Ed Williams, Edelman's President, International, will step down from his executive leadership role in August, bringing to a close a 15-year tenure during which he helped shape the firm's expansion across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.Williams joined Edelman in 2011 as Chief Executive Officer for the UK and Ireland after serving as Director of Communications at the BBC and previously Head of Corporate Affairs at Reuters. He was promoted to President and CEO for Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 2019 before assuming the role of President, International, in 2023.Following his departure, Edelman's regional leaders will report directly to Mainardo de Nardis, the firm's Global President and Chief Operating Officer.Announcing the leadership change, Global CEO Richard Edelman credited Williams with playing a pivotal role in strengthening the agency's international business and advising clients through major corporate milestones."Ed has made an extraordinary contribution to our business and has been one of our most trusted leaders and advisers," Richard Edelman said. "He has helped guide clients through some of their most consequential moments, providing counsel on reputation, corporate positioning, crisis situations, M&A, transformations and executive transitions."He added that Williams was instrumental in transforming Edelman's London operation into one of the UK's leading communications consultancies while laying the foundations for the firm's broader regional growth.In a message to employees, Williams said he had decided the time was right to begin a new chapter focused exclusively on senior client advisory work."After 15 remarkable years at the firm, and with the tank still full, now was the time to explore creating something of my own, exclusively in the client advisory space," he said.Reflecting on his career at Edelman, Williams described it as "the ride of a lifetime", highlighting the opportunity to lead the UK business, steer the EMEA region through the COVID-19 pandemic and later oversee the firm's international operations.His departure comes as global communications agencies continue to adapt their leadership structures amid growing demand for strategic reputation, crisis and transformation advisory services, with senior executives increasingly launching independent advisory practices focused on board-level counsel.