Edelman repositions for AI era with new leadership and a unified tech platform
Edelman is restructuring for an AI-first future. The firm is moving from a geography-led model to a client-centric structure and rolling out an AI operating system to tie earned media to measurable outcomes.
For CMOs and strategy leaders, this is a signal: PR is being reframed as a performance channel with attribution, lift, and speed to action.
What's new at Edelman
- Mainardo de Nardis, former OMD Worldwide CEO and current board member, becomes Global President and Chief Operating Officer. Matthew Harrington shifts to Executive Chair.
- Brian Buchwald moves from Global Chair of Product and AI to President of Global Transformation and Performance.
- Recent creative hires include Kate Stanners as Chief Creative Officer, International, and Eduardo Tavares as Global Executive Creative Director of Health.
CEO Richard Edelman says the mix is meant to tighten operations, improve client impact, and speed transformation across regions and practices.
Inside ECOS: Edelman's AI operating system
Alongside the leadership changes, Edelman introduced the Edelman Central Operating System (ECOS), an AI-powered "collaboration layer" that connects internal models with external tools from Microsoft and OpenAI, and integrates with enterprise platforms like Workday.
- AI agents (operational copilots) to generate campaigns, manage workflows, and coordinate deliverables.
- Currently active with select internal teams; client rollout planned over the next year.
- Built-in brand trust modeling and early trend detection via proprietary tools, including Archie.
Archie, the firm's in-house large language model, focuses on brand trust analytics. Paired with ECOS, it supports predictive cultural analysis, earned media attribution, and campaign ROI modeling.
Why it matters to executives
- Earned media with attribution: ECOS and Archie aim to quantify PR's business impact-spotting cultural moments early, attributing contribution to outcomes, and modeling ROI. If reliable, earned channels can compete head-to-head with paid for budget.
- Client-first operating model: Under de Nardis, Edelman is shifting to a client-led structure for consistent global execution. Large brands get one system, one spine, fewer handoffs.
- PR as performance: The elevation of "Transformation and Performance" signals a measurable discipline. As AI reshapes search and discovery, credible earned signals matter more-and can be optimized.
Executive checklist: moves to consider
- Reframe measurement: Treat earned as a performance driver. Ask for lift studies, trend attribution, and multi-touch models that include earned inputs.
- Pilot, then scale: Select one priority market or product line to test AI-led PR activation (early trend detection, content generation, rapid response). Lock the KPI framework upfront.
- Tighten the stack: Integrate PR data with your analytics layer (CDP, MMM, MTA). Ensure taxonomy and event tagging allow apples-to-apples comparison with paid and owned.
- Governance and risk: Set AI usage standards for content, fact-checking, and approvals. Define thresholds for automated outreach vs. human review.
- Budget mix: Reallocate a small percentage of paid spend to fund earned experiments with clear test-and-learn criteria. Keep what proves incremental.
What to watch next
- Speed and accuracy of ECOS trend detection versus paid social signals.
- Attribution quality: Can earned influence upper-funnel trust and lower-funnel conversion in the same model.
- Operating consistency across regions under the client-first structure.
Edelman's bet is straightforward: earned media can be planned, optimized, and proven. If the attribution stands up, CMOs gain a new lever for efficient growth without relying solely on paid channels.
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