LONDON—Ogilvy PR has lured Freuds strategy director Serge Vaezi to lead planning across EMEA, the Holmes Report can reveal.

Vaezi, who was one of Freuds' top executives, departs the firm after almost a decade. He becomes EMEA managing director of strategy and planning at Ogilvy PR, and will also oversee the firm's planning unit in the UK.

During his decade at Freuds, Vaezi developed campaigns for the likes of comparethemarket.com, Pepsi, Airbnb and Asda. More recently, he oversaw the integration of creative and social practices with strategy and insight to create an innovation ‘hub’ at the agency.

"He has an outstanding track record and is exactly the type of strategic talent we need," said Ogilvy PR global CEO Stuart Smith of Vaezi. "Serge joins Ogilvy PR EMEA at an exciting time, we are four years into a programme which has transformed our capabilities, our reputation and seen us extend into new geographies."

Prior to joining Freuds in 2005, Vaezi worked at a number of ad agencies, including Bates and DDB.