SINGAPORE – Cohn & Wolfe Group has appointed Helen Ridgway as Chief Executive Officer of European technology agency AxiCom, which it acquired seven years ago. Ridgway will work alongside Julian Tanner, with whom she co-founded AxiCom 20 years ago. Tanner was named to a dual role as Chairman of AxiCom and as Global Technology Leader for Cohn & Wolfe’s Technology Practice earlier this month.
“Having worked with Helen for the past 20 years to build AxiCom into a European tech PR powerhouse, I know she is the right person to manage the future growth and success of the agency,” said Tanner. “With an enhanced set of product offerings including digital, content generation and analyst relations, which are all fully integrated into our PR services, AxiCom will continue to lead in Europe and be a valuable partner in Cohn & Wolfe’s plans for global growth in the technology space.”
With 30 years of technology communications experience, first as a journalist and then as a public relations agency professional, Ridgway’s most recent role was as UK Managing Director of AxiCom. Her client expertise spans enterprise IT, telecoms, electronics, retail and consumer tech, and she has led teams for significant agency clients including ARM, Fujitsu, Hewlett Packard, Dixons Stores Group and, currently, Tyco and Microsoft Devices Group.
Commenting on her new role, Ridgway said, “I feel immensely proud of what we have been able to achieve at AxiCom over the past 20 years. Looking ahead, I am really excited to continue managing the business as we grow in Europe across all technology sectors – as well as being able to participate at a global level as part of Cohn & Wolfe Group.”
Ridgway’s promotion will see Henry Brake assuming full responsibility for the UK office of AxiCom as Managing Director, reporting into her.
