Pickard said family considerations had led to the decision, which follows the offer of a position on the firm’s executive committee as chairman of global corporate practice and regional head of Latin America and Canada.
Accepting the position, he said, would have entailed a prolonged stay at his current post in Japan - a move that ran counter to relocation plans he had announced internally last year. Pickard will instead end his term with the company on amicable terms and return to North America to “reconnect” with friends and relatives.
While Pickard’s successor has yet to be chosen, Asia-Pacific president Alan Vandermolen confirmed that three candidates were under consideration, with one involved in “active negotiation”.
Pickard took on his current role in 2005 after two years in Seoul as managing director of Edelman Korea. The Tokyo office currently supports a staff of 30 and works with clients such as Northwest Airlines and Johnson & Johnson.
Edelman's Pickard departs the region
TOKYO - Edelman's president for North Asia and representative director Robert Pickard (pictured) is to leave the agency later this month after six years in Asia-Pacific.
