LONDON — Burson Cohn & Wolfe has named Nick Stravs as interim CEO in Switzerland, to finalise the rebranding of the current Swiss Burson-Marsteller business to BCW while the firm’s search for a permanent market leader continues.

There has been no lead in the Swiss market since the merger. The previous CEO of Burson-Marsteller Switzerland was Matthias Graf, who is now one of the founding partners of BoldT and head of the new agency's DACH region.

Stravs began his career as a ministerial advisor in Australia and was a founding partner of the country's first issues management firm Kortlang, sold to Omnicom-owned Gavin Anderson in 2000. In 2004, he joined Weber Shandwick in London, becoming Swiss MD in in 2009 and chief client officer, EMEA in 2014, before returning to private communications advisory work 18 months ago.

BCW has offices in Zurich and Bern and serves clients in the Swiss Romondie and Ticino regions. BM Sport in Lausanne will continue to report directly to BCW president, Europe and Africa Scott Wilson. The agency is expected to announce a permanent CEO in early 2019.

Wilson said: “Nick is a seasoned client counsellor – having served as a global client relationship leader on Fortune 100 brands – and has built and run other international network agencies in Switzerland. His appointment underscores BCW’s commitment to Switzerland as a critical market for our clients and our business. I am confident our business will be in very good hands with Nick while we search for a permanent CEO."