Burson hires Edelman’s Taj Reid as global chief creative officer

Burson has hired Taj Reid as global chief creative officer, effective January 8, 2025. 

Reid replaces Simon Shaw in the position. Shaw will depart the agency at the end of the year, according to a Burson statement. The moves come after WPP merged its two largest communications agencies, BCW and Hill & Knowlton, to form Burson in June.

“Cutting through the noise of today’s oversaturated media environment to earn attention, inspire action and build reputation requires creating engagement through a range of messages and experiences across a wide variety of platforms,” Burson global CEO Corey duBrowa said via email. “[Reid] is expert at creating excitement for clients at the intersection of creative, design and technology and I’m looking forward to the growth that his exceptional talent will bring to our clients and our colleagues.”

Reid joins Burson from Edelman, where he worked for five years, most recently as global chief experience officer and U.S. chief creative officer. Edelman global chief creative officer Judy John is leading U.S. creative in the interim, according to the agency.

Reid’s departure from the DJE Holdings agency follows exits by Edelman executive global creative director Jordan Atlas and EMEA co-chief creative officers Mattias Ronge and Stefan Ronge in the wake of big wins for Edelman at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. Atlas launched his own fractional agency, My Friend Billy, earlier this year while the Ronge brothers similarly launched their own consultancy, Earned Identity, in July. 

Edelman won a Titanium Lion for DP World’s The Move to Minus 15. The agency also placed second for Independent Network of the Year and Edelman London was named Independent Agency of the Year in the Good Track.

In total, Edelman won four Gold Lions, six Silver Lions and five Bronze Lions for a total of 16 trophies.

Despite the string of recent departures, Edelman CEO Richard Edelman said the moves are in no way any sort of mark against the agency’s creative work. 

“[Reid] is a terrific guy and I'm deeply appreciative of his contribution over the years,” Edelman said, citing the legacy Reid leaves at the firm. “He's got a big promotion going over to Burson and I wish him well — except against us.”

Edelman noted that the agency is “deeply committed to creative,” with about one-third of the firm’s staff now in non-PR roles. 

“People move after 10 years. This is a normal thing,” he said. “We led the industry into it and we continue to lead the industry by far in creative.”

Before Edelman, Reid spent two years as principal creative director at Microsoft, leading a cross-discipline team of designers, developers and content strategists crafting digital products and community experiences for Mixed Reality. 

Burson is a part of WPP’s PR division, which posted revenue growth of 0.2% on a like-for-like basis in Q3. Year-to-date, the division reported a 0.5% decrease. 

WPP's PR firms include Burson and Ogilvy PR. Private equity firm KKR Group agreed to buy a majority stake in agency FGS Global from WPP, expected to close by the end of this year.