Edelman, the global communications firm, has announcedKarena Crerar as CEO, Edelman Africa. Karena previously held the role of Managing Director, Edelman South Africa.
Edelman Africa is a pan-African communications consultancy, offering clients the largest working network on the continent – with partners and affiliates in more than 50 African countries. The communications consultancy has made its mark by developing real partnerships with local African agencies across the continent to be able to deliver real results for clients across Africa.
“I feel privileged to be part of such a strong, entrepreneurial, fast-growing business. Between our global network, and our teams and partners across Africa, we offer unprecedented access for our clients,” said Crerar. “We’ve made sure to build long-term partnerships, offering our clients a lot more value than just dots on a map. This has made it possible for us to build a proven track record across Africa, meaning we can deliver real cross-continent delivery for clients across Africa.”
Edelman Africa’s ability to reach audiences across Africa has recently resulted in both its South Africa and Kenya teams being honoured at the SABRE awards across a variety of categories, including being nominated as the PRovoke Media 2022 African Consultancy of the Year. “What has been particularly exciting is the achievements of our Edelman Kenya office. Launched only two years ago, it’s purposeful, tactical work, and deep local relationships, have allowed the team to be recognised for the impact its achieving on behalf of our clients,” said Crerar.
“In addition to our incomparable network, we believe that versatility, agility, and trust building are what set us apart, because we do more than just traditional public relations. We offer innovative thinking, form meaningful relationships with our clients, and promote impactful work through a creative lens,” she said.
“As we look to the future of Africa, we will continue to focus on sectors that show the greatest opportunity for growth and impact in our region, and work with brands and organisations in these industries to build and maintain trust with their stakeholders. Organisations across the continent are looking for increased support in areas such as ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance), sustainability, and social responsibility work that requires a sound understanding of the impact of trust, which Edelman has spent two decades studying,” she added.
Following Crerar’s appointment, Ed Williams, President and CEO of Edelman EMEA said: “Over the past few years, we’ve seen our business in Africa grow substantially even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The African continent is a key focus in our EMEA growth strategy and Karena is the perfect fit to lead this next phase of development. Under her leadership the South African business has diversified its offer particularly in crisis and reputation. Karena has also been fundamental in embedding Edelman Africa within the EMEA network. As well as supporting local clients to tackle some of the most important issues facing business today, the team in Africa are activating for some of Edelman’s largest global and regional clients. I look forward to seeing Karena take our African business to the next level.”
Having previously worked in both agency and the financial services sector, Crerar joined the Edelman Africa team in 2018 as head of the Advisory practice. Her talent and leadership skills were quickly recognised as she was promoted to Managing Director of Edelman South Africa in January 2021. With her newest appointment as CEO, Crerar will remain headquartered at the Johannesburg offices, while Managing Director of Kenya, Corazon Sefu, will continue her crucial development of East African markets from Nairobi.
Crerar will be taking over from Jordan Rittenberry as he moves on to lead the Edelman Bay Area Hub in the United States.
