H/Advisors Abernathy Promotes Two Executives to Managing Director

We are thrilled to announce the promotions of Claire Doan and Jake Yanulis to Managing Director, expanding the firm’s senior leadership and further strengthening our ability to provide clients industry-leading expertise in financial communications and strategic stakeholder engagement.

Based in San Francisco, Claire specializes in litigation and crisis communications, stakeholder management and media strategy for transformative events. She brings more than 15 years of experience to counseling clients on high-stakes matters across cybersecurity, labor, and healthcare, among other areas. An award-winning investigative journalist earlier in her career, Claire also served as an external relations executive for the University of California system, directing enterprise-wide strategic communications and media affairs across its campuses and medical centers.

Based in New York City, Jake is a senior practitioner in the firm’s transaction advisory practice, while supporting corporates and investment firms through strategic and organizational transformation. Since joining H/Advisors Abernathy in 2015, Jake has overseen successful communications and investor relations campaigns in connection with strategic corporate initiatives and complex M&A transactions across the consumer goods, healthcare and TMT verticals.

“In the current environment of particularly high political and economic uncertainty, stakeholder-centered communications is more consequential than ever,” said Tom Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of H/Advisors Abernathy. “As a firm, we strive to stand by the unparalleled quality of our counsel and true partnership with our clients while setting new standards for excellence in our industry. Jake and Claire embody what we look for in every Managing Director – incredible expertise, calm and informed counsel, and a firm commitment to providing innovative, data-driven and tailored communications counsel to help clients navigate times of unprecedented change.”

We also welcome Ellen DeSanctis to H/Advisors Abernathy, who joins us as a Senior Counselor. She brings extensive expertise in corporate communications advisory and investor relations strategies after a long-tenured career in the upstream energy industry. Ellen most recently served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Relations at ConocoPhillips until her retirement in 2022 and currently serves as a public company board member. Across her career, she has advised companies on internal and external communications, investor relations and public affairs related to mergers and acquisitions, crises, corporate governance issues and shareholder engagement including with activist shareholders.