Milestones

A lot has happened in 20 years…

1987 — Pierpont Communications is established in Houston, Texas as CEO Phil Morabito trades office space with a CPA firm for PR service.

1988 — CDs outsell vinyl for the first time ever, representing a changing landscape in technology and communications.

1989 — One of the most widely recognized public relations crises of our time strikes when the Exxon Valdez spills 11 million barrels of oil onto the Alaskan coast.

1992 — Pierpont hires its first employee, officially transitioning from sole proprietor to PR firm, and employs four professionals by the end of the year.

1993 — Pierpont moves into the office space of Brooklyn Interstate Natural Gas, again trading space for service, but this time with ample room for the firm’s growing staff of eight and a beautiful view straight down Post Oak Blvd from the 23rd floor.

1994 — The Internet begins to transform business and academia, providing unprecedented access to information and fundamentally changing the communications industry.

1994 — Pierpont hosts its first Thanksgiving Lunch for 10 guests, which is now an annual event and attracts up to 800 attendees to Pierpont’s Houston office throughout the day.
 

1996 — Pierpont Houston moves into its own office space at the firm’s current location: 1800 West Loop South.

1997 — Pierpont celebrates its 10th Anniversary.

1999 — U.S. returns control of the Panama Canal to Panama, the Euro becomes the new European currency and rumors spread over the Y2K Bug.

2000 — Pierpont opens an office in Austin to serve the growing Central Texas market.

2001 — Pierpont earns a spot on Inc. 500’s list of fastest growing private companies in America and is nominated for Mid-Size Agency of the Year by PR Week.

2001 — The Sept.11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon devastate the United States and countries around the world.

2002 — As the country suffers an economic downturn, Pierponters come together to identify cost-cutting measures and help the agency weather difficult economic times.

2002 — The Enron scandal begins to unfold in Houston following the company’s declaration of bankruptcy in Dec. 2001, leading to one of the largest and most high-profile accounting frauds in American history.

2003 — Pierpont begins hosting its now famous Tasteful PR Series, featuring speakers such as the producer of Austin City Limits, President and CEO of the Round Rock Express as well as a sneak preview of the new Toyota Center.

2003 — Implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley begins, adopted in response to high-profile cases of accounting fraud at publicly traded companies.

2005 — Pierpont manages crisis communications for clients affected by Hurricane Katrina.  Projects include helping New Orleans-based Hibernia Bank locate employees and assisting the Harris County Housing Authority in providing emergency housing for evacuees.

2006 — A banner year for the agency, Pierpont is named the #1 PR firm in Houston, the Houston Business Journal’s Best Place to Work (10 – 100 employees) and CEO Phil Morabito is named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young.

Dec. 2006 — Pierpont closes the most successful year in the company’s history.

2007 — Pierpont celebrates its 20th anniversary and officially becomes a tri-city firm with the opening of an office in Dallas.