DUBAI—Carol Potter is joining Edelman as executive vice-chairman for the firm's Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APACMEA) region, after spending the past eight years as CEO of BBDO China.

Potter, who relocates from Shanghai to Dubai, will report to Edelman APACMEA CEO David Brain.

The hire, which marks a significant milestone in Edelman's efforts to attract more diverse, non-traditional talent, follows the move by Cornelia Kunze to a similar role in Europe earlier this month.

"Carol represents the gold standard of advertising and planning, and will bring with her the science and rigor of marketing to accelerate our evolution into becoming the region’s first communications marketing agency," said Brain. "She is a leading brands thinker and will elevate our research, creative and content offerings across the region for the benefit of our clients."

Prior to joining BBDO in 2006, Potter was a global business director at JWT in London. She started her career at Saatchi & Saatchi and has also worked in Sydney, New York, Tokyo.

"Edelman has always been an impressive company to me and its evolution, which David is pioneering in the region, really ignited my interest," said Potter. "I see this as a wonderful opportunity to use my experience in new ways to pursue that same agenda."

In particular, Potter will aim to help develop Edelman’s brand offer, which encompasses social, digital, experiential, PR, analytics and research for clients throughout the region.