MUNICH — Cornelia Kunze is departing Edelman after a 19-year career with the firm, which included senior roles across Europe, Asia-Pacific and globally.

Kunze, who most recently led Edelman's global client experience program as vice-chair, leaves without a fixed destination in mind. "For me it’s still the greatest firm of them all," she told the Holmes Report, adding that she would now try "something different."

Her duties are taken on by global client strategy MD AJ Desjardins, who is based in New York and reports to global client management president Lisa Sepulveda. 

Kunze joined Edelman in 1998, becoming MD of its Hamburg office before a nine-year stint as German CEO, during which the firm grew from 45 people to 180. In 2012, she moved to Mumbai to become vice-chair of APACMEA, before returning to Europe in 2015.

"For much of her 19 years, I’ve had the great pleasure of working with Cornelia," said Sepulveda. "Her contribution has been tremendous. We’re going to miss her a whole lot."

Desjardins, who has been with the firm for 15 years, has been working on global client management for several years at Edelman.

Edelman global clients include such accounts as Nissan, Shire, Hilton, GSK, Bosch and Barilla. Sepulveda said that the global client portfolio is a high-growth component of Edelman's income, forecast to increase by 10% this year. "It’s the benefit of putting our best resources behind the and being totally client-centric and not P&L-centric," she said.

Kunze's departure comes after Edelman veteran David Brain quit the firm earlier this year.