Amanda Silverman, and Meredith O'Sullivan founded the firm in 2018. Christine Su joined later that year as fourth co-founder and co-CEO.
Where is Lede located? Los Angeles, New York, London, and Paris.
What is Lede's specialty? Entertainment talent communications, brand work, and social impact campaigns.
Has Lede made acquisitions? Yes — Paris-based OBCM in 2023 (rebranded as Lede Paris), and Element Brand Group in June 2025.
Related agency profiles
Entertainment, talent & culture: Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis · Polk & Co. · DKC · Team Epiphany · Judge Public Relations
Fashion & luxury adjacency: Purple PR · HL Group · The Krupp Group · FITZ & CO
Adjacent EPR coverage: PR Agency Profiles Directory · Celebrity PR Case Studies
