Leadership

An experienced strategist, Frederick Marx has spent more than 20 years counseling clients in the retail, automotive, hospitality, financial services, health care, professional services, real estate, environmental, telecom and not for profit sectors.

Marx is frequently engaged to manage adversity communications assignments, particularly those involving publicly owned corporations and other high profile entities. As a specialist in orchestrating announcements impacting employees, suppliers and communities, Marx often interfaces with clients' attorneys in devising effective programs.

With a Master's degree in Communications from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Economics degree from the Wharton School of Finance, Marx spent nearly 20 years as a senior executive with three Fortune 500 companies before co-founding Marx Layne & Company in 1987. Marx serves on the Board of Directors of the Detroit Regional Chamber, The Detroit Historical Society and the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy - Wayne State University.

Michael Layne has been serving established and growing companies in the Detroit metropolitan area since the early 1980's. Over the past twenty years, he has provided strategic communications counsel to numerous industry leaders as an extension of their corporate brand.

As a founding partner of Marx Layne & Company in 1987, he has been instrumental in building Michigan 's largest independently owned public relations agency. Layne attributes the emergence of Marx Layne & Company to the development and retention of a diverse client base and the careful building of a dedicated and capable team of public relations professionals.

Layne regularly plans and implements unique, results-orientated public relations programs for clients in a broad range of industry sectors, including real estate, hospitality/food service, technology, entertainment, professional services, sports, manufacturing, retail, financial services, consumer products and communications.

As both the demand for information about companies grows and the media becomes more complex and fragmented, Layne's experience with a broad range of clients provides a basis for creating ongoing, original and highly successful programs. Layne serves clients with their communications needs in major metropolitan areas across the nation.

He strongly believes in personalized service, availability and accountability. Layne respects the correlation between dollars spent by a client and results.

Aside from the daily rigors of running a public relations agency, Layne is active in the community. He is a member of the Board of Trustees for Don Bosco Hall, the Automotive Press Association and Public Relations Society of America.

As a Partner, Szudarek counsels clients in the automotive, high tech and consumer product sectors. He is directly responsible for directing a broad range of public relations, marketing, communications and media relations programs. He previously served with a Fortune 500 Company and has been on both the corporate and agency side of communications business, understanding first hand the many issues and challenges businesses face today in this fast paced, competitive world.

Prior to joining Marx Layne, Szudarek worked for another metropolitan Detroit area public relations agency, where his efforts were focused primarily in the heavy-duty trucking and automotive original equipment and aftermarket industries. There, he serviced a number of multi-billion dollar corporations and assisted in implementing marketing communication programs for use throughout North America .

Szudarek's academic credentials include a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Wayne State University . He currently holds membership with the Automotive Press Association and the Public Relations Society of America.

A Senior Vice President with Marx Layne & Company, Pardo heads up the hospitality division of the agency. She manages accounts ranging from multi-unit and single-unit restaurants to one of the leading national contract management companies, and a world-class hotel. She also serves and counsels clients in the retail, legal and not-for-profit industries. Pardo is responsible for managing teams that perform a range of public relations, marketing and media relations programs.

Her areas of specialty include media relations, adversity communications management, and coordinating large-scale events. Pardo is a respected public relations professional with extensive experience developing and implementing comprehensive media campaigns.

Prior to joining Marx Layne, Pardo practiced business law. Pardo has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor from the University of Detroit-Mercy School of Law. She is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and the Women's Economic Club.

Alan Upchurch counsels clients in the real estate, financial services, retail, health care industries as well as non-profit corporations. Upchurch provides clients with effective strategies to meet their marketing and public relations goals with expertise in media relations, focused communications planning, writing, and adversity management. He also specializes in media training to help executives and business owners utilize the media with appropriate messages to customers, employees, investors and other key stakeholders.

With a BA degree in Communications from Michigan State University, Upchurch spent 24 years in television news as a photographer, writer, producer, and newsroom executive including 20 years at ABC affiliate WXYZ-TV Detroit working as a daily news producer, special events supervisor and News Director. This vast news experience serves him well. Many years of daily performance under fire brings a unique understanding of hard and fast deadlines, and the importance of working quickly and accurately. Alan is married with two children.

Emile Mahanti assists clients in developing and maintaining customized, focused long-term communications programs. It is his priority to provide clients with personalized professional service that is responsive to, will meet and, hopefully exceed, their needs and goals. Mahanti counsels a variety of clients ranging from the non-profit, industrial, environmental, transportation, real estate and legal professions. In addition to media relations, he is frequently engaged by clients in adversity communications and B2B marketing initiatives.

A graduate with high distinction from the University of Michigan at Dearborn with a BA in History, Mahanti also brings a decade of media experience as background to counsel clients on media relations. He was a producer, editor, reporter, writer and engineer with WWJ Newsradio 950 AM in Detroit and a reporter/anchor with KNAU in Flagstaff , AZ. This experience has proven that he knows what it takes to communicate effectively and creatively. Working in news taught him how to execute quickly while paying close attention to detail. His hard nose, no-nonsense style has proven effective to establishing long-term relationships with clients.

Some personal notes: It is a pleasure to work here at Marx Layne, where the teamwork concept is actualized and not just a theory. "We" are here for you. The personal growth I gain from working with each and every one of my clients only enables me to further meet and exceed my clients' needs. Most importantly, I am truly blessed in my life to be married to an absolutely wonderful woman who takes care of me and our two healthy and beautiful boys.