Edelman has named Mark Renshaw global chair of its Brand practice, effective January 30, 2017. Edelman’s Brand practice, formerly named Consumer Marketing, is made up of more than 1,000 employees globally. He succeeds Michelle Hutton, who was named COO of Europe this past February. Renshaw will be based in Chicago and report to Ben Boyd, president of practices and sectors.
“Mark is a proven global business leader who lives and breathes multi-channel creative content strategy and understands the power of earned media,” said Richard Edelman, president and CEO of Edelman. “Mark will push our thinking into new dimensions for our clients and help advance our communications marketing ambition.”
Renshaw joins Edelman from Leo Burnett where he was most recently the chief Digital & Innovation officer, responsible for developing global brand strategies for some of the largest marketers and brands in the world. Renshaw has also been behind some of the ad industry’s more recent innovative partnerships, including collaborations on data, insights and content creation and publishing with the likes of Google, Facebook and Amazon.
The strategic evolution of the firm from traditional PR to communications marketing is reinforced with the Brand practice naming as Edelman deepens client engagements to help brands develop cross-stakeholder, cross-platform engagement and earn strong, long-term consumer relationships. As the global chair of the Brand practice, Renshaw will collaborate closely with global Digital practice chair Kevin King and global Creative Strategy chair Jackie Cooper to continue to innovate bold brand ideas that inspire conversation and belief.
“I’m incredibly excited to join a firm that is providing the type of unique solutions that the current landscape demands,” said Renshaw. “To achieve engagement, brands need to blend the thinking of marketing and communications, while harnessing the power of creativity across new and emerging platforms.”
“We could not be more thrilled to have Mark join the firm,” said Boyd. “His global experience and track record of providing counsel to C-level executives will help our Brand practice team’s continued transformation and facilitate further collaboration with Edelman Digital and our creative network.”
An 18-year veteran of Leo Burnett, Renshaw held several regional and global roles during his tenure including chief Innovation Officer, U.S. Digital practice lead and regional digital director of Asia. He helped redefine brand strategy and marketing approaches for some of P&G’s brands, and launched Amazon’s most high-profile marketing program at the Super Bowl. Prior to joining Leo, Renshaw was the founder and technical director of Liquid Vision, a boutique agency in Sydney. He is a graduate of the University of Western Sydney.