PN Convergence Group is a unit of Porter Novelli Internationalfocused on the integrated public relations requirements oftechnology-driven companies. "Texas is the technology capital ofthe South-Central US and has a rich background and infrastructurein computing, communications and other fast-growth, innovativebusinesses," says Gary Stockman,senior partner, operations, of thePN Convergence Group.

The office will serve many of the agency's new accounts in Texasas well as its first and most senior Austin-based client -- theNational PriceWaterhouse Coopers MoneyTree Survey. It also willfunction as a hub for future new business efforts in the state,according to Stockman. The PN Convergence Group has among itsTexas-based clients Agillion, BMC Software, the Dazel Corp.,Exterprise, Kurion and Tellaire.

Laura Beck, a vice president with the PN Convergence Group, willmanage the new Austin office. She has been working in the Texascapital for a year, supervising the PriceWaterhouse CoopersMoneyTree account and creating the foundation for the full-serviceoffice.