The team

Heather Besignano, Founder & CEO of ICON PR and previously COO at East 2 West Collective, has over a decade of experience within the publicity field and a previous background in music management and artist development. During this time, she has led campaigns for high-level talent, artist tour and release strategy campaigns, charitable events and has successfully led years of awards campaigns including Oscars, SAG Awards, Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Awards, Grammy Awards and the Emmys.

Heather Besignano’s passion, strengths, and creative vision aspire to breed the next generation of breakout talent and artists. She has a knack for re-branding clients who have long been in the media eye and handles crisis communication of varying levels regularly. Many of her clients are cross-over talent that are both artists and actors or are social influencers/digital natives with a known talent that can be utilized to create a narrative for their brand partnerships, projects and more. In 2021 she and ICON PR were listed in Business Insider’s Top List of PR Pros for Influencers. Most recently she has added Podcast Booker to her resume and helps bring talent and media engagement to shows such as Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown, A Little Kinder Podcast (Kinder Beauty Brand’s Podcast hosted by Evanna Lynch and Daniella Monet), That’s Total Mom Sense and many more.

A Houston, Texas native, Heather is known for bringing her Southern charm and marketing expertise to the campaigns she works on. A niche specialty, Heather is also savvy in the celebrity author arena having worked on the campaigns for several best-selling authors including Mayim Bialik’s multiple releases: “Beyond the Sling”, “Mayim’s Vegan Table” and the New York Times #1 Best-Seller “Girling Up: How to be Strong, Smart and Spectacular”, Alicia Silverstone’s “The Kind Diet”, Kate Siegel’s “Mother, Can You Not” and Melissa Rivers’ “Book of Joan” to name a few. She is a member of the San Fernando Valley chapter of Moms Demand Action, a member of the Houston International Sports Film Festival Advisory Board, a member of the Female Founder Collective, a member of the Rolling Stone Culture Council and an Executive Council Member with the Elevate Network. She is married to music composer and artist, Kevin Besignano and currently resides in Los Angeles with their daughter, Bella.

Leah Perry’s love for entertainment and respect for the talent of artists springs from her artistic passions and upbringing in the heart of Los Angeles. While growing up in a creative household surrounded by family in the entertainment industry, she was regularly surrounded by media buzz and innately attracted to all things media from a young age. After graduating from the Art Institute of Portland in 2014 with a degree in Fashion Marketing, she quickly gained experience in the fashion world, working for ABC TV shows’ costume departments and various fashion brands. She then decided to switch course to the digital media space to get exposure to different types of talent, working in social media and talent relations for companies such as PC Social Media and Sweety High.

Having worked in many facets of the entertainment industry and surrounding herself with creative professionals, she has a keen eye for what makes talent stand out and a strong knowledge of media concepts and how media is evolving. She is always keeping up with pop culture and entertainment industry trends to be in the know on what is new and exciting.

With a fun-loving spirit, upbeat personality, and constant drive, she is excited to continue her journey with ICON PR.

No matter where she is or who she’s with, Gayle Davidson has a connection. From a tiny fishing village in Indonesia, to a majestic homestead in Australia, to the suburbs of London, to the hipster corners of Brooklyn, to the veneers of Hollywood… Gayle knows-a-guy.

Having lived and worked in every major media hub of the world, Gayle cut her teeth with actors and playwrights and then graduated to songwriters, producers and music supervisors. Later, she established herself in the intermingled worlds of songwriting, production, management, marketing, booking, and PR. She has worked with artists in every relevant genre, through release campaigns, licensing deals, break-ups, make-ups, tours, and videos. A 6’2 powerhouse, Gayle balances lovable aggression with a Mary Poppins bedside manner. Now, shifting out of development and into the mainstream, Gayle is a perfect fit for the Icon PR team and is excited to bring her expertise to their Nashville office.

Australian born, raised and now a proud U.S.A permanent resident!

Ben brings over 9 years of artist and live event tour publicity, marketing and music promotions experience to our Icon Nashville office.

Ben has been blessed to work on publicity, marketing and promotional campaigns for some of the world’s most loved artists including 9 time Grammy award winner Sheryl Crow (tour publicity/promotions - Australia), the cast of hit TV and film series Twin Peaks (event director and tour management - Australia/New Zealand), Academy award winning director David Lynch (event director and tour management - Australia/New Zealand), Grammy award winner Melissa Etheridge (tour publicity/promotions - Australia), Legendary Count Basie Orchestra (tour publicity - Australia), Canadian Hall-of-Famers Cowboy Junkies (tour marketing manager - Australia/New Zealand), The Monkees (tour marketing manager - Australia/New Zealand), Rick Springfield (ZOOT tour marketing manager - Australia) and Genesis guitar pioneer Steve Hackett (tour marketing manager - Australia/New Zealand) to name just a few.

Ben has his finger on the pulse with the Nashville songwriter, producer and music community. He provides PR and digital content delivery for BMI award-winning songwriter Jeff Trott who is widely known as Sheryl Crow’s most revered longtime songwriting collaborator (‘If It Makes You Happy’, ‘My Favorite Mistake’, ‘Soak Up The Sun’, ‘Everyday Is A Winding Road’, plus many more). Ben loves heading out to gigs and ‘songwriters in the round’ shows around Nashville to hear the new (and classic!) tunes from the world’s music city.

In 2021, Ben completed a course in marketing management at UC Berkeley, refreshing and furthering his skill set. He achieved an A+ grading for his course completion!

With a ‘go hard or go home’ work ethic, Ben thoroughly enjoys creating and activating publicity, marketing and promotional campaigns that are tailored to achieve maximum results. He is captivated by genuine artistry and absolutely relishes promoting talent to the world.

Danner Tassone is the Founder and CEO of The Haze Agency (THA), partnerships agency connecting luxury brands and celebrity talent. A dual citizen to America and Australia, Danner has spent the last decade working in print and specialist entertainment in London.

Sitting previously as Associate Publisher of luxury fashion and lifestyle publications (Wonderland, Man About Town, Rollacoaster and AMAZING), she has worked with clients like LVMH, Nike, COTY, Sony Music, UMG, Netflix, Amazon, MTV, Diageo and many more.

During this time, she developed print, digital and social commercial partnership strategies for brands, celebrity and emerging talents across multiple platforms and markets. Her motto: connecting the right talent with the right brands, to create outstanding content. When she’s not working on partnerships and collaborations, Danner spends her time connecting with inspiring minds and fellow creatives in order to keep evolving and to motivate others. She also sits as a commercial agent for a roster of global publications and brands - constantly on the lookout for unique brand and talent collaborations for her clients. Furthermore, Danner specialises in brand and talent product collaboration, overseeing the process from ideation to commercialisation. Inspired to start THA as a refreshing deviation from an industry saturated with doing too much, too quickly, Danner focuses on creating meaningful work and having fun at the same time.

Amber LaFrance, President and Executive Publicist of CultureHype, has spent the last 10 years pushing the envelope of public relations. Her rule-breaking approach bucks tradition every step of the way, ensuring her clients stand out from the crowd.

Amber is a longtime advocate of Texas game-changers who began her career by shining an international spotlight on the state’s vibrant arts and culture scene. With her industry knowledge and unstoppable work ethic, she’s landed clients in top media like Forbes, Women’s Wear Daily, Wall Street Journal, Wired, The New York Times, Refinery29, Texas Monthly, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and BuzzFeed.

In addition to her work with local creatives, Amber now partners with national brands, using her killer connections to create widespread buzz. She is the recipient of numerous industry awards.

Amber also heads two additional full-time businesses–we told you she’s a hustler–including DFW Style Daily and the historic Longhorn Ballroom live music venue.

Amber believes good PR is about more than selling a story. It’s about building one from the ground-up, and she’s just getting started.