LONDON — Edelman has made a number of hires and promotions across the EMEA region to strengthen its digital, planning and creative capabilities.

Felicitas Olschewski joins Edelman as head of digital, EMEA and will lead the team of 78 digital experts across the region, with a focus on strategic advisory, digital content and innovation.

Olschewski joins Edelman from Adidas, where she was global director of digital strategy and innovation and most recently drove the brand’s five-year strategic business plan for digital experience. She also held a number of senior digital, creative and innovation strategy roles in Adidas product innovation, and has also worked in creative agencies including TBWA, DDB & Tribal, DentsuAchtung and 72and Sunny.

In addition, Jay Gallagher will take on an expanded role as chief strategy officer, responsible for leading and growing the function across EMEA, as well as putting insights and strategy at the centre of client work. Gallagher joined Edelman UK seven years ago to leading planning and has been instrumental in building the function to 27 planners and strategists across EMEA and a number of planning and strategy directors, including Patricia Ochando in Spain, Prabs Iyeras in the Middle East and Ben Elias in Germany.

Gallagher and Olschewski will sit on Edelman EMEA’s bench of integrated solutions leaders, which is led by regional chief operating officer AJ Hesselink (pictured).

The firm has also grown its EMEA creative team, with senior creative hires in France, Spain and the UK. Joining the 79-strong creative team across the region, Lauren Haberfield has taken on the role of creative director for Edelman France, having previously held roles at McCann, Ogilvy & Mather and most recently at BETC. Felipe Braz was recently hired as creative director in Spain, previously holding roles at a number of creative agencies in Spain, Belgium and Brazil including Ogilvy and DDB’s OneWG. And Earlier this summer Lex Di Benedetto joined Edelman UK as creative director.

Hesselink said: “We are thrilled to bring in talent of this calibre. Clients are looking for fully integrated solutions and the growth within these teams reflect the type of work we are producing. Edelman’s Cannes Lions Grand Prix win this summer is a demonstration that this model works. Bringing together these functions to solve business challenges is no longer a nice to have, but essential to successfully navigating the complex world we live in and connecting with audiences in an authentic and purposeful way.”

In other regional leadership moves, Joe Carmody has been promoted to general manager and CEO of Edelman Ireland’s business. Carmody took over leadership of Edelman’s Irish office in 2014 and during that time has grown the business exponentially. Niamh Garvey has also been appointed executive director international health UK and Ireland as part of plans to grow the health business across the region.

Former Golin Co-CEO Jon Hughes joined Edelman EMEA in June as a senior advisor to work across the firm’s brand advisory and integrated marketing practice.

Ed Williams, CEO and president of Edelman EMEA, said: “We are now seeing the rubber hit the road of our regional strategy – senior hires operating in a country agnostic manner against complex client mandates.”