LONDON — Rose Beaumont, formerly Mastercard’s global head of marketing and communications, has moved to Facebook as head of communications across EMEA. The hire comes a year after Facebook’s former EMEA lead Chris Norton was promoted to vice president of international communications. Beaumont was senior VP of global marketing and comms at Mastercard for four years, and Europe group head of comms for nine years. She previously led The Walt Disney Company’s EMEA communications.

LONDON — Google UK & Ireland has hired Jennifer Ogunleye to lead its B2B communications function with a focus on Google Search and YouTube advertising. Ogunleye joins from KPMG, where she was the PR lead for TMT, transport, fraud and sports advisory. She is a member of the PRCA Race and Ethnicity Equity Board and is a trustee of the Taylor Bennett Foundation.

LONDON — Portland has hired Anita Boateng (pictured) as a partner. She joins from FTI Consulting, where she was a senior director in the strategic communications business. Boateng, who started her career as a broadcast journalist, was previously a government special adviser, working across departments including the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Work and Pensions.

LONDON —  Grayling has been appointed as a retained PR agency for More Than insurance, part of RSA Group, as the insurer looks to build more emotional connections with consumers. The agency will be responsible for driving brand awareness for the brand across its home, motor and pet product lines, as well as providing creative communications and strategic counsel.

LONDON — Independent public affairs consultancy Lexington has dropped “Communications” from its name – the first change to its brand since it was founded in 1998 – and promoted healthcare lead Emily Cook to managing director, to work alongside founding partner Mike Craven. Lexington’s clients include International Airlines Group, Eurotunnel, UPS, the American Motion Picture Association, Pfizer, Roche Diagnostics and Mars.

PARIS — Hakim El Karoui will join Brunswick as partner and head of its Paris office to advise clients on a range of business-critical issues. El Karoui was previously a partner at Roland Berger, where he was responsible for public sector work and the firm’s business in Africa. He also spent five years in the emerging markets team at Rothschild & Cie, advising on deals in the telecommunications, financial services and pharmaceuticals sectors. El Karoui also spent four years working in French government, including as an advisor to prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

LONDON — Talker Tailor Trouble Maker has promoted Olivia Mushigo to lead creative. Mushigo has been with the agency for more than two years and has worked with clients including Pernod Ricard UK, Mastercard, Deliveroo and Deezer.

MUNICH — Lewis has been selected as marcoms partner by energy storage brand Trina Storage, a new business unit of smart energy solutions provider Trina Solar. The agency will provide integrated marketing services for the launch of Trina Solar across Europe with focus on UK and Germany.

LONDON — Harry Sheward, former managing director at the VCCP Partnership and managing partner at Fold7, has joined Creativebrief as commercial director. Sheward is heading up the commercial team, focusing on the next phase of growth of the Creativebrief platform for brands.

LONDON — Political strategy and corporate communications agency Lodestone has won a number of clients in the energy and environment sectors as part of its focus on sustainability – one of its four specialisms, alongside health, technology and education. Among the new clients are the Association for Decentralised Energy, the energy trade body focused on achieving the net zero emissions target in the UK, and Copper Mark, a new assurance framework to promote responsible practices and demonstrate the copper industry’s contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

JOHANNESBURG — The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) has launched an Africa Network with five regional chairs from across the continent: Kamal Taibi, CEO of Strateus Group; Soni Kayinamura, CEO of Clarity Communications; Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, president of the African PR Association; Edelman chairman of Middle East & Africa and Africa CEO Jordan Rittenberry; and Bridget von Holdt, BCW’s co-market leader in South Africa.

LONDON — The PHA Group has been appointed to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s (RNLI) roster of agencies, and has successfully pitched to work on its annual fundraising campaign. This year’s “Mayday” campaign will focus on raising awareness of the RNLI’s summer safety messages.

LONDON — Curzon PR has been briefed to lead a media relations campaign for The Wave Project, the world’s first ‘surf therapy’ charity running surfing courses to improve the wellbeing and confidence of vulnerable young people, funded by a government health service, to drive awareness of its work and mission. The PR firm will highlight the services that the charity offers to new surfers, volunteers and donors.

DUBAI — Watermelon Communications has joined the IPREX global network of independent communication agencies. Established as a creative boutique 20 years ago, Watermelon has grown into a full-service marketing and communications agency offering media buying, public relations, digital and social media, event management and creative services.