EMEA People News In Brief (July 8, 2024)

(MENAFN- PRovoke) BRUSSELS - Burson has appointed Ruud Wassen as chief client officer in its Brussels office. Wassen will work closely with Burson teams, particularly in the sustainability and healthcare sectors. He was previously chief marketing officer for the international arm of Cigna Healthcare, and has also held senior positions at Teneo, where he established the Brussels office in 2013, and led the energy practice at Burson-Marsteller.

LONDON - Global IT services group Tata Consultancy Services has appointed Tom Doherty
as head of communications for UK & Ireland. He was previously at BAE Systems for nearly 11 years, latterly as group head of communications.

LONDON - MHP Group consumer agency Mischief has appointed creative duo Ottilie Ross (pictured, left) and Emily Gosen (right). Ross (née Ratcliffe) returns to Mischief – where she started her career in 2011 – after two years at Halpern, where she was creative director; she previously held the same role at Milk & Honey and The Romans. Gosen also joins as creative director after five years at Ketchum working with brands including The Lego Foundation, Adobe and P&G. Both report to MD Charlotte Brooks (centre).

LONDON - Tulchan founder Andrew Grant is to leave Teneo at the end of the year, almost two years after the agency's sale to the US advisory firm. Grant became
chair of UK strategy & communications at
Teneo following the firm's
estimated £65m acquisition
of financial and corporate specialist Tulchan in January 2023. Grant has founded a new business called Milton House Advisory.

LONDON - Steve Martin and Jamie Wynne-Morgan, who left M&C Saatchi Group after 20 years last year, latterly as global CEO and UK CEO respectively of M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, have set up a new venture with private equity backing. The duo have founded MSQ Sport + Entertainment in partnership with creative, technology and media company MSQ, which is funded by private equity firm OEP and owns agencies including Smarts . MSQ Sport + Entertainment will open with Callaway Golf as a founding client.

LONDON -Hanover Communications has hired ex-sports minister Dame Tracey Crouch as managing director of its new sports division. Crouch, who spent 14 years as a Conservative MP before standing down in May this year, will start in her new role in September and work with Rebecca Hargreaves, Hanover's head of sport, and report to president and managing partner Gavin Megaw. Also at Hanover, Dr Nikita Kanani has joined Hanover Health as a senior adviser. Kanani is also chief strategy and innovation officer at Aneira Health, and her previous roles include working on the NHS Covid vaccination programme, and as national medical director of primary care for NHS England.

LONDON - Ella May Higgins has joined Grayling UK as a creative strategist. She previously held the same role at The Weber Shandwick Collective agency That Lot, where she worked on creative campaigns and social media strategies for Adobe, HSBC, John Lewis and Mozilla.

LONDON - Good Relations chief executive Richard Moss is retiring from the agency in September after 15 years. Current managing directors Jodie Simpson and Lawrence Collis will become joint MDs of the VCCP group agency, with a new CEO yet to be announced.

LONDON - Shell has appointed Charles Harris-Cooke as head of UK corporate relations for downstream and renewables. Harris-Cooke has worked in various policy roles at Shell since 2010.

LONDON - Social media and influencer marketing agency Coolr has hired Katie Fieldman as its new director of client services. Fieldman will lead a team of 50 and oversee Coolr's client portfolio, including Samsung, Lidl, Deliveroo and Burger King. She was previously director of social and influencer at the DDA Group, where she led campaigns for Nestle, Disney and Nespresso.

LONDON - Weber Shandwick has appointed Tess Evans as a new creative director, specialising in health and overseeing all creative output across the agency's healthcare clients. Evans has worked at UK health agencies including Havas Life, Ogilvy Health, FCB Health and VCCP Health, working with clients including GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Edwards Lifesciences, Teva, Merck and Pfizer on award-winning campaigns.

RIYADH - Peter Bellini has been hired by Saudi firm Pure Consulting to lead its new international unit, Pure International
Communications. The new unit will offer international communications strategy for Saudi clients looking to communicate with audiences from investors to tourists. Bellini has held senior roles at global agencies including Edelman, Ogilvy, and, most recently, as head of strategy at Hill & Knowlton in Dubai.

LONDON - Global digital marketing and communication agency Clarity has appointed Konrad Dobschuetz, former national director of the NHS Innovation Accelerator, to its external health advisory board. Dobschuetz brings 10 years of experience across the NHS and life sciences companies such as Novartis and Pfizer, with a focus on emerging technology such as AI in diagnostics, pathway management and risk prediction.

LONDON - Integrated B2B tech PR and communications agency GingerMay has promoted Amy Lawrence to deputy managing director and Kirsty Langan to practice head for emerging technologies. The duo joined GingerMay a decade ago and have contributed significantly to its growth. Lawrence is tasked with managing business performance and continued client success, while also implementing frameworks to allow the team's talent to thrive, while Langan will focus on business growth within emerging tech sectors, including cleantech and AI, as well as client delivery.

LONDON - B2B technology communications agency Flame PR has appointed Alex Brooks as its new managing director. The agency was previously being led by CEO and founder Kully Dhadda. Brooks will take over the running of all day-to-day operations from Dhadda, and lead the agency's business development and repositioning. Dhadda, who remains CEO, will form a new board of directors, and focus on the strategic growth of the company in both the UK, US and Asia markets. The appointment marks a move from the agency primarily offering PR services to UK and US brands into a full-service global marketing and communications agency, including social media, content marketing, brand positioning, and sales enablement services to a global audience. Flame PR also launched a new digital practice earlier this year, led by digital manager Laura Holland.

LONDON - Bladonmore has made three appointments: Daniele Di Blasio joins as director of digital strategy in London, having held senior digital roles in agencies including Black Sun, Emperor, RY and MSL Publicis Groupe; Rory Boswell joins as a senior producer in London after working at Media Zoo, TwoFour and Bouche Media; and Kaela Fortino joins as an account director in New York, having worked at Bounteous, Ogilvy & Mather and Neff Associates.

LONDON - The Flywheelers, an integrated communications agency for high-growth businesses and their investors, has appointed Laura Crockett as senior account director. Crockett, who joins from Words + Pixels and has also worked at The PHA Group and in the House of Commons, has a decade of experience working in technology and corporate communications, and will help to elevate the agency's creative campaigns and media strategy. She has worked with clients including Lime, Hims and Monolith AI.

LONDON - Marilise Saghbini has been appointed as UK & EMEA director of strategic communications at international non-profit GlobalGiving UK. Saghbini, who has held senior executive and communications positions at the French Chamber of Great Britain and BusinessLDN, will support GlobalGiving
UK's European expansion.

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