Burson-Marsteller

Björn Edlund becomes Senior Adviser to Burson-Marsteller

News, Press releases • 22nd April 2010

Björn Edlund, former Executive Vice President and Head of Group Communications at Royal Dutch Shell, becomes Senior Adviser to Burson-Marsteller.

Brussels, 22 April 2010 – Björn Edlund, former Executive Vice President and Head of Group Communications at Royal Dutch Shell, is to become a Senior Adviser to Burson-Marsteller, the global public relations and communications firm.

Edlund retired from Royal Dutch Shell earlier this year after nearly five years in charge of internal and external reputation management. He led the development of an integrated communications programme at Shell, realigning the global function for proactive business support through more focused messaging and enhanced stakeholder interaction.

“I am delighted that Björn Edlund is joining our growing group of senior advisers at Burson-Marsteller EMEA. He brings vast experience of dealing with some of the toughest communications challenges faced by a wide variety of sectors. Securing Björn as an adviser is a real coup for us and our clients,” said Jeremy Galbraith, CEO of Burson-Marsteller EMEA.

“I am pleased to join one of the world’s leading strategic communications consultancies. I have worked with many of the global agencies but Burson-Marsteller and its evidence-based approach to communications and its grounding in firm values and professionalism was the one that stood out for me,” said Björn Edlund.

As a Senior Visiting Fellow at Henley Business School, Edlund teaches on its executive MBA and advanced management programmes. Last year, he was one of the first recipients in Europe of The Holmes Group’s individual SABRE Awards, which recognises public relations practitioners who have demonstrated peerless counseling and management capabilities.

Edlund began his international career in news agency journalism in 1977, and has worked in business communications since 1989. After four years as head of corporate communications at Sandoz, he set up his own communications consultancy in 1996, with clients including Novartis, Schering pharmaceuticals as well as the ABB Group. Prior to joining Shell in 2005, Edlund spent seven years as head of communications at ABB. During the company’s turnaround years, he also drove the integration of corporate responsibility and other sustainability aspects into business planning and practices.

About Burson-Marsteller

Burson-Marsteller (www.burson-marsteller.com), established in 1953, is a leading global public relations and communications firm. Using a data-drive approach called Evidence-Based Communications, it provides clients with strategic thinking and programme execution across a full range of public relations, public affairs, advertising and digital media services. The firm’s worldwide network consists of 69 offices and 67 affiliate offices, together operating in 92 countries across six continents. Burson-Marsteller is a part of Young & Rubicam Brands, a subsidiary of WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY), one of the world’s leading communications services networks.

Notes to editors:

Other senior advisers to Burson-Marsteller in the EMEA region include Jim Currie, former European Commission Director-General for Environment, David Harley former Deputy Secretary-General of the European Parliament, and Carl Hagen, former vice president of the Norwegian Parliament and former leader of the Progressive Party.

Contact:

Katarina Wallin Bureau | Managing Director, EMEA Strategy | Burson-Marsteller
Tel: +32 473421141 | Email: katarina.wallinbureau@bm.com

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