CHICAGO: Edelman has appointed David Armano, MD of Edelman Digital in Chicago, to serve as global strategy director for key accounts, a newly created role at the firm.
Armano, who joined Edelman in 2009, will report to Cricket Wardein, head of the agency's US digital practice. Brad Mays, Southwest digital lead at the firm, is succeeding Armano as GM of Edelman Digital Chicago. Mays will report to Rick Murray, GM of Edelman Chicago.
Armano's primary responsibilities include discovering and driving growth opportunities for Edelman's key clients. He will also collaborate with account leaders and digital account heads on specific projects, as well as counsel clients' CMOs and digital marketing and social media teams.
One reason Edelman created Armano's role is because its digital business is growing and many of its relationships with clients are becoming more global, explained Kevin King, global practice chair at Edelman Digital.
“I see it as a forward-looking, future-proofing role, and it's a way to spark new creativity in our biggest clients,” he said.
King added that Edelman's digital growth has been particularly strong in Latin America and Asia-Pacific, so the agency will continue to focus on growth in those regions, among others.
“A lot of our clients are not just hiring us to manage them in the US or Europe, they're hiring us to manage in 20-, 30-, 40-plus countries, so making sure we have a social media footprint that matches those needs is really what we're trying to accomplish right now,” King said.
Edelman's digital practice has more than 1,000 staffers worldwide.
Prior to joining Edelman, Armano was a senior partner and founding team member of Dachis Group.
Mays, who joined Edelman last year, will lead 75 staffers in his new role. Before Edelman, Mays worked as global engagement practice group leader at WCG and as an SVP at Fleishman-Hillard.
Earlier this month, Amanda Glasgow joined Edelman for the third time to serve as EVP and Western region director for consumer, a newly created role at the firm. Before rejoining the agency, she served as North American consumer practice director at MSLGroup in San Francisco for the past year.
This story was updated on October 10 with comment from King.
