New York (October 16, 2023) – RF|Binder, a leading integrated communications agency and consultancy headquartered in New York City, has acquired Peaks Strategies, an award-winning financial services and capital markets public relations firm. The Peaks team will continue at RF|Binder as the RFB|Peaks Strategies team, a specialized team that will be part of RF|Binder’s established corporate and financial practice. All Peaks team members will join RF|Binder. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“The digital transformation of financial services is accelerating, opening new opportunities for growth through the introduction of innovative products, services and approaches that enable us to reimagine the customer and client experience,” said Amy Binder, CEO, Founder and Chair at RF|Binder. “RF|Binder, with the addition of Peaks Strategies, is uniquely positioned to help clients grow in today’s fast-changing environment.”
Recognized for its domain expertise, deep media relationships, and industry contacts across the capital markets ecosystem, Peaks Strategies was founded in 2016 by Thomas Walek, a 30+ year, award-winning PR executive, entrepreneur and pioneer in capital markets communications. Peaks Strategies’ portfolio spans traditional and alternative asset management, private markets, financial technology, market structure, and the rapidly evolving universe of digitized assets.
“By marrying the Peaks Strategies team with the integrated offerings of RF|Binder, together we will offer enhanced services to existing clients, deepen our bench of seasoned professionals, and continue to deliver best-in-class solutions to financial services leaders and innovators seeking business-building results,” said Binder.
As part of RFB|Peaks Strategies, Walek will serve as Senior Counselor to focus on key RFB|Peaks Strategies clients. Walek and his firm have been recognized for their outstanding work by Hedgeweek, The Hedge Fund Journal, the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), among others.
“This is a transformative and exciting moment for Peaks Strategies,” said Walek. “The combination of RF|Binder and Peaks Strategies will create an unrivaled financial services team, with deep domain knowledge and a strategic communications approach. I am excited for this next phase of growth and our enhanced ability to drive business impact.”
Peaks Strategies Partner Armel Leslie assumes the role of Executive Managing Director and will oversee the RFB|Peaks Strategies team. Leslie is recognized for delivering brand-building campaigns for clients across traditional and alternative asset management, professional services, financial technology, and trade associations. Leslie started his career with Walek at Walek & Associates in 1999 where he rose to Partner. Over the course of their careers, Walek and Leslie have worked with leading financial institutions including investment banks, asset management arms of money center banks, the largest publicly traded hedge fund firm globally, market structure/exchange consortia, and numerous entities introducing new asset classes or innovative approaches to capital markets.
RF|Binder has long been recognized for its strong financial services practice and its work with leaders in retail and investment banking, asset management, insurance, payments, sustainability investing, and fintech. Over its 20+ year history, RF|Binder has handled a range of assignments from reputation management and crisis work to marketing and digital communications in the financial industry space. The team brings an integrated approach, working across all channels to build a communications strategy that reflects each client’s overall business strategy. Now with RFB|Peaks Strategies, RF|Binder will continue delivering a broader range of services and impact to its clients.
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About RF|Binder
RF|Binder is a fully integrated communications agency and consultancy that aligns communications and business strategy to achieve compelling results. Powered by the firm’s proprietary Clarity Lens™ framework, RF|Binder zeros in on exactly what matters most to each client’s business and brand, enabling the firm to develop and deploy targeted communications strategies, programs and initiatives that directly advance clients’ business objectives and drive organizational success. The RF|Binder team has deep expertise across a range of consumer, corporate, financial services, non-profit and government sectors, delivering strategy and planning, strategic communications and integrated marketing services that are unbound by method, medium or channel. RF|Binder is an independent and certified Woman-Owned Business headquartered in New York City, with offices in Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco and a global presence through PROI Worldwide partners, an association of leading public relations firms across 60 countries and more than 165 cities. RF|Binder’s client work across industry sectors is consistently recognized, and the firm has been named to PRNEWS’ Agency Elite Top 100, PR Daily’s Top Agencies Awards, and Crain’s New York’s Best Places to Work. For more information about RF|Binder, visit www.rfbinder.com.
