Burson hires Damion Potter as global chair of public affairs

Burson, formed last month through the merger of WPP firms BCW and Hill & Knowlton, has hired Damion Potter as global chair of public affairs, effective on Monday.

Potter is based in London and serves as a member of Burson’s global leadership team. 

He will lead the integration and development of public affairs services across the agency, including teams in global government centers; external advisers; and specialist firms in Washington, DC, such as Dewey Square Group, Direct Impact and Prime Policy Group. 

Burson global chairman AnnaMaria DeSalva said in an emailed statement that the firm has “substantial” assets in public affairs that have never been more in demand.

“[Potter] brings to us an outstanding background in both the public and private sectors,” said DeSalva. “He will fully integrate our capabilities and scale our partnerships with clients in all aspects of public affairs advisory services, at a time when government is playing a large role in the business operating environment and clients are actively solving for the new geoeconomics.”  

Potter was previously VP and global head of policy and government affairs for GSK consumer healthcare spinoff Haleon, where he was responsible for setting global public policy objectives and government engagement. 

Potter also led the delivery department for the U.N. Climate Change Conference hosted in Glasgow, also known as COP26. Earlier in his career, Potter was the British ambassador to Panama and worked for ESPN. 

DeSalva previously led Hill & Knowlton as global chairman and CEO since June 2019. Other key appointments at Burson include Kristine Boyden as Americas CEO and Craig Buchholz as U.S. CEO, roles they held at BCW and H&K, respectively. Kelli Parsons was named Hill & Knowlton’s global CEO last month.

Prior to its merger with BCW, H&K had an estimated 1% revenue growth last year to $355 million globally.

Revenue in WPP's PR division fell 3.3% on a like-for-like basis in Q1. The division also includes corporate and financial specialist agency FGS Global and other firms. Ogilvy’s PR team is also a part of WPP.