Current Global CEO George Coleman to depart

George Coleman, co-founder and chief executive of Current Global, which is part of The Weber Shandwick Collective, has said he will leave the PR agency this month. 

Writing on LinkedIn, Coleman said he will exit the business on March 21 after six years in the top job at Current Global and 17 years at Weber Shandwick. 

He joined Weber, which is owned by Interpublic Group, in 2008 as a global client relationship leader working with Microsoft. Prior to that, he was a tech MD and board director at Nelson Bostock Communications, where he established the agency’s tech division. He also worked as an associate director at Mantra PR and as an account director at Lewis PR earlier in his career. 

In 2014, he founded the full-service comms agency Creation, which had over 20 offices globally offering B2B, consumer and health, and a client roster of brands such as Microsoft, Netflix, Burger King and Adidas.

In April 2019, Interpublic Group merged Creation with Current Marketing to form Current Global, which is now part of the Weber Shandwick Collective.  

As part of the initial merger, Current founder and president Virginia Devlin and Creation global president Coleman became co-CEOs of the shop. Last January, Devlin announced her retirement from the firm. 

In a post on LinkedIn, Coleman wrote, “Excited to share personal news that I’m departing the sunny shores of Current Global and The Weber Shandwick Collective on March 21."

Coleman said he plans to “take a well-earned break to spend time with the family."

In a statement, a spokesperson for Weber Shandwick said, “After 17 successful years with The Weber Shandwick Collective, George Coleman has decided to leave the business. We are deeply grateful for his contributions and wish him the very best in his next chapter.”

The spokesperson also confirmed that the network isn’t replacing his role.

Last June, The Weber Shandwick Collective created Current Group, which houses firms DNA Communications and Current Global. Mike Rosich, who most recently served as global president of DNA Communications, is CEO of Current Group. 

Omnicom, the parent company of FleishmanHillard, Porter Novelli, Ketchum and Portland in the UK, is set to acquire Interpublic Group later this year. IPG also owns and operates Goliin and a range of other shops.