Dev Rakshit, previously Senior Consultant Healthcare & Science Communications, takes over the management of the division. David Hart will head Corporate & Financial Communications. This was announced by Burson-Marsteller in a press release on Monday.

Dev Rakshit has been a Senior Consultant for Burson-Marsteller since January 2011 and has over 20 years of experience in global communications, strategic marketing, advertising and branding - mainly in the pharmaceutical and consumer goods industries. His professional career has taken him to Novartis as Global Brand Communications Manager and to Swarovski as Head of Strategic Marketing & Branding. In addition to his communications experience, Rakshit has a solid research background, including six years in clinical research in the medical device industry in the EU and the US. Rakshit holds a PhD in chemistry and an MBA from City University in Washington. In addition to his native English, he is fluent in German and Swiss German.

David Hart joined the Burson-Marsteller team at the beginning of the year. He joins from AGT International, a global provider of security solutions. There he was responsible for global communications from the Zurich headquarters. As Head of Corporate Communications & Issues Management at Fleishman-Hillard in London, he had previously spent five years developing expertise in the aviation, financial services, technology, food and energy sectors. Hart has worked in the communications industry for over 14 years. He has advised numerous companies, including one of the largest airlines, a global insurance company and a multinational electronics company. David has conducted various media training sessions with executives and politicians, including in his role as press secretary for British politicians in London and Brussels. He combines his communication strategies with creative problem-solving approaches, which has also proved successful in crisis communication. David studied Politics at the University of Leicester.

 

Martin Hofer, previously Head of Corporate Communications, replaces Theo Zijdenbos as Head of Public Affairs. According to the press release, Theo Zijdenbos will continue to work for Burson-Marsteller as Senior Advisor Key Clients. Martin Hofer joined the company in 2005 as a Senior Consultant and has been a member of the Burson-Marsteller Executive Board since 2007. As former head of the TV news program "10vor10", editor-in-chief of the Sonntags-Blick and a long-standing journalist, he has broad experience of Swiss politics and its interfaces with business and associations. Martin Hofer has already successfully looked after public affairs clients in recent years and will continue to be responsible for argumentation and media training in the in-house studio.

Ute Dehn Christians, previously Head of Corporate Finance, will take over the overall management of the Corporate & Financial Communications division. Dehn joined Burson-Marsteller in October 2010. She specializes in reputation management, media and investor relations, corporate publishing, sponsoring and corporate social responsibility as well as change management. Prior to joining Burson-Marsteller, Ute Dehn Christen was a member of the Executive Board of GE Money Bank, where she was in charge of corporate communications, and spent ten years in senior communications and marketing roles at UBS.

The entry of Chris Cartwright as the new head of the Geneva office was announced by Burson-Marsteller in December. Prior to joining, Chris Cartwright was Head of Burson-Marsteller's Corporate, Issues and Technology Practice in the UK. Chris Cartwright has 18 years' experience in public relations, crisis communications and change Chris Cartwright replaces Tony Burgener, who has moved to Swiss Solidarity as Director.