Steven Cao, who leads Edelman's China group, has returned to his family after he went missing in August, reportedly to help authorities with an investigation.
Edelman, which earlier said he was cooperating with Chinese authorities on an unspecified investigation, confirmed Oct. 15 that Cao "has returned to his family" and is "spending private time" with them.
Cao joined Edelman with its acquisition of Pegasus PR Consulting in 2007. Edelman tapped Cao as CEO of the Edelman China Group in early 2013, encompassing Edelman, Edelman Digital, Pegasus and Zeno Group in the country.
Edelman raised eyebrows in early August when it said it didn't know Cao's whereabouts, a week after Chinese authorities visited Pegasus offices.
Pegasus co-founder Rui Chenggang, a former business news anchor in China, was detained in a government corruption investigation in July centered on the state's China Central Television.
Reuters from Beijing reported that Edelman expected Rui to divest his shares of Pegasus immediately after the Edelman acquisition, but he waited three years. The news agency said the nationalistic Rui once led a campaign to oust Edelman client Starbucks from Beijing's Forbidden City.
Edelman is providing communications support to Panama’s Ministry of Commerce and Industries under an agreement capped at $97,100 per month.
Ballard Partners has recruited State Department veteran Matt Bryza as a senior policy advisor.
Teneo has extended its contract with the Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation for an additional four months to July 31, adding another $1.8M in fees to the New York firm’s coffers.
The Syrian Kurdish militia recruits Jim Dornan Strategies to press Congress for continued support in their battle against ISIS and Syrian president Bashar Assad.
The Government of Hungary has hired Strategic Improvisation Inc. to generate positive media coverage and combat negative press coverage of the Central European country. (6 reader comments)
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