Christine Arthur to take over as McCann Erickson Birmingham MD
Former IAS Smarts managing director Christine Arthur will take over as MD of McCann Erickson Communications House’s Birmingham PR team in November, replacing Claire Oliver.
A handover period will see Oliver leave the agency, and the industry, after 15 years at McCanns at the end of this year. Oliver was MD of PR agency PNM Broadside before its acquisition by McCann’s saw her head up its fledgling PR team.
“Leaving will be very strange. If you chopped my head off you’d find McCann in my veins,” said Oliver, who now plans to indulge her passion of training horses for competition.
Christine Arthur had been at Birmingham’s IAS Smarts for 14 years, including under its previous guises Key Communications and Citigate.
“There’s an opportunity for a really big PR agency to take hold in Birmingham and I want to help McCann push on. I can’t wait to be playing on a bigger and better stage.”
Meanwhile, Arthur’s departure from IAS has opened the door for deputy MD Harriet Pearson to take the reins
Relocating from London, Pearson joined IAS Birmingham in 2000 and has more than 10 years of experience in the PR and marketing industry.