# Grace Leong

> Grace Leong is the New York-based CEO of HUNTER, a marketing communications agency with operations in the United States and the United Kingdom. A founding employee in 1989, she later acquired the firm with colleagues and led its expansion. Her public career also includes student mentorship, professional education and industry service, recognized by PRSA’s 2025 Gold Anvil and a 2026 SABRE Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer at HUNTER
- **Organizations:** HUNTER, Public Relations Society of America, The Museum of Public Relations, USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations, Institute for Public Relations, Arthur W. Page Society
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts, University of Delaware, Master of Business Administration, Rutgers Business School
- **Known for:** 2025 PRSA Gold Anvil Award, 2026 SABRE Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement, 2026 Ragan Top Women in Communications Hall of Fame

## Career timeline

- **1988** — Graduated from the University of Delaware, received the Hal Kierce Award and PRSSA Gold Key Award, and joined Barbara Hunter’s team at D-A-Y/Ogilvy.
- **1989** — Joined Barbara Hunter as a founding employee of Hunter Public Relations.
- **1999** — Took over HUNTER with colleagues; the year is supported by Leong’s 2025 Agency Side interview and the University of Delaware’s 2025 profile.
- **2014** — Continued leading the agency after MDC Partners acquired a majority stake; created the Barbara W. Hunter Internship.
- **2016** — Received PRSA-NY’s John W. Hill Award and joined the University of Delaware Alumni Wall of Fame.
- **2022** — Named to PRWeek’s Women of Distinction.
- **2025** — Received PRSA’s Gold Anvil Award on October 28.
- **2026** — Named to Ragan’s Top Women in Communications Hall of Fame and received a SABRE Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement.

## Achievements

- 2025 PRSA Gold Anvil Award
- 2026 SABRE Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement
- 2026 Ragan Top Women in Communications Hall of Fame
- 2022 PRWeek Women of Distinction
- 2016 PRSA-NY John W. Hill Award
- Plank Center mentoring recognition
- University of Delaware Alumni Wall of Fame, 2016

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — HUNTER confirmed that Leong received the SABRE Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement.
- **2026-02** — Ragan named Leong among its 2026 Top Women in Communications Hall of Fame inductees.
- **2025-11** — University of Delaware profiled her Gold Anvil recognition and ongoing Bateman student-team mentorship.
- **2025-10** — Received PRSA’s Gold Anvil at ICON 2025 on October 28.

## Links

- Website: https://hunterpr.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-leong-27ab878
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/GraceTLeong

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/grace-leong
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-06