BCW announces PR leaders for Africa, Europe

Robyn de Villiers becomes Market Leader, Africa, BCW

The appointments follow on the global merger of leading communications firms, Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & Wolfe.

“Announcing market leadership is an important milestone as we continue to accelerate our BCW integration in Europe and Africa,” said Scott Wilson, president, E&A, BCW. “We have a hugely impressive lineup in place, drawn from some of the best talent from both legacy agencies, and I am confident we are well placed and on track to deliver on our ambitions.

“Our plans for our teams to work together in the same office location are well advanced, and we are already reaping the benefits of pooling our resources to provide even greater value to our clients and to our teams.”

The new market leaders for #BCW in the Europe&Africa region have been announced! @robyndevilliers becomes the Market Leader for #Africa, a role which she has filled for @B_M We couldn’t be happier to be a part of #BCW and wish Robyn the very best. https://t.co/DL0ONKdtpx pic.twitter.com/sUkjgwcWsF

— B-M Africa (@BM__Africa) July 27, 2018

Market Leaders will report to Wilson and include:

Africa: Robyn de Villiers becomes Market Leader, Africa, BCW. De Villiers previously led the market for Burson-Marsteller.

Belgium (Brussels): Karen Massin becomes Market Leader, Brussels, BCW. Massin previously led the market for Burson-Marsteller.

Finland (Helsinki): Clarisse Berggårdh becomes Market Leader, Finland, BCW. Berggårdh previously led the market for Burson-Marsteller.

France (Paris): Philippe Pailliart becomes Market Leader, France, BCW. Pailliart previously led the market for Burson-Marsteller.

Germany (Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich): Wolfgang Lünenbürger-Reidenbach becomes Market Leader, Germany, BCW. He was previously managing director, C&W, Germany.

Italy (Milan, Rome): Fabio Caporizzi and Elena Silva become co-Market Leaders, Italy, BCW. Caporizzi previously led the Italy market for Burson-Marsteller while Silva was managing director, C&W Italy.

Norway (Oslo): Bente Engesland becomes Market Leader, Norway, BCW. Engesland previously led the market for Burson-Marsteller.

Spain (Madrid, Barcelona): Carmen Valera becomes Market Leader, Spain, BCW. Valera previously led the market for Burson-Marsteller.

Sweden (Stockholm): Marta Karlqvist becomes Market Leader, Sweden, BCW. Karlqvist was previously managing director, C&W Sweden.

Turkey (Istanbul): Gonca Karakas becomes Market Leader, Turkey, BCW. Karakas previously led the market for Effect Burson-Marsteller.

United Kingdom (London): Rebecca Grant becomes Market Leader, UK, BCW. Grant was previously Managing Director, C&W UK

BCW Sport (Lausanne): Lars Haue-Pedersen becomes Market Leader, BCW Sport. Pedersen previous led B-M Sport for Burson-Marsteller.

#AfricaMonth: Africa communications is rising too

Robyn de Villiers  30 May 2018

Africa

Leadership announcements for other Europe and Africa markets will be announced in due course.

“BCW Africa is one of the jewels in our Europe and Africa region and in Robyn (De Villiers), we have a hugely talented and experienced leader. I had the pleasure of working with Robyn ahead of the BCW merger so have first-hand experience of the capabilities of Robyn and her team.

“Looking forward, our strength across Africa means we are able to extend the depth and breadth of talents and capabilities we are able to offer our clients," added Wilson.

“The successful track records and proven expertise of BCW’s leadership team in the Europe and Africa region will propel us towards our goal of becoming the pre-eminent integrated communications agency in the world,” said Donna Imperato, global CEO, BCW.

Talent

Wilson added: “Since our merger was announced, I have had the opportunity to see at first hand the depth and breadth of talents at our disposal here in Europe and Africa. Having been with Cohn & Wolfe since 2010, the capabilities of the C&W network were obviously well known to me.

“Now, having had the time to see the complementary talents and skills within the legacy Burson-Marsteller network, I am genuinely excited about what we can achieve in making BCW a truly great place to work for our teams and an even stronger integrated marketing communications partner to our clients.

“The level of interest and excitement in the new BCW has been incredible; clients and prospects across the region have been so positive that we are facing a significant uptick in new business and client referrals. As we look to accelerate our integration in the second half of this year, the future for BCW in Europe and Africa looks incredibly bright.”

Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW) is one of the world’s largest, full-service, global communications agencies with deep expertise in digital and integrated communications, across all industry sectors. The agency combines expertise in digitally-driven creative content and integrated communications – across the consumer, healthcare and technology sectors – with deep strength in public affairs, corporate reputation, crisis and research and analytics.