Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

— George Bernard Shaw

It’s been an action-packed, rewarding and progressive three years leading the creative and planning ambition for Edelman. We now have over 600 people in our Creative and Planning communities with a huge raft of experience. When I started this stage of our creative journey, Edelman had never even been to the Cannes Lions. We now have 59 Lions; have hosted Jamie Oliver, Will Smith, Sir Ken Robinson, Mario Testino and the Reverend Jesse Jackson on the stage; and run a host of exciting events for our clients. Our work has advanced as we bring to life the exciting depth and breadth of campaigns that epitomize our communications marketing ambitions. As we all know, we can talk about ambition, or we can get on with it and do the work. At Edelman, we prefer to do the latter, and in doing so, the work speaks for itself. Take a look.

One of the great aspects of Edelman is the independent and entrepreneurial spirit of the firm. This spirit has allowed us to build this community over the past three years. This spirit has ensured we have had the time and space to create, to invent, to dream and to deliver impact for our clients. This appreciation for the entrepreneur has brought this firm to where it is today.

As you know, I am at heart an entrepreneur, and so this place fits me well. If you know me, you also know I have always loved working on new initiatives. And so, I have decided to yet again embrace my entrepreneurial spirit, change my role, and further business-building opportunities both at Edelman and with some of the Board Advisory roles I hold, such as with Jamie Oliver. As part of this exciting next chapter, I will also be supporting UEG, our entertainment, sport and popular culture business, as we work together to extend their offer beyond the U.S. into Europe. I have always been inspired by the energetic power afforded by harnessing popular culture — not only exploiting it but often creating it. It was at the core of our success with JCPR, it is key to the success of Edelman Deportivo, and it is integral to the most compelling campaigns we create and run.

Creative people are often the least complacent people I know (and love). As a creative, I know I need to reinvent myself and progress. I need to jump into the new so I can feel and keep my antennae sharp. I’m so excited about this next stage and thankful to Richard Edelman for always supporting my entrepreneurial heart as well as grateful to our wonderful creative and planning folk.

Mark Renshaw has deep experience from Leo Burnett across brand and corporate business and so Edelman’s ambition is in excellent hands as we all collaborate to determine what is next. I’m looking forward to seeing the next stage unfold. George Bernard Shaw said, “Life is about creating yourself.” I might amend that only slightly to suggest, life is about recreating yourself. Here’s to what’s next.

"My Life Through A Lens"