NEW YORK: Edelman has named Jennifer Cohan chair of its global consumer practice, effective January 2, 2013.
She will be based in New York and report to Alan VanderMolen, vice chair of Daniel J. Edelman Holdings and president and CEO of global practices.
Cohan succeeds Christina Smedley, who left the agency last month to join PayPal as VP of global communications, a newly created role. Smedley reports to Alan Marks, SVP of global communications at eBay.
Edelman's consumer practice has 887 employees worldwide and handles 27% of the firm's business. “Consumer public relations is our firm's heritage and remains our bedrock,” VanderMolen said in a statement.
Cohan currently serves as MD at GolinHarris in New York, overseeing strategic direction and operations, after joining the Interpublic Group firm seven years ago.
She previously worked as deputy MD for Cohn & Wolfe in London, where she led business development for the office. Prior to that, Cohan worked as Cohn & Wolfe's consumer practice lead in New York.
Former GolinHarris creative director James Kelly is set to join Ketchum as global director of strategic and creative planning for Procter & Gamble Worldwide at the end of this month. He will report to Serena De Morgan, partner and global client director for the agency's brand practice, and Partner and Chief Innovation Officer Karen Strauss.
About a dozen Golin staffers left its Chicago office a year after the firm restructured around four specialty groups. CEO Fred Cook said the employees, who worked across levels and specialty groups, did not fit well into the new roles created at the firm.
