BERLIN — Hill+Knowlton Strategies has appointed former Grayling Germany CEO Geraldine Schroeder to lead its German operations.

Schroeder will be based in Berlin and will join the firm’s Global Leadership Council. She had led Grayling in Germany since 2020 and before that was managing director of strategic communications consultancy Johanssen + Kretschmer.

Before moving into consultancy in 2016, Schroeder led the communications function at Engie’s gas storage company, Storengy, where she focused on building and managing stakeholder relationships at the local and federal level in Germany. Previously, she was head of corporate communications at Voith Hydro, a global leader in large hydropower solutions.

After starting her career in journalism, Schroeder’s first corporate communications role was at European energy company Vattenfall, where she progressed to head of communications for Vattenfall Europe.

Hill+Knowlton’s global chairman and CEO AnnaMaria DeSalva said: “I am excited to welcome Geraldine into this important leadership role. She brings a valuable combination of agency and corporate executive leadership experience, along with deep market knowledge that will be instrumental to our growth in Germany.

“Germany is a key strategic market for H+K, and we are continuing to make targeted investments to scale the business, including the acquisition of 3K Communications earlier this year. Geraldine’s breadth and depth of experience is well matched for our mission in Germany today.”

Schroeder added: “Hill+Knowlton has been a global leader in communications for decades. I have worked with H+K years ago, on the corporate side, and have been impressed by the visible progress the company is making today. I am very much looking forward to working with their teams. Long-term strategic communication is the key to success and acceptance for business, politics and society. Making a contribution to this progress remains my personal ambition.”