PR & Communications News South Africa

New MD for Fleishman-Hillard Joburg

Kevin Welman has been appointed MD of the Johannesburg office of one of the world's leading PR agencies, Fleishman-Hillard, it was announced last week. Welman, whose appointment became effective on 1 October 2007, has taken over from Lucien Vallun who has been promoted to MD of Fleishman Hillard's London office.
Kevin Welman, newly appointed MD of Fleishman-Hillard Joburg
Kevin Welman, newly appointed MD of Fleishman-Hillard Joburg

Welman joined Fleishman-Hillard in 1996 and has provided counsel to leading local and global brands including General Electric, DaimlerChrysler and First National Bank. In recent years he has specialised in financial services and successfully built and managed the agency's significant banking portfolio.

As the leader of the financial services portfolio, Welman and his team recently won two global PR awards for the launch of The Banking Association's Mzansi product. Fleishman-Hillard Johannesburg won a PR News Non-Profit PR Award in the US and the European Sabre Award for the overall PR programme of the year for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Balancing strengths with growth

In his new role as MD, Welman will look towards balancing the agency's traditional strengths with new areas of growth. Fleishman-Hillard has well established and respected financial services, technology, and consumer portfolios, as well as new capabilities in healthcare and digital communications.

Welman will be supported by a management team of four, which together boasts over forty years of PR experience at Fleishman-Hillard. He believes that it is this wealth of experience within the global network and the enduring relationships his team has had with the group that sets the agency apart. “Fleishman-Hillard has a reputation for attracting and keeping talented people. We believe that this agency is built on our people, and the consistency of our senior management is testament to this philosophy,” he says.

Fleishman-Hillard Johannesburg manages the African capabilities of the global network of 82 Fleishman-Hillard offices through a series of affiliates and partner agencies. In 2007 the agency completed work in over 12 African countries on behalf of clients.

Fleishman-Hillard recently opened an office in Cape Town, which extended the agency's client service capability to the Western Cape. Today, the Cape Town office has over ten retainer clients.

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