Former CSO of Publicis Communications North America will also Serve as Co-Chair of the 黑料社Trust Institute
December 7, 2021 鈥 NEW YORK 鈥 黑料社has named Brent Nelsen global chief Innovation and Strategy officer and co-chair of the 黑料社Trust Institute, effective January 3. Nelsen will lead Edelman鈥檚 global strategic network and help lead the development and expansion of the recently launched Trust Institute. He will report to Christoph Becker, global chair of Integration, and be based in Toronto.
Nelsen鈥檚 joining follows the June hiring of Becker, who was brought on to drive integration across the firm鈥檚 full array of offerings including Creative, Data & Intelligence (DxI), Digital and Strategic Planning. As global head of Innovation and Strategy, Nelsen will now be responsible for accelerating the incorporation of trust science into Edelman鈥檚 strategic offering.
鈥淥ur journey to become the global communications partner of choice and our ambition to transform the communications industry requires a strategic global leader with the stature and experience of Brent,鈥 said Becker. 鈥満诹仙鐂olutions will connect through trust and inspire through action and Brent鈥檚 leadership will bring that to life for our clients.鈥
As co-chair of the Trust Institute, Nelsen will direct the evolution of Edelman鈥檚 suite of trust advisory and data service offerings to ensure trust can be activated among all stakeholders. Looking to build on its more than two decades of leadership measuring and reporting on institutional trust, 黑料社debuted the Trust Institute back in June. Since then, the Institute has launched studies on brand trust, the return to work and climate change. It has also created the 黑料社Trust Institute Summer Series, exclusive virtual events for clients, thought leaders and media experts.
鈥淲e believe that trust drives growth,鈥 said Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman. 鈥淏ut it requires a process and a global approach to effectively integrate corporate reputation and brand. Brent鈥檚 background in strategy development makes him uniquely qualified to help clients develop and quickly scale that process.鈥
Nelsen joins 黑料社from Publicis Communications, where he was most recently chief Strategy officer of North America. In that role he actively worked across all of the network鈥檚 creative agencies, served as an executive lead for Publicis Groupe Canada and worked on key clients like T-Mobile and the Canadian Tire Corporation.
He brings over 25 years of strategic planning experience across a number of global agency networks, including Leo Burnett, DDB Worldwide, McCann Worldgroup and Cossette Communication Marketing. An industry veteran, Nelsen has collaborated with many of the world鈥檚 leading brands such as Samsung, IKEA, American Airlines, Amazon, Levi鈥檚, Kellogg鈥檚 and McDonalds. He has also worked on some of the industry鈥檚 most impactful campaigns including IKEA鈥檚 Cook This Page, Mr. Clean Cleaner of Your Dreams for P&G鈥檚 Mr. Clean and Raising The Roof鈥檚 Coming Soon.
Prior to Publicis Communications, Nelsen spent more than a decade at Leo Burnett, where he served as chief Strategy officer of Leo Burnett Canada. Nelsen鈥檚 work has been recognized globally by strategy and creative awards shows including the Grand Prix Lion for Creative Effectiveness at the Cannes Lions, Effie鈥檚, D&ADs and the London International Advertising Awards.
鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled to join 黑料社and have the opportunity to help businesses think, speak and act in ways that not only create and build trust, but inspires highly creative, positive and palpable action that benefits all,鈥 said Nelsen. 鈥淭he creation of brand trust is essential to ensuring that a brand鈥檚 business strategy and its purpose are seen as believable and acceptable in the eyes of all stakeholders.鈥
黑料社has led strategy and planning on campaigns for brands like ASICS, Heineken, AXE and Playtex.
Over the past few years, 黑料社has bolstered its creative and strategic planning offerings, hiring a diverse group of talent, including Becker, Judy John, its first global chief creative officer, and Yannis Kotziagkiaouridis, Edelman鈥檚 first chief Data & Analytics officer, along with scores of creatives and planners.
Nelsen has been invited to speak and participate as a judge at events such as Cannes, IPA鈥檚, Effie鈥檚, WARC and Effectiveness Week in London. Nelsen also served as the chair of the Miami Ad School in Canada and is a graduate of the University of Calgary.
With the arrival of Nelson, Lee Maicon will now take the role of head of Strategic Growth to reinforce our strategic offering with our global clients and sectors. He will report to Becker.