SEATTLE — Weber Shandwick has hired Edelman's Will Ludlam to run the agency’s western US operations following the departure of Luca Penati earlier this year. 

Ludlam, who had been Edelman's Pacific Northwest general manager since 2011, will oversee Weber Shandwick's offices in Seattle (where he is based), San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Los Angeles. Penati stepped down in February after nearly five years with the firm to start his own consultancy.  

During his eight years at Edelman, Ludlam ran the firm’s Pacific Northwest business unit, which includes Seattle and Portland offices. Before that, he was general manager of Hill + Knowlton’s Seattle office and spent more than a decade with Porter Novelli, where he was managing director of the firm’s Asia Pacific operation.

He starts on May 20 and will report into Sara Gavin, Weber Shandwick's North American president. Ludlam will be focused on supporting "client growth and foster a culture of collaboration,” she said.