DETROIT ? Janet Tyler, a founder and former co-CEO of Airfoil, left the public relations firm last October because, she said, after 20 years working in agency shops she was hoping to land a job with a start-up. In February, Tyler was named Chief Operating Officer of Red Level Networks, a 10-year old IT services and consulting company.

While not a start-up, Red Level still met much of her objective to get a fresh-start at a small, but rapidly growing company .

?It is not a start-up, but the growth is there,” she said. “Based on the fact I ran a services company and know how to build brand, I can be an exciting contributor here. There are not many C level women in technology.?

Tyler?s departure isn?t the only executive to leave the PR firm during the past several months. Late last year, Kevin Sangsland, Vice President, Market Strategy & Business Development, an Internet marketing specialist, was dismissed by President and CEO Lisa Vallee-Smith.

Also dismissed was Tracey Perry, Senior Vice President and a partner, who was one of six original staff members who created Airfoil in February 2000.

?We?re in our 15th year,? Vallee-Smith said. ?We?re not the same firm when we started, or even five years ago. We did eliminate two executive positions, Tracey and Kevin. We?re preparing to invest in the areas where our clients want us. Janet?s departure was her own decision. Our focus now is on dedicated business development, and marketing. We created this direction three years ago. We decided If it was not connected to client work, and not profit focused, we would eliminate it.?

Vallee-Smith said Airfoil is definitely trying to become a national player. It has a long established office in Silicon Valley, and another last June in the financial and advertising hub of New York City. Airfoil moved nine years ago from downtown Detroit to set up shop in a metro Detroit regional financial hub, the One Thousand Town Center in Southfield. Airfoil’s gross billings last year topped $8.5 million. Its head count remains at 48, helping deliver on Vallee-Smith goal of making Airfoil an emerging mid-size independent PR firm. When she cracks the $10 million booking plateau Airfoil will graduate to what Vallee-Smith describes as an established firm.

Tyler isn?t the only Airfoil senior manager to land on their feet after departing Airfoil. Internet marketing specialist Sangsland founded Livonia-based Anura Strategies, which specializes in working with companies that have a need for strategic marketing but aren?t a fit for traditional advertising, marketing and PR agencies.

?I wasn?t surprised to learn that the position had been eliminated ? the agency business is constantly evolving and you have to make tough decisions if and when market conditions change,? Sangsland said.

?I knew the risks when I proposed the role – that position was almost entirely overhead in a business that is driven by day-to-day client work, so it is very difficult to reintegrate someone at the executive level on short notice.?

Sangsland described Vallee-Smith as a smart businesswoman from whom he learned a lot in his 11 years there.

?There?s a silver lining in these events that sometimes people don?t immediately see ? in my case, it provided an opportunity to start a new venture called Anura Strategies based on observations I had made in my role at Airfoil.?

Perry, a departed partner, remains in Silicon Valley where she consults with technology companies. But she too has added a new title – Mommy. Her husband Tom and she adopted a little girl, ?so I?m taking a bit of a slower path to getting back to full-time to enjoy parenting,? Perry said.

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