STOCKHOLM — Leif Geiger is joining holding company Paritee as chief growth officer and partner. Geiger is currently partner and deputy CEO at Prime Weber Shandwick, where he also director of business transformation for Weber Shandwick in EMEA. It is the latest senior hire at Paritee, founded by former H+K global president Lars Erik Grønntun, after former Weber Shandwick EMEA COO Jonas Palmqvist joined the firm in January. In September 2021, Paritee made its first investment through the acquisition of Geelmuyden Kiese, one of the largest PR agencies in Scandinavia.

LONDON — Roopa Ramaiya (pictured), formerly global head of PR at Luno (part of Digital Currency Group) has moved to another fast-growing fintech, joining Feedzai as VP of communications. Feedzai, uses machine learning tools to identify fraudulent payment transactions and minimise risk in the financial services, retail, and e-commerce industries, and is used by 80% of the world's fortune 500 companies including Citi, Lloyds Banking Group, Santander, ABN Amro, Fiserv, Standard Chartered. The firm’s latest Series D funding round values it at more than $1.5 billion. Ramaiya said: “This is going to be a really important area for consumers and businesses. Hackers and financial criminals have become ever more sophisticated and levels of crime have shot up during the pandemic as we continue to do more transacting online. It's an absolutely critical area for the industry and governments to get a grip of."

ABU DHABI — Edelman has hired Eleanor O’Keeffe as its new senior director of corporate sustainability for EMEA, to further integrate environmental, social and governance expertise into the agency’s corporate sustainability offering. Based in Abu Dhabi, O’Keeffe joins Edelman from her role at the COP26 Unit in the Cabinet Office of the UK Government, where she was a senior member of the COP26 communications team. She helped develop the communications strategy for the UN international climate change conference and was the principal lead for communications around the public-facing Green Zone programme of events.

LONDON — Hearst UK has appointed Alison Forth as director of PR and communications. Forth, who first joined the business in an interim capacity in January, will be responsible for driving Hearst UK’s corporate communications agenda, as well as handling external communications across Hearst UK’s 21 brands which include Good Housekeeping, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, Women’s Health, Men’s Health, Esquire and Digital Spy. Forth’s remit will also incorporate internal communications for the UK arm of Hearst, reporting to interim CEO Simon Horne and sitting on the executive leadership team. She will head up a newly-restructured PR and communications team: Ben Bolton was made head of PR and communications in October 2021, with Calum Forbes promoted to senior PR and communications manager for entertainment and wellness in May this year. Cristina Wyatt has assumed the role of PR and communications manager for Luxury, with Grace Walker was recently appointed PR and communications manager for homes and lifestyle.

JOHANNESBURG — Brunswick Group has appointed Iris Sibanda as head of the Johannesburg office from September 1, as former lead Marina Bidoli is relocating to the Milan office after more than four years to focus on client advisory and growing Brunswick’s international capabilities in the region. Sibanda advises clients on a range of critical issues, complex M&A, crises and media relations in South Africa and across Africa. Before joining Brunswick in 2009, she was a credit rating analyst focused on pan- African markets, and has worked on transactions, regulatory and corporate reputation mandates for clients including MTN Group, Access Bank, Kansai Paint, Barloworld and Old Mutual.

LONDON — Media Zoo has strengthened its management team with the appointment of Giles Smith as managing director, Neil Carter as chief financial officer and Jason Gallucci, formerly regional MD of Edelman in UAE, as global creative director. Rachel Pendered and Mark Killick, the agency founders, will become joint CEOs and take a more strategic role. Media Zoo currently employs over 160 media professionals and has businesses in London, Glasgow, and Zurich. It is launching new operations in New York, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi after investment from BGF.

LONDON — Boldspace has hired illustrator, art director and graphic designer Yuko Kondo as its new art director. Kondo runs his own design agency and has worked with agencies such as Wieden+Kennedy, BBH, M&C Saatchi, Lucky Generals and AMV BBDO and clients including Microsoft, Nike, PlayStation, Coca-Cola, Converse, Lee Jeans, Issey Miyake and Doritos. Kondo will be based in Boldspace’s London office and be responsible for overseeing the design output of the agency. His appointment follows Aivory Gaw joining Boldspace as chief brand officer from WPP in January.

LONDON — Current Global has appointed Ben Scull to its UK technology and enterprise team as an associate director. Scull joins after nearly six years in Edelman’s technology practice in London, where he led campaigns for clients including DP World, Hitachi and Appian. His experience spans Europe, North America and APAC.