LONDON — Burson has named former Edelman EMEA chief operating officer and Golin CEO Jonathan Hughes as its new EMEA chief executive, with current EMEA CEO Scott Wilson set to depart the firm later this year.

Hughes (pictured, right) will join Burson in June. He announced his departure from Edelman earlier this month, where Justin Westcott has stepped into the EMEA COO role.

The appointment is the second major shake-up of Burson’s leadership in Europe this year, since former Google, Starbucks, Salesforce and Ofcom comms leader Simon Redfern was named as the agency’s new UK CEO in January, after the departure of Simon Whitehead to Portland.

Before joining Edelman in 2021 as a senior advisor and then taking on the EMEA COO role in 2023, Hughes spent 14 years with Golin, first as co-MD of the London office, where he jointly built a team of 26 to more than 200 professionals and drove eight-figure revenue. His subsequent role as international president saw him move to Hong Kong to build out Golin’s Asia network by aligning areas of expertise, developing new digital and content capabilities, building an award-winning culture and scaling the business.

In 2017, Hughes was promoted to joint CEO of Golin alongside Matt Neale and Gary Rudnick, focusing on Asia as well as Golin’s global corporate and technology practices. His remit expanded to include Golin’s EMEA team, clients and commercial operations, with Hughes returning to London in 2018. Earlier in his career Hughes served with Weber Shandwick and Ketchum.

Hughes told PRovoke Media: “It’s a big shift to leave Edelman, which I loved, but Burson is at a pivotal moment and it’s one of those opportunities that I couldn’t pass up. There’s so much going on in the industry – and outside of that with clients – and there’s a huge opportunity with Burson emerging from the ‘becoming Burson’ stage to take it forward, with new energy. Now is the time for ‘being Burson’, with its strengths in AI technology and creativity: it’s all about innovation, and how we can be both an agency of scale and move fast. I’m super-excited.”

He added: “Clients, particularly in EMEA, are currently facing unprecedented opportunity and uncertainty in equal measure. Between the promise of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, increasing geopolitical uncertainty caused by global leadership changes, clients need highly skilled counselors steeped in data and creativity ready to guide them through rapid and dramatic transformation. I’m looking forward making Burson EMEA the destination for both clients looking for world-class agency partners and talented professionals looking to do impactful and meaningful work.”

Burson global CEO Corey duBrowa said: “Jon is that rare breed of industry professional who is both a consummate client counselor, innovator and business builder. His track record speaks for itself, having built expansive teams; digital, technology, and creative services and expertise; and revenue across multiple regions.

“Jon’s operational acumen - together with his deep experience in corporate and crisis communications, executive visibility, corporate affairs and issues management - makes him the perfect fit to lead Burson’s important EMEA region and to help guide our clients through their most intricate challenges.”

Wilson (pictured, left), has been with Burson for more than 14 years, first as Cohn & Wolfe’s UK CEO and EMEA managing director. When the agency merged with Burson-Marsteller to create BCW, he led the regional integration of the two firms as president of Europe and Africa, and oversaw his second major WPP merger – that of BCW and Hill & Knowlton last year – as Burson’s EMEA CEO. Before joining WPP in 2010, Wilson spent nearly nine years at Weber Shandwick, latterly as consumer MD for the UK and EMEA.

In a LinkedIn post, Wilson said: “With 62 consecutive business reviews behind me, I am looking forward to returning to living life by the seasons. Not quarters! After August, I’ll continue to be a proud Burson supporter and fan, but it will be for others to protect my legacy. I have made absolutely no plans for the future. And that has always been the plan. There’s an exciting new world out there. And I’m looking forward to jumping right in.”

And of his two experiences of mergers within WPP, he said: “Mergers can be challenging and gnarly but also intensely rewarding. In terms of learned experience, I venture that I am the probably the only Global Board member and regional leader – indeed probably the only person on the planet – to have presided over the two largest mergers in our industry’s history. It has been a huge responsibility and an incredible honour, but it has also been exhausting. As many of you know, I lost my daughter Edie in the first months of the 2018 merger and my father in the first weeks of the 2024 merger. Professionally blessed. Personally, not so much.

"This is the right time for me and, in terms of my own decision making, I was struck last summer by the thoughts of Liverpool FC manager Jurgen Klopp when he announced his decision to stand down. He said: ‘with all the responsibility you have in your job, you have to be at the top of your game. I’ve invested everything I have but I’ve realised my resources are not endless. I’m convinced this is the right time.”

DuBrowa honoured Wilson's contribution, saying: "I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to Scott Wilson for everything he has done for us over the past 15 years with Burson, BCW and Cohn & Wolfe. Scott has been a strong and steady hand across a succession of roles – as UK CEO and regional managing director, and subsequently as regional CEO – guiding his teams to business and professional growth. I am extremely grateful for everything Scott has done for the organization, and I know I speak for all of us in wishing him every success in this next chapter.”

Burson and Edelman were both recently named to PRovoke Media's 50 Best Agencies in the UK.