Edelman Adjusts Geographic Footprint in Africa & Middle East

In a move essential to Edelman’s pan-Asia growth strategy, the company added oversight of Africa and the Middle East to the responsibilities of David Brain, currently president and CEO of APAC.

Previously, these two markets were managed by Edelman Europe. The realignment reflects emerging business trends, of increasing trade flows between Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The move will become effective at the beginning of Edelman’s fiscal year, on July 1, 2013. Effective at the same date, Edelman also announced other three organization changes in APAC:

• Bob Grove, currently managing director of Southeast Asia based in Singapore, is to be based in Hong Kong and have oversight of North Asia including China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan;
• Iain Twine, currently general manager of the UAE, will be based in Singapore and manage operations in Southeast Asia and Australia (including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Australia);
• Robert Holdheim, currently managing director of India based in Delhi, will lead the India, Africa and Middle East markets.

Richard Edelman, the firm’s president and CEO, said that these changes were necessary, as global markets growth and change also shape Edelman’s global path:

“Increasingly our clients are structuring themselves against growth opportunities prompted by ever increasing trade flows between Africa, the Middle East and Asia. We are looking to capitalize on this trend by organizing ourselves in a similar fashion. David’s leadership strength and overall experience in emerging markets will be essential to our pan-Asia growth strategy.”

David Brain explained that the new geographic footprint of the company will deliver better market understanding and execution in the area, in a way no other firm in the region does:

“By scaling the region in this way we are able to invest more deeply in more practice and specialist experts in the sub-regions to supplement our market teams. Clients are demanding both excellence in market understanding and execution as well as deep industry and specialist knowledge. This structure allows us to deliver that in a way no other firm in the region does.”

David Brain will continue to report to Matthew J. Harrington, Edelman’s global chief operating officer.