LONDON — Ketchum has promoted Sera Holland, chief strategy and innovation officer for global markets, to CEO of its UK operation.

The move comes after a number of senior people changes at the agency, including the resignation of previous Ketchum UK CEO Ruth Allchurch after three months, the appointment of Noor Kheir as UK managing director of corporate, Estelle Boon as consumer brand MD and Bibi Hilton as chief client officer for global markets, and the departure of Koray Camgöz to take up the CEO role at the Taylor Bennett Foundation.

Holland joined Ketchum in 2021 as deputy UK CEO, and moved into her current role at the start of 2023. Jo-ann Robertson, CEO of global markets, said she had “delivered significant growth across EMEA and in the UK” over the past three years, in addition to strategic consultancy for some of Ketchum’s key global clients, “co-creating Ketchum’s global innovation agenda and leading global strategic priorities across all markets outside the US.”

The appointment is Holland’s first networked agency leadership role. She previously co-founded strategy and innovation consultancy The Fawnbrake Collective and served as CEO of the Material Communications Group.

Robertson told PRovoke Media: “We’ve established ourselves as a culture-first creative firm, driven and hubbed out of the UK, and what Sera has brought to that table has been her focus on strategy and effectiveness, taking that cultural energy and ideas and ensuring the work delivers results and has longevity. She is evolving our mission in the UK to be the most diverse, inclusive, innovative and effective consultancy in the UK, doing culture-first work that matters.

“Sera is so high-energy – when I asked her to consider this step up she said she had just been waiting to do this role. She is a people-first leader and can see the next phase of our evolution with our clients – she’s already driven strategy progress globally for some of our biggest clients so I’m looking forward to her bringing that to this market.”

Holland – who was among PRovoke’s Innovator 25 class in EMEA for 2023 and is an ambassador for the Creative Mentors Network – said: “This is an exciting and innovative time to be in our industry, and I am incredibly honoured to have the opportunity to lead Ketchum’s UK operations through this next chapter.

“Every day I have the privilege to lead a team that brings a diversity of talent, experience, skills and perspectives that come together to create culture-first work that makes an impact for our clients.”