LONDON—Edelman has appointed Matt Groves as managing director, digital, in its UK operations. Groves was previously chief operating office at Mother, and has also held leadership roles at Saatchi & Saatchi, Fallon, and Goodby Silverstein & Partners.

LONDON—Technology specialist Red Lorry Yellow Lorry has been selected by Canon UK, the UK marketing and sales operation for Canon, to provide PR support for its pro imaging business. Sitting within Canon UK’s consumer imaging group, the professional product portfolio includes professional video cameras, lenses and reference displays used in broadcast and film productions, and multimedia projectors. RLYL was retained to increase Canon’s market share within the pro-video, broadcast and projector sectors.

BASEL—Steffen Kurzawa is joining Novartis as head of global communications for Sandoz. He is currently the global head of communications and member of the executive committee for Bayer’s agricultural science business, Bayer CropScience. Prior to his current role, Kurzawa held positions of increasing responsibility, including regional director of Bayer Group communications Asia Pacific.

LONDON—Publicasity has been selected by Old Mother Hubbard to launch its premium natural dog treats into the UK and help support the brand’s exclusive listing with Pets At Home nationwide in stores and online. 

ISTANBUL—Pelin Kocaalp, previously deputy general manager of Hill+Knowlton Strategies Turkey, has been promoted to general manager. She brings extensive experience in both the private and public sectors to her new role, having worked at the Republic of Turkey Prime Ministry Investment Support & Promotion Agency as well as in leading international companies from different sectors such as telecommunications, technology and tourism.

LONDON—Virgo Health has appointed Katherine Mantell as its new global head of medical education. Mantell joined Virgo in 2010 and previously held the position of director of global scientific services. She leads a team of more than 40 across Virgo’s Richmond and New York offices, which provides medical education programmes for clients such as Takeda, Eisai, Boehringer Ingelheim and Novartis. In the UK, Katherine is supported by Patricia Jones who has recently been promoted to client services director and Jenny Szkolar who has taken on the role of associate editorial director.

LONDON—Accounting software company Xero has appointed Darren Upson to lead its UK marketing activity. Upson will report to Andy Lark, Xero's global chief marketing officer. He joins Xero from NetSuite, a leading provider of enterprise cloud-based business management software.

NAIROBI—H+K Strategies Kenya has appointed Solomon Mahinda as managing director. Mahinda is an H+K alumnus who rejoins the agency with a mandate to lead its growth in Kenya. He most recently served as vice president of communications and marketing for Renaissance Capital in Africa and has also held senior positions at Ogilvy Africa.

LONDON—brightside, an insurance provider with nearly 1,000 employees across the UK, has appointed Cicero Group to provide retained corporate PR support. Cicero will support brightside in its profile with trade and national media, supporting the organisation's long-term growth ambitions. The account will be led by Cicero executive director Mike Robb. The brief incorporates strategic advice, planning, media relations, crisis communications, content creation and press office support across the business.

LONDON—The Ocean Beach Ibiza beach club has appointed Fever as its new retained UK PR agency. Fever will be tasked with securing brand partnerships and developing celebrity, media and blogger relations campaigns to increase awareness of Ocean Beach Ibiza's expanding portfolio of events for summer 2015. In addition, Fever will be running campaigns to promote the company's other properties, the THB Ocean Beach Hotel Ibiza and Ibiza's first ever water wipe-out park, Ocean Mania.