Amanda Shuchat (left) and Katie Muir.

Public relations agency Middle Child is under new leadership, having named VP Sean Citrigno as its new managing director as Amanda Shuchat and Katie Muir depart the company.

Shuchat was the founding managing director for Middle Child – then known as Colony Project – when it launched in 2016 and has led the agency to considerable success, garnering a significant amount of awards and industry attention during her tenure. When Shuchat went on maternity leave in 2020, Muir was brought on to lead in her absence. The pair adopted a co-leadership model when Shuchat returned and led a rebrand of the Plus Company agency to Middle Child in September 2021.

While details are still being kept largely under wraps, strategy has been told Shuchat and Muir are exiting Middle Child and Plus Company to launch a new venture. Their final day with Middle Child was Thursday.

Replacing Shuchat and Muir, Citrigno has worked at Middle Child as a senior account director since February 2020 and VP since June of 2021. Citrigno has worked directly with Muir and Shuchat as a member of the senior leadership team for those three years, and worked with Shuchat at Citizen Relations beforehand. He also played a role in the agency’s rebrand, which he says he remains committed to as he takes the helm.

“I stand behind the rebrand and what this company stands for and I will just be elevating that even further and rebooting it from the leadership perspective,” Citrigno told strategy. “We’ll also be taking a deeper look at our presence, whether it be cross-country – we’re based in Toronto and have a Montreal office – or cross-border, and looking into our offerings in experiential and digital. But the biggest goal for me is to preserve that sense of belonging and community.”

Citrigno he says he’s supportive of Muir and Shuchat in their next venture – and that they are equally his “biggest cheerleaders” as he assumes leadership at Middle Child.

Nick Cowling, CEO of Citizen Relations – from which Middle Child spun off in 2016 – says he wasn’t surprised by Muir and Shuchat’s decision to depart, as they have an “entrepreneurial mindset” and are always looking for new opportunities and challenges. He added that he would describe Citrigno “as really waiting in the wings” for the opportunity to lead at Middle Child.

“He has a ton of ideas and we’ve already talked about some of the new services we’ll be able to add relatively quickly to the Middle Child mix, which will only amplify the opportunities for its clients,” Cowling adds. “I see as much potential in him as I did with Amanda when we launched Colony Project and she became an MD. I knew it was something she desperately wanted and she would work her ass off to make it great, and that’s exactly what she did. I feel exactly the same way about Sean.”