Edelman shuffles Russia staff: 11 layoffs, 3 new managers, multiple hires

Kerry Irwin is the new general director of the Moscow team, along with Natalya Malyova, a new hire who will oversee the technology and digital practice areas, and 14-year Edelman veteran Svetlana Plotnitskaya. Both of their titles are senior vice president.

All three will report to Chris Dobson, general manager of strategic and emerging markets for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The changes are effective immediately.

“Our goal is to become the agency of choice in Russia, by providing consistently excellent service and thought leadership to clients both locally and across the network,” Dobson said in a press release.

The new management team is part of a restructuring in Edelman’s Moscow office that also involved layoffs. Dobson confirmed that 11 people were let go from the firm’s Russia practice. (He said “seven or eight” people were hired as well.) Employees whose jobs were terminated received a notice on May 31.