Edelman Appoints UK CEO Robert Phillips as President and Chief Executive Officer of Edelman Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
NEW YORK – Edelman announced the appointment of Edelman UK CEO Robert Phillips as president and chief executive officer of the firm’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) operations, as well as chairman of Edelman UK, effective immediately. Based in London, Phillips will report to worldwide chief executive officer Richard Edelman and join the firm’s global Operating and Executive Committees. Phillips replaces David Brain who was appointed CEO of Edelman Asia-Pacific. Susan Eastoe, chief operating officer and deputy CEO of Edelman UK, will serve as acting UK CEO while a search is conducted to identify Phillips’ successor.
Phillips assumes responsibility for the development of Edelman’s second largest region, with 760 professionals across 17 wholly-owned offices. In 2010, Edelman EMEA accounted for $101 million in revenue and represents 19 percent of the firm’s global revenue. Recently named Agency of the Year at the European Excellence Awards, the region grew 12 percent in 2010 and represents clients including AstraZeneca, Diageo, Kraft, Microsoft, Mubadala, Novartis, Royal Dutch Shell and Unilever.
“As we look to build on our recent success and aggressively expand our market share across EMEA, Robert’s entrepreneurial mindset, commitment to client service, digital acumen and creativity will help take Edelman Europe to the next level,” said Edelman. “Robert is a proven leader with a strong track record. He co-founded and helped build the premier consumer PR firm in the UK (Jackie Cooper PR), is leading key Edelman client relationships including Shell and Diageo, and took us from tenth to fifth place in the UK in four short years.”
Phillips joined Edelman more than six years ago when the firm acquired Jackie Cooper PR. Over 15 years, Phillips, together with Jackie Cooper, helped build JCPR into the leading consumer PR agency in the UK, with client highlights including the infamous 'Hello Boys' Wonderbra campaign as well as the much-lauded launches of Telecoms brand O2 and Snapple. While at Edelman, Robert has served as a senior strategic and corporate counsellor for many key clients, including Shell, Microsoft, Starbucks and Diageo. Since becoming CEO of Edelman UK in May 2007, Robert has helped grow the business 55 percent and expanded the firm’s core capabilities, including acquiring Spook Media, which firmly placed Edelman as the pre-eminent digital player in the UK PR market. The firm won UK Agency of the Year in 2009 and a Gold Award in 2010. Phillips recently helped author and lead Edelman’s public engagement initiative to evolve the firm’s thinking on next generation communications, expand its core services and, in parallel, train employees across the firm.
“Edelman is a firm that continues to define the future of communications. I am thrilled to be taking my next career step here,” said Phillips. “I’m looking forward to building on David Brain’s great work and further developing Edelman across EMEA. We will continue to innovate, strive to lead and always be ambitious, but without fail, will seek to deliver the highest standards of client work."
Phillips is an award-winning brand marketer with two campaigns in PR Week’s Top 20 Campaigns of All Time. He is the co-author of Citizen Renaissance (2008), which examines the three great seismic shifts of our time: the perfect storm surrounding Climate Change; the Wellbeing Imperative; and the rise of Digital Democracy. He is also the author of the widely-read blog, www.citizenrenaissance.com, and is currently working with Think Tank Demos on an updated version of Citizen Renaissance. He sits on the London Council of the CBI and on its Climate Change Taskforce and is a founding supporter of the Portmeirion Symposium.
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Contact:
US : Derek Creevey
212.819.4834
derek.creevey@edelman.com
UK: Robert Phillips
011-44 77 85 25 45 44
robert.phillips@edelman.com
About Edelman
Edelman is the world’s largest independent public relations firm, with wholly-owned offices in 53 cities and 3,600 employees worldwide. Edelman was named Advertising Age’s “2010 Best Places to Work;” European Excellence Awards’ “2010 Agency of the Year;” PRWeek’s “2009 Agency of the Year;” Holmes Report’s “Agency of the Decade” and “2009 Asia Pacific Consultancy of the Year;” and among Glassdoor’s top five “2011 Best Places to Work.” Edelman owns specialty firms Blue (advertising), StrategyOne (research), RUTH (integrated marketing), DJE Science (medical education/publishing and science communications), and MATTER (sports, sponsorship, and entertainment). Visit www.edelman.com for more information.