McGavock Henderson Edwards, a veteran, award-winning partner at E&V Strategic Communications, has been named the Raleigh firm’s managing partner.
The promotion of Edwards, APR, streamlines the management of the firm’s 31-member staff while freeing founders Albert Eckel and Harris Vaughan to focus more on its long-range planning, growth, recruitment, and diversification.
“It’s an important milestone for McGavock and for our firm,” Vaughan said. “She nurtures our people, clients, and processes well. We’re a people-centric firm. McGavock brings deep caring, sincere concern, and incredible talent to everything she does.”
Edwards’ ascension will enable the firm’s three other partners, who include Pres Davenport, to shift into higher gear, Eckel said. “We’re elevating McGavock so we can do more, not less,” he said. “This is good for our clients as well as our colleagues. McGavock is adept at helping to set a goal and keeping everyone focused collaboratively on achieving it. She’s just an amazing leader.”
When the firm’s founders announced the move at a recent all-hands meeting, the staff erupted in applause. “That affirmed what we already knew,” Vaughan said. “McGavock had been doing much of this management work already, and we’re very fortunate to have her. McGavock’s understanding of our industry, our people, and our clients is second-to-none.”
After working separately in politics, advertising, and corporate roles, longtime friends Eckel and Vaughan founded their Raleigh-based firm in 2008, guided its launch through the Great Recession, and have grown it steadily since. Edwards was the firm’s seventh hire, in 2015.
E&V partner Pres Davenport, who leads the agency’s business development efforts, said Edwards not only brings a passion for mentoring team members, but also has helped implement best practices in client service and state-of-the-art communication techniques.
“We want to expand, tackle bigger challenges, and help our clients in new ways,” Davenport said. “In her new role, McGavock will be able to more intentionally maximize our staff’s personal growth and ensure that we continually improve our agency’s capabilities.”
Edwards is known as a strategic and empathic leader with strong character, deep experience, high standards, and a knack for aligning clients’ particular projects with the firm’s most appropriate personnel. She said she aims to make E&V even better while staying true to its culture of savvy, unpretentious service to its clients, team, and community.
“E&V is strong and poised for growth, with colleagues who are smart, helpful, and trusted by local, regional, national, and global organizations,” she said. “We develop and deploy communications strategically to help our clients solve business problems and discover opportunities for success. We’re ready for more – much more.”
What other colleagues say
As with anyone, Edwards’ story is told best not just by those she works for or alongside, but also by those who work for her. Here, briefly, are three of them:
In the early 2000s, Account Director Tracy Lathan worked with Edwards at Epley Associates and IMRE, agencies based in Raleigh and Baltimore, before Vaughan recruited Edwards to E&V and then Edwards brought Lathan on board.
“We have a neat story of doing our thing together, going separate ways, and getting back together again,” Lathan said. “You wouldn’t do that with someone who wasn’t a great boss – and also a friend and mentor.”
Edwards will excel in her new role, Lathan predicted. “McGavock shines at client work, but she has rare talent in managing people,” she said. “She’s the best at the hard stuff: How do we make this all work for our clients?”
Edwards is both well-respected and well-liked by her colleagues and peers, Lathan said. “McGavock’s leadership style is unique,” she said. “She leads with both her head and her heart. She’s the best.”
Account Director Amy Jones also worked with Edwards at IMRE, then rejoined her later at E&V. “McGavock has been such a tremendous guide to me and others – she’s absolutely the reason I’m here,” Jones said. “She brings out the best in people, clients, herself, and life. She motivates us to show up day in and day out and do great work. She’s in a new role now, but she’ll bring her usual amazing qualities to it.”
Senior Account Specialist Kaitlyn Francis met Edwards at church as a teenager before studying hospitality management in college and then working for Disney and a Raleigh spa. Back at church one Sunday helping Edwards in the children’s nursery, Francis mentioned that she’d like to go into digital communications, not knowing about Edwards’ career. Soon after, Edwards invited Francis to coffee – and, you guessed it, persuaded her to join E&V.
“You can teach people how to write, but you can’t as easily teach them how to build relationships,” Francis said. “McGavock is dynamite. You see the care and the love for everything she does. She’s super smart, super knowledgeable, and super to work with. She’ll do amazing, and that will be really good for E&V and our clients.”
A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Edwards has more than 25 years of experience in strategic communication at several firms. She is accredited nationally in public relations and helped lead two Public Relations Society of America’s Silver Anvil award-winning teams. She is a past president of PRSA’s North Carolina chapter and has served on the organization’s Southeast District Board of Directors.
During her career, Edwards has worked with many well-known brands across a wide range of industries, including biotechnology, healthcare, manufacturing, and consumer products. She has provided expert counsel and successful tactical execution in crisis communication, reputation management, media relations, internal communication, and social media marketing.
Edwards is involved with several regional non-profit organizations, including Now Serving, a charity that pairs restaurants, caterers, and commercial kitchens with community agencies to deliver healthy meals to neighbors in need. An Eastern North Carolina native and mom to a burgeoning young chef, Edwards resides in Raleigh with her husband, Jeff, and their Springer Spaniel, Birdie.
