LONDON — Weber Shandwick has changed its corporate affairs leadership in the UK, promoting Ed Taylor to managing director of the practice as Anthony Marlowe leaves to head up communications and public affairs for pensions insurance specialist Rothesay Life.

A former Conservative Party press officer, Taylor (pictured) joined Weber Shandwick in January 2019 from the UK government’s Department of Health and Social Care, where he was a special advisor to the secretary of state.

Taylor was the Telegraph Media Group’s corporate affairs director for six years until 2017, and worked for telecoms regulator Ofcom for four years as corporate communications manager. He also had a stint as associate director at public affairs specialist Lexington Communications.

Marlowe had led the corporate affairs function at Weber Shandwick since January 2019, after joining the agency in 2018. He was previously deputy managing director of public affairs at Edelman in London for more than 10 years.

“I thoroughly enjoyed leading the corporate affairs practice at Weber Shandwick, delivering double-digit growth and bringing in some of the top talent in the industry, like Ed," Marlowe told PRovoke Media. "I’m delighted to join Rothesay Life, the UK’s largest pensions insurance specialist. Rothesay secures the future of over 800,000 people and is trusted by some of the UK’s best known companies to provide pension solutions. I look forward to leading its communications and public affairs function at this important time for the sector.”

Weber Shandwick London MD Helen Bennett said: “Since he arrived at Weber Shandwick, Ed has impressed both internally and externally with his tremendous client counsel capabilities, collaborative nature and commitment to great work. 2020 is year in which we have seen profound shifts; Ed is someone who intuitively understands these shifts and is able to help clients anticipate and adapt quickly to them.

“I am enormously proud of the work our corporate affairs team has delivered this year - they have gone above and beyond to help protect and promote the interests of our clients and their stakeholders during the most challenging of times - and I look forward to seeing their work continue to evolve under Ed’s very capable leadership.”

Taylor added: “I am proud and excited to be stepping up to lead this incredible team. I truly believe we are delivering some of the most impactful and cutting-edge corporate affairs work in the UK today. That’s testimony to the exceptional talent in our business and the deep partnership we enjoy with our brilliant roster of clients. I’ll be focused on continuing to evolve our work, talent and capabilities so that we remain well placed to help our clients.”

Other recent senior hires to the corporate affairs team include directors Charlotte Lang from Hume Brophy and Jonathan Smith from Dragon Advisory.