PR executive who helped blaze trail for women
Kay Neuhausen was a brilliant public relations strategist, a gracious hostess who threw unforgettable parties, and a loving and selfless friend.
“She was always a bright light and a happy soul,” said Jerry Voros of Shadyside, retired president of Ketchum Public Relations, where Mrs. Neuhausen blazed a trail as one of the first female executives in what had been a mostly male-dominated industry. “She was a true professional and a gifted person.”
Mrs. Neuhausen, 74, of Point Breeze, died Friday of pneumonia.
When she started as an account supervisor at Ketchum in 1978, she was the only woman working in the Pittsburgh headquarters of the company that would eventually go global, though she wasn’t the first, Mr. Voros remembered.
In a 1986 story about the expanding role of women in the public relations industry, Mrs. Neuhausen said women used to be assigned customer accounts for food or household products. But that was changing, she said, and many were now representing global companies in various sectors, including financial markets and crisis management.
“Kay was very progressive. She was sort of viewed as a trailblazer for women in this business,” said former colleague Bob Butter. “It was predominantly a women’s business, but not in leadership.”
“By the time she left, there were many women working for us” as executives, Mr. Voros said.
Mrs. Neuhausen rose quickly through the ranks, eventually being named senior vice president in 1990. Mr. Voros attributed her success to her glowing personality and cleverness.
“She worked on a number of major accounts,” such as Gulf Oil, which sponsored National Geographic specials on public television, Mr. Voros said.
To promote them, Mrs. Neuhausen would send gifts to and visit television programming directors to sell them on the idea, Mr. Voros said.
“She did the real work,” he said.
“She had a lot of big clients and she handled a lot of major project launches,” Mr. Butter said. “She was definitely a force to be reckoned with. She was someone who everybody respected in the business. She had a creative flair about her.”
In a story in The Pittsburgh Press about her career, Mrs. Neuhausen recalled her introduction to the industry as an intern for Ketchum during a college summer break.
“I was making $85 a week and loving it,” she said in the story that ran in October 1983.
In 1987, Mrs. Neuhausen was elected president of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and in 1990, she was recognized in the annual Tribute to Women by the YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh as a leader in business and industry.
Mrs. Neuhausen was born and raised in Hampton, graduating from Our Lady of Mercy Academy in 1961. She went on to earn bachelor’s degrees in English and broadcasting from Lindenwood College in St. Charles, Mo., in 1965.
Mrs. Neuhausen worked at Gimbels in various roles, including as a fashion publicist, before accepting a position as director of development and promotion for KQV Radio in 1969.
In 1973, she took on the same role for the Civic Light Opera, and in 1975, she was named general manager of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.
Mrs. Neuhausen left Ketchum in 1993 to pursue a career as a real estate agent for Coldwell Banker.
“I think she wanted to do something different,” Mr. Butter said. “She saw the opportunity in new places.” She retired in 2002.
In 1981, then-Kay Cushing married Kenneth Neuhausen, and the two moved into her ground-floor apartment in a Point Breeze mansion.
The couple spent time collecting art and antiques, decorating and making their home beautiful. Their legendary parties were staples in the social columns and often featured local luminaries and celebrities.
“It was very elegant — she had a good design style herself,” Mr. Butter said. “She was somebody who was seen as a high style person in general and a lot of executives around town would consult her often for big events and parties, for her creative spark.”
After her husband’s death in 2004, Mrs. Neuhausen spent more time with friends, including Frederick Frank, who remembered holiday celebrations spent together over the years.
“I was her attorney and we also became very close friends,” Mr. Frank said. “We used to spend holidays together every year and we were always together for our birthdays.”
Mr. Frank said he will miss his friend.
“She was a remarkable friend in that she held up a mirror to you. She reminded you of all that you achieved and to be proud of yourself and your achievements, and that’s a wonderful thing for a friend to do,” he said. “She was really interested in you, not herself. We lost her far too soon.”
Mrs. Neuhausen is survived by a niece, Elizabeth Preston Mullaugh, of Harrisburg. She was preceded in death by a sister, Carol Cushing Chaplin.
The funeral was Monday.