The walls in the offices and conference rooms at Kekst and Company are filled with picture frames highlighting articles clipped from newspapers, ads touting companies amid proxy fights, letters from President Bill Clinton, and photos of his wife, now Secretary of the State Hillary Clinton, with Lawrence Rand.

Rand, who has been with the agency since its inception in January 1971, recently transitioned to the position of president and CEO, as founder Gershon Kekst moved to an executive chairman role. ...