MEDIA RELEASE Theo Zijdenbos takes over Public Affairs Marie-Louise Baumann moves to the Board of Directors Zurich, January 21, 2009 – Burson-Marsteller Switzerland, a leading PR and communications agency with offices in Zurich, Berne and Geneva, is undergoing a change in management in the area of Public Affairs. Theo Zijdenbos, who has been a member of the Executive Board at Burson-Marsteller Switzerland since November 2008, is replacing Marie-Louise Baumann as Manager Public Affairs. Marie-Louise Baumann will continue as Senior Advisor for BursonMarsteller and will move from the Executive Board to the Board of Directors.
Theo Zijdenbos is bringing to his new role longstanding expertise in the areas of Public Affairs, Campaigning, Issue Management, Lobbying and Policy Affairs. Marie-Louise Baumann will continue to contribute her comprehensive knowledge in Political and Association Communications, Lobbying , Election Campaigns, and in particular Health and Research Issues, within the scope of her function as Senior Advisor and Member of the Board of Directors at Burson Marsteller.
Prior to joining Burson-Marsteller, Theo Zijdenbos was at economiesuisse where, as manager of the Berne office, he was responsible for establishing and fostering contacts with the Swiss parliament and administration. He was a long-term member of the Executive Board at economiesuisse and its precursor organization “wf”, and also headed the economiesuisse Brussels office for many years. Theo Zijdenbos grew up in Germany, Tunisia, Singapore, Australia and Switzerland. He studied economics and constitutional law in Berne and graduated from the University of Lugano as Executive Master of Science in Communications Management (MScom).
As a Member of the Executive Board, Marie-Louise Baumann has been very successful in running Public Affairs at Burson-Marsteller since the year 2000. Previously, she had been Political Secretary for the FDP Switzerland and Section Chief for the Federal Chancellery’s legal service. In addition to her role at BursonMarsteller, she is also a Board Member at the Swisstransplant Foundation and President of the Arbitration Commission for Federal Employees. She was also a longstanding member of the Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television (ICA) and a Member of the Board of Spitex Switzerland.
“I am certain that, with his longstanding expertise at the economic and political divide, Theo Zijdenbos will be very successful in heading the Public Affairs team”, says Roman Geiser, CEO Burson-Marsteller Switzerland. He also stresses: “I am looking forward to continuing working with Marie-Louise Baumann in her role as advisor and Member of the Board of Directors, while being able to benefit from her wide knowledge and experience in the area of Public Affairs.“
Contact: Roman Geiser T +41 (0)44 455 84 00 roman.geiser@bm.com Theo Zijdenbos T +41 (0)44 455 84 22 theo.zijdenbos@bm.com Marie-Louise Baumann T +41 (0)44 455 84 34 marie-louise.baumann@bm.com You can find out more information at www.b-m.ch.
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About Burson-Marsteller Switzerland Burson-Marsteller Switzerland (www.b-m.ch) is one of the leading agencies for public relations and communications advisory services in Switzerland, with offices in Zurich, Berne and Genvea and an affiliated partner in Ticino. 60 communications experts provide services in the fields of business and financial communications, public affairs, healthcare and scientific communications, digital communications, media relations and crossmedia. About Burson-Marsteller International Burson-Marsteller (www.burson-marsteller.com), established in 1953, is a leading global public relations and communications firm. It provides clients with strategic thinking and program execution across a full range of public relations, public affairs, advertising and web-related services. The firm’s seamless worldwide network consists of 72 wholly-owned offices and 59 affiliate offices, together operating in 84 countries across six continents. Burson-Marsteller is a part of Young & Rubicam Brands, a subsidiary of WPP plc (NASDQ: WPPGY), one of the world’s leading communications services networks.