Edelman has acquired government and public relations firm The Devon Group to create a national public affairs offering in Canada.
Bob Richardson, former president of The Devon Group, will become executive vice-president and national practice lead, public affairs, for Edelman Canada. Gordon Ashworth, Devon’s former chairman, will become an independent consultant.
“We weren’t as well developed in public affairs as we wanted to be,” said John Clinton, CEO of Edelman Canada. “We saw a real opportunity to develop not only the Toronto market, but on a national basis as well. And Devon represented that opportunity for us.”
A total of seven Devon Group employees will join Edelman, bringing its public affairs team count to nine. Last month, Erin Jacobson joined Edelman’s national digital leadership team as VP, digital public affairs. She was previously deputy director of strategic communications for federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair. Melissa Zanette, senior account manager, public affairs, joined Edelman in January 2013.
“[The acquisition] allows us to play on a much more national scale and it allows us to be effective in even more areas than we currently are,” said Clinton. “That’s a big deal to us and that’s a big deal to our clients. [We are] able to handle more of their communications needs and help deal with the complex issues they face on a day-to-basis.”
