LONDON — Strategic communications agency Portland, part of the Omnicom group, has appointed Burson UK chief executive Simon Whitehead as its new CEO.

Whitehead, who starts his new role in March, had been UK CEO of Hill & Knowlton since 2018 when WPP merged the agency with BCW last year to form Burson. He was named as Burson’s UK CEO in June last year, as well as being the agency’s global chair of energy and industrials.

In total, Whitehead was at WPP for more than 13 years, and under his leadership H&K was named as PRovoke Media’s UK agency of the year in 2022.

His appointment follows an extensive search to identify Portland’s new leader. Previous CEO Victoria Oakley (neé Dean) left the firm in May last year after two years; she is now chief executive of IFPI, the global trade body representing the recorded music industry.

Whitehead spent a decade in the banking sector and in politics and has more than two decades of experience in international communications, corporate reputation, financial communications and public affairs.

His move comes as Portland continues to refine its offering, focusing on integrated corporate and public affairs support to businesses, foundations, development organisations, healthcare companies and governments, including crisis, issues, reputation and dispute management. The agency has around 250 staffers, mainly in London but also across its offices in Brussels, Paris, Doha, Nairobi, Singapore and Washington DC.

Portland chairman Steve Morris told PRovoke Media: “We spoke to a lot of excellent internal and external candidates and had a huge amount of interest from brilliant, senior agency leaders, but Simon stood out. He’s a perfect fit, with huge experience of the industry and all the things Portland does best, as well as having an international perspective and lots of energy and enthusiasm.”

Whitehead told PRovoke Media that he had not been actively looking for a new role but saw it as a “terrific opportunity”: “I’ve been at H&K and then Burson for 13 years – that’s quite an era, and having spent the past year putting the Burson merger together it was a big decision for me. But these opportunities don’t come around very often, and I’ve always admired and respected Portland. It’s a top-tier brand, with great clients and great people.

“There’s been quite a lot of change there and they were looking for someone to lead them into the next phase. I’m keen to get started, to work out what the business needs and to make sure we’re developing, expanding and modernising. There’s so much change in comms and I want to make sure we’re building a company that is fit for the future and can lead the industry in the corporate and public affairs segment.”

He added that Omnicom’s forthcoming acquisition of IPG would “for sure” lead to some interesting developments for the agencies in both groups.

OPRG chief executive Chris Foster added: “Portland is a cornerstone of OPRG's strategy to deliver a fully integrated global public affairs offering. With its established presence in the UK, EMEA, and the Middle East, and under Simon's leadership, we will advance our ambitions and further expand our capabilities, ensuring we continue to achieve exceptional results on a global scale”.

At Burson, EMEA CEO Scott Wilson said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Simon for his many years of service to Burson and previously Hill & Knowlton. In the last 12 months, Simon has dedicated himself to working in close partnership with our Burson UK leadership team and has laid strong foundations on which we will continue to grow. We wish Simon every success for the future and will be announcing his successor soon.”