Omnicom Public Relations Group, part of The DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom, announced today that Brad MacAfee has been named chief executive officer of global public relations leader Porter Novelli. With nearly 25 years of public relations experience on both the agency and corporate sides, MacAfee is a highly respected business and communications leader. He has been with Porter Novelli for 15 years, most recently serving as senior partner and president of the agency’s North America region.

“Brad’s leadership as president of Porter Novelli’s largest region has made an enormous positive impact over the past two years,” said Karen van Bergen, CEO, Omnicom Public Relations Group. “His unwavering focus on talent, ability to provide smart, strategic counsel to our clients and gift for bringing forward innovative solutions to client needs will be instrumental in his success.”

MacAfee has also held the roles of global technology practice leader and managing director of the Atlanta office; he is the longest-standing member of Porter Novelli’s executive committee. He is a valued senior strategic advisor for many of Porter Novelli’s top clients, and is actively sought out for his counsel in areas including corporate reputation, crisis and issues management, thought leadership, executive visibility, and mergers and acquisition strategies. Prior to Porter Novelli, MacAfee worked in-house at Sage Software (formerly Peachtree Software).

“In the past three years, we’ve made great strides forward as a talent-centric organization with a commitment to driving purposeful action for our clients through engagement and influence,” said MacAfee. “I am honored to take on this role, and couldn’t be more excited to continue to chart our growth path forward.”

MacAfee succeeds Karen van Bergen, who was named chief executive officer at Omnicom Public Relations Group.