LONDON — Edelman has created a new role to expand its trust advisory capabilities, hiring Steve Van Riel as senior strategy director and EMEA head of trust development.

Steve Van Riel joins from Teneo, where he had been a senior managing director since 2014, leading Teneo's brand trust work with clients such as McDonald's, Google, HSBC, the BBC and National Lottery.

He previously worked for the Labour Party under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, including as director of policy and research, and has a doctorate in behavioural science.

Edelman UK’s co-CEO and global crisis chair Hugh Taggart said: “Steve will be an important addition to our trust advisory capabilities as we continue to invest in new research, data and measurement capabilities that put trust at the heart of business decision making. We know that building and retaining trust is now an imperative to both the corporate affairs director and the CMO and today’s leaders need to be equipped with actionable insights about the changing dynamics of trust.

“Steve’s blend of behavioural science, brand strategy and a deep understanding of the drivers of trust will be hugely valuable to our clients as trust becomes increasingly important to not only building corporate resilience but also driving purchasing decisions.”

Van Riel added: “How organisations win and lose trust is something that's fascinated me for a long time. There's no better place to be working on these questions than at Edelman and I'm excited to start working with its fantastic range of clients.”