The financial crisis has underscored the need for firms to better monitor and control their PR risks. You could certainly quibble with Goldman Sachs' risk management as its crisis played out. All too often, the firm seemed to dig itself further into a hole with infelicitous executive comments and actions that perhaps worked against the image it sought.

BlackRock aims to better manage such risks with the addition of a new PR strategist, the famed Linda Robinson, who worked at Robinson Lerer & Montgomery for 25 years before announcing she will join the big money management firm, according to the New York Times.

Before taking the assignment, she was a director, a post she will now give up. She is a well-known brand on Wall Street, reaching the apogee of notoriety with her role in the RJR Nabisco derby. It was all chronicled in Barbarians at the Gate, an era defining book.

In her new role, Robinson will have responsibility for enterprise marketing, media relations, internal communications and executive communications, and she will be working in close partnership with investor relations, government relations and philanthropy.

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