NEW YORK — Sean McCarthy has joined Cognito to lead US corporate communications.

In the new executive VP role, McCarthy is responsible for building the financial services agency’s corporate communications consulting business in the US. He serves on the agency’s US management team and reports to US president Rowan Benecke.

McCarthy was most recently CCO and external affairs director at the UAE company TAQA Group, where he oversaw the company’s global communications team across 11 countries. Prior to TAQA, he held senior US corporate communications roles at Burson-Marsteller, Weber Shandwick, Edelman and MSL.

“Sean joins Cognito at an exciting time to build on our solid recent growth in the US, while working with marquee clients facing complex stakeholder engagement challenges and opportunities,” Benecke said. “Sean brings deep experience in corporate reputation management, restructurings and transformations, brand building, ESG positioning, employee engagement and crisis and issues management. Sean’s expertise helping C-suite leaders navigate evolving stakeholder expectations while advancing their business interests offers a compelling proposition to our clients.”