FRANKFURT — BCW’s corporate lead in Germany, Santo Pane, is returning in-house to take up a newly-expanded communications and marketing leadership role at auditing giant PWC.

Pane has spent the past decade in agency, leading the corporate function at German agency Ergo before it was bought by Edelman in 2015, then becoming head of corporate communications at the merged company, before joining BCW last January as head of corporate solutions.

A banking and business economist, Pane was previously head of marketing for capital markets at German state-backed bank WestLB until 2009, before it was broken up in 2012.

PWC is merging its traditionally-siloed PR, marketing, events and digital functions to create a new combined head of communications role for Pane, who will report to Germany CEO Ulrich Störk and will also join the consultancy’s European marketing board.

Pane told the Holmes Report: “The auditing industry is facing transition because audit is becoming more digital and not only the offering but also the communications around it also need to become more digital. Bringing marketing, digital, events and PR together is not at all typical in Germany, but when I was working for the bank I always wanted to bring this integrated approach and I’m excited to start this new challenge.”

At the same time, PWC has hired Ilana Rolef-Heberling as head of marketing, reporting to Pane. She was previously marketing and communications director at Zalando Marketing Services. The former marketing and communications chief, Peter Gerdemann, is leaving PwC.

Pane leaves BCW at the end of April. German market leader Wolfgang Lünenbürger-Reidenbach said he was expecting to announce a “great global professional” as Pane’s replacement soon.

He added: “I’m very sorry to lose Santo who has been part of our successful merger in Germany, driving the integration of two agencies. But I’m very happy that BCW has been such a great launching pad for the next step in his career.”