Edelman appoints Mark Hass as president of China

Hass brings three decades experience as a journalist, entrepreneur and communications professional and was most recently founding partner and CEO of corporate communications and social media firm, MH Group Communications. Hass' firm is being merged into Edelman's Digital practice.

According to Alan VanderMolen, president of Edelman Asia-Pacific, the firm aims to be the best and largest full-service PR agency in China. "Mark's extensive global, corporate and digital communications experience coupled with his entrepreneurial drive is ideal to support that goal," he adds.

With offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Edelman in China consists of two brands, Edelman and Pegasus, and represent clients including 3M, Anheuser-Busch, BMW, China Unicom, The Carlyle Group, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Nike, Pepsi Co. Pfizer, Shell, Starbucks and Wal-Mart.

"I was attracted to Edelman because of its global footprint, independence and its second-to-none thought-leadership," said Hass who will be based in Beijing. "There is no communications market more dynamic, more poised for growth and more exciting for a public relations professional to work than China, and I look forward to leading a team of extraordinary professionals who will build Edelman into the best-regarded and largest PR brand in China."