Edelman has named Dave Samson global vice chair, Corporate Affairs, effective May 1. In this newly created role, Samson will serve as client counselor to Edelman’s Corporate and Crisis clients as well as to some of the firm’s largest accounts. Corporate Affairs is Edelman’s fastest growing practice. He will also help dimensionalize the Edelman Trust Barometer franchise, now in its 20th year. Samson, who will be based in San Francisco, will report to Katie Burke, Chief Strategy Officer and global head of Practices and Sectors.
“Corporations are operating in a new environment where they can suddenly find themselves pulled into the center of a political or social issue,” said Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman. “This requires a unique and highly specialized form of counsel that Dave can deliver. He has effectively managed highly sensitive crises and issues and has a strong background across industries, including technology, energy and consumer brands. He is the consummate pro – he fights for his client and always puts integrity at the center of everything he does.”
Samson joins Edelman from Chevron, where he served as general manager of Public Affairs. In that role he directed all aspects of the company’s corporate and digital communications. Samson also oversaw Chevron’s corporate marketing and branding, research and analytics as well as its social media properties. During his time at Chevron he launched a number of notable corporate marketing campaigns, including “The Power of Human Energy,” “We Agree” and most recently “Only Human.” “Edelman has what every agency desires: rich history, strong culture, scale and independence,” said Samson. “And at the center of Edelman’s business model is the client. These are the attributes that separate Edelman from every other agency, both small and large. I’m eager to work with CCOs and bring my years of experience on the client side to bear on their behalf as they look to create lasting value for their respective companies.”
In 2018, Samson was inducted into the PRWeek and Page Halls of Fame. He is a recipient of the Plank Center award for Mentorship and is past chairman of the Arthur Page Society.
Prior to joining Chevron, Samson was vice president of International Corporate Communications and Executive Communications at Oracle. Before Oracle, he was vice president of Global Communications at Levi Strauss overseeing all communications worldwide. Earlier in his career he was director of Communications and International Public Relations at IBM Corporation. While at IBM he also served as head of communications for IBM Global Services.
Over the past year Edelman has named several new corporate leaders whom Samson will partner with, including Antoine Calendrier, Reputation lead for North Asia; Scott Thomson, Reputation lead for South Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia; Jim Prosser, U.S. West Coast corporate lead; David Ryan, Corporate Affairs lead for Canada; and Daniel Soto, Corporate Affairs regional coordinator for Latin America. Specialist talent with diverse backgrounds has also been added in Employee Experience (Cydney Roach, U.S. lead; formerly with EY and Deloitte) and Public Affairs (Kirsty Graham, Global CEO of Edelman Public Affairs; previously at Pfizer).
Many of Edelman’s emerging Corporate Affairs capabilities, such as Business-to-Business Marketing and Employee Experience, have become leading drivers of the firm’s growth, with high-profile clients including American Express, Rio Tinto and Mitsubishi.
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Edelman is a global communications firm that partners with businesses and organizations to evolve, promote and protect their brands and reputations. Our 6,000 people in more than 60 offices deliver communications strategies that give our clients the confidence to lead and act with certainty, earning the trust of their stakeholders. Our honors include the Cannes Lions Grand Prix for PR; Advertising Age’s 2019 A-List; the Holmes Report’s 2018 Global Digital Agency of the Year; and, five times, Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work. Since our founding in 1952, we have remained an independent, family-run business. Edelman owns specialty companies Edelman Intelligence (research) and United Entertainment Group (entertainment, sports, lifestyle). For more information please visit: www.edelman.com