LONDON — Edelman has named former Simon Jenkins, a former creative lead at Snap, as its UK head of digital.

Jenkins was most recently vice president of social at premium global cosmetics brand Huda Beauty, based in Dubai. He was previously international creative strategy lead at Snap for more than four years, managing a team of strategists and leading on accounts including Google and Amazon. He has also worked agency-side as global social media director at Havas, leading the Emirates Airlines account in Dubai.

In the newly-created role, Jenkins will be responsible for bringing together social marketing, social listening and data analytics, interactive online experiences, and AI technologies to enhance Edelman’s digital capabilities across the London business.

Jenkins said: “I'm absolutely thrilled to be joining Edelman. Joining a communications agency with such a rich history is truly exciting and feels like a real milestone in my career. I have long admired the hugely creative work that's come out of Edelman's doors, so to have the chance to become part of the team is a great honour.”

He will work closely with Edelman’s UK chief creative officer Emma De La Fosse and Felicitas Olschewski, chief digital officer for EMEA. The agency also recently appointed Marie Claire Maalouf as its new EMEA chief creative officer, as the leaders of Deportivo, which Edelman acquired in 2014, exited the business.

Olschewski said: “Simon brings vast experience across consumer tech, social and activation, as well as a background in earned and creative thinking. He is ahead of trends, behaviours and experiential marketing, and equally understands the reputational side of the communications business.

“He will be integral to our focus on developing ideas that allow brands to reach beyond the screen to inspire action. It will be tremendous to have him on the team and see where he takes our team and clients next.”

Edelman’s recent digital campaigns include the Cannes Lions Grand Prix-winning ‘Eternal Run’ for Asics, Hellmann’s ‘Mayo Hack’ for Unilever, ‘Buy Back Friday’ for IKEA, ‘Wildlife Watch’ for Samsung and ‘Dreams Within’ for Microsoft Xbox.