London: Stephen Carter, the former CEO of J Walter Thompson, will be joining PR agency Brunswick Group as group CEO.
He will start in the new role next March 1, reporting directly to the firm's founder and chairman Alan Parker. Carter has not previously worked for a PR firm.
He told PRWeek UK that he had been in talks with Parker, along with Brunswick cofounders Louise Charlton and Andrew Fenwick, for about "four to five months" over the role.
Parker said, "The scale and breadth of the firm is such that now is the right time to appoint an experienced CEO."
Brunswick has 300 people and 11 global offices, including ones in New York and Washington. The firm is the leading M&A PR agency in North America as of October, representing deals worth more than $180 billion.
Carter was the first CEO at Ofcom, an independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, which he left earlier this year. Before joining Ofcom, he was COO and MD of cable firm NTL.
Angus Maitland, founder of London shop Maitland, told PRWeek UK, "This is good news for the industry, demonstrating that PR can attract top management figureheads."
Additional reporting on this story by Robyn Lewis.
