Edelman hires Christoph Becker as global chair of integration

Edelman has named Christoph Becker as its first global chair of integration, effective on July 1.  

In the newly created role, Becker will lead integration of Edelman’s offerings including creative, Edelman Data & Intelligence (DxI), digital and strategic planning. He will be based in New York and report to Edelman CEO Richard Edelman.  

The hire is consistent with Edelman’s efforts to expand its suite of integrated offerings. Over the last year, Edelman launched a content studio called Edelman Studios and intelligence unit DxI to inform all aspects of a campaign. 

Edelman’s revenue fell 6% globally to $840 million in 2020, a 6% decrease, according to PRWeek's 2021 Agency Business Report. The firm’s US revenue dipped 4% to $530.8 million.   

“Our hope is that we have a different thesis for the market, which is that trust drives growth and that we uniquely can address reputation and brand challenges in a moment where the atmosphere is political,” said Edelman. “We have this array of services that we want to apply to clients and solve problems.” 

Becker previously worked in the creative B2B agency world, as CEO and chief creative officer at Gyro, where he worked with brands such as Aflac, American Express, eBay, Google, HP and Facebook and led the agency’s acquisition and integration process into Dentsu. 

Prior to Gyro, Becker was chairman and chief creative officer at FCB New York. 

He said he is joining Edelman to “bring value to clients in a simple, agile and immediate way that the times require.”  

“From my point of view, coming to Edelman is a unique opportunity to create what I would name horizontal value, for all the great offerings that [the firm] already has,” Becker said. “There's an enormous amount of talent and value at Edelman.”

Becker was replaced at gyro by Michael McLaren, global CEO of Merkle B2B, who stepped into the role following the formation of the Dentsu Aegis network in September 2020.