Weber Shandwick’s Colin Byrne to step down

Colin Byrne, Weber Shandwick’s UK and EMEA CEO,  is to step down from his role in early 2018 after nearly 23 years at the global agency. The firm has not yet named a successor.  

Colin Byrne

Byrne joined Weber Shandwick in 1995, rising to lead its public affairs practice as MD in London in 1997. He was named CEO of the UK in 2000, and in 2008, became CEO of UK & EMEA.

In May 2015, he was honoured with an Individual Achievement Award at the EMEA SABRE Awards for his services to the industry over the last 30 years.

Byrne will continue to work closely with the firm’s global leadership team through Q1 2018 during the leadership transition.

Andy Polansky, CEO of Weber Shandwick, said: “We are grateful to Colin for his leadership in building Weber Shandwick in the UK and across EMEA.

“It’s been a pleasure working with Colin for more than two decades. We’ll greatly miss him, his vision and his partnership.”

Byrne added: “Working at Weber Shandwick to help build our firm to industry-leading status has been a pleasure and a matter of real professional and personal pride. My thanks to our incredible colleagues and clients for two decades of partnership together.

“I will miss the people, the talent, the pace and the ambition at Weber Shandwick, but given our leading performance and award-winning status, I feel it is a good time to move on with my personal ambitions.”

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