LONDON—Axicom founder and CEO Julian Tanner has been named global technology leader at Cohn & Wolfe, the firm which bought his agency in 2008.

Tanner steps down from the CEO role at Axicom, but will remain chairman of the tech PR firm. Axicom is expected to name a new CEO shortly.

The newly-created Cohn & Wolfe position sees Tanner take on day-to-day responsibilities for Cohn & Wolfe’s technology business across all regions, reporting to Cohn & Wolfe group CEO Donna Imperato.
 
Tanner is charged with cultivating client relationships, providing senior counsel, developing new business and managing teams across Cohn & Wolfe’s international network. 

"Over the past seven years, I’ve been fortunate to have Julian on my team, providing valuable strategy and insights in the technology space and driving AxiCom’s tremendous success," said Imperato. "Julian brings his deep expertise and leadership skills to expand Cohn & Wolfe’s global technology footprint and broaden its B2B and B2C offering."

Tanner founded Axicom in 1994, before selling the firm to Cohn & Wolfe in 2008, since when it has operated as an independent brand within the Cohn & Wolfe Group. His 30-year tech PR career spans healthcare and broadcast technology, wireless and mobile, enterprise IT, telecoms, clean tech and consumer tech.

"Cohn & Wolfe’s technology practice has had a lot of momentum over the past year, adding global and local business across healthcare, corporate and consumer technology.  Much of this success is due to the agency’s reputation in creativity and branding, which have become increasingly important in this new era of brand-savvy technology companies," said Tanner. 

"I see great potential to expand the offering by combining the agency’s creative and branding knowledge with deep tech expertise across industries."