Edelman introduced an govt management shuffle because the impartial PR agency appears to be like to capitalize on main shifts in media and advertising—and compete extra immediately for advertising budgets.
Longtime firm veteran Matthew Harrington steps into the function of govt chair as Mainardo de Nardis, board member and former OMD Worldwide CEO, succeeds him as international president and chief working officer.
Brian Buchwald, previously international chair of product and AI, has additionally been elevated to president of worldwide transformation and efficiency.
“Every of those leaders brings distinctive strengths that may assist us transfer ahead in a quickly altering communications panorama,” CEO Richard Edelman informed ADWEEK. “Their focus will likely be on delivering larger affect for our purchasers, strengthening our inside operations, and driving the agency’s ongoing transformation and innovation.”
De Nardis, who has an operations background at businesses, will deliver rigor to Edelman’s community globally. His CMO relationships will even assist the agency shift from a geography-focused mannequin to at least one structured round purchasers, Edelman stated.
“We’ve acquired the precise supply, it’s the precise time,” De Nardis informed ADWEEK.
The management shifts come on the heels of a sequence of senior artistic hires at Edelman because it angles for broader advertising budgets past PR. Earlier this yr, the agency introduced on Kate Stanners as chief artistic officer, worldwide, and Eduardo Tavares as international govt artistic director of well being.
AI in PR
Edelman additionally revealed the Edelman Central Working System (ECOS), an AI-powered platform that goals to assist the PR agency take benefit as AI search creates new alternatives for earned media.
“We’re having our personal reply to the second,” Edelman stated. “Corporations like ours, that are specialist in earned media, at the moment are lastly having a bonus.”
The platform, which underpins the company’s workflows and shopper engagements, is being utilized by choose groups interally. The corporate plans to increase entry to purchasers over the following yr.
Buchwald, who has been main the initiative, described ECOS because the agency’s AI infrastructure, connecting in-house generative fashions with exterior instruments from OpenAI and Microsoft, whereas integrating with enterprise software program like Workday. He known as it a “collaboration layer” that coordinates how AI is utilized throughout campaigns, groups, and purchasers.
ECOS is construct on an agentic framework, with AI brokers managing workflows, producing campaigns, and coordinating deliverables. Buchwald described the brokers as “operational copilots” that velocity up work.
Alongside ECOS, Edelman continues to develop Archie, its proprietary giant language mannequin centered on model belief—a longstanding pillar of the agency’s positioning. With these instruments, Edelman is utilizing AI to determine cultural moments earlier than they peak, attribute enterprise worth to earned channels, and show ROI, Buchwald stated.
“What AI is enabling us to do now could be fairly profound,” he stated. “We will determine these cultural moments earlier than they attain vital mass, so we will get to them on behalf of our purchasers earlier than their rivals do.”
As AI redefines the knowledge ecosystem, Edelman sees earned media changing into extra core to general advertising methods—and subsequently, capturing a bigger share of budgets which will have historically gone to giant holding firms.
“It’s our second of alternative, if we will take our share of the spend from 7% to fifteen%,” Edelman stated.
