Ed Williams, currently Director of Communications at the BBC, has agreed to join Edelman as Chief Executive Officer of Edelman’s UK business.

Williams will leave the BBC in early October and will join Edelman officially on Monday 31 October. He will report to Edelman’s EMEA CEO, Robert Phillips, and will join the Edelman EMEA Leadership Team.

Williams joined the BBC as Director of Communications in early 2008 where he has led the group communications division and acted as a senior adviser to the Director-General during a number of significant moments, including the Licence Fee settlement. Prior to the BBC, Williams was Director of Communications at Reuters working to the CEO, Thomas Glocer. He led Reuters communications during the deal with the Thomson Corporation. He spent five years at Brunswick as a Director, specialising in corporate advisory and campaigns. He was a pro bono adviser to the International Crisis Group and to General Wesley Clark during the Milosevic trial, and has worked as a political speechwriter. He started his career in journalism at London News Service and spent four years at GMTV where he was News Editor.

Since Phillips became EMEA CEO of Edelman earlier this year, Susan Eastoe, Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer of the UK company, has been Acting Chief Executive. Eastoe will be responsible for the transition to Williams’ leadership and will be assuming an expanded role within the EMEA Leadership Team in early 2012, as well as continuing to serve on Edelman’s Global Strategy Committee.