COLOGNE — Edelman has hired H+K Strategies' outgoing non-executive chairman Ernst Primosch as its new CEO of Edelman Germany.

He replaces Susanne Marell, who left Edelman in March this year at the same time as the firm closed its Munich office.

Primosch joined H+K in 2010 as CEO for Germany and the DACH region, and is attributed with having improved the agency’s fortunes in the region.

He also spent time at Henkel, a Fortune 500 and DAX 30 corporation, culminating in his role as global corporate vice president and head of corporate brand management, corporate communications and CSR. Primosch led the worldwide repositioning of Henkel from a German chemicals company into a global FMCG and technologies corporation.

From July, Primosch will be based in Cologne and will report to Edelman EMEA president and CEO Carol Potter, who said: “Ernst is clearly one of the most-experienced, highly regarded and well-connected communications and branding experts in Europe. When I met him I very quickly felt that his vision for corporate and brand communications was so closely aligned with our own at Edelman. I could immediately imagine how he could take our firm to the next level of success as the most innovative and forward-facing communications agency in Germany.”

Primosch added: “I have known and respected the Edelman team throughout my career, having first met Dan and Richard Edelman 20 years ago while working in Asia. I am delighted to be taking the helm at a time when the ambition is set high for this very important market. There is much to look forward to on the journey ahead.”

Richard Edelman commented: “This appointment underscores our commitment to Edelman Germany as our second biggest market in EMEA. We see strong potential in growing our business there with DAX 30 companies, but also as a family company ourselves, we have a deep interest in working with the privately-owned companies in Germany”.