PRAGUE—Ewing PR has won a major five-country assignment from Generali PPF Holding, one of the leading insurers in Central and Eastern Europe, with total assets under management of almost €15 billion. Ewing will coordinate a campaign across the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Russia and will work with partner firms Ewing Slovakia in Bratislava, 24/7 in Poland, Eurolex Consulting in Hungary and for adhoc work the PPF agency of record CROS in Moscow.

EINDHOVEN—Lewis PR has opened a new office in Amsterdam in addition to the company’s Dutch headquarters in Eindhoven. The latest office in the agency’s network will be led by Vera Kops, head of the consumer division for Lewis in the Netherlands.

BRUSSELS—MSLGroup has named Leonardo Sforza as the new managing director of its Brussels office. Sforza has 25 years of Brussels-based experience in EU policy and corporate strategy and was until recently the head of research and EU affairs at Aon Hewitt. Prior to Aon Hewitt, he worked for several departments of the European Commission where he led numerous initiatives in relation to enterprise policy and the service industry.

LONDON—Consumer PR specialist Cirkle has appointed Nick Woods (pictured) as deputy managing director, responsible for developing Cirkle’s consumer and digital portfolios. Woods previously held senior account management, creative and business development roles at Porter Novelli, Weber Shandwick and MSLGroup and has worked on UK, European and global campaigns for brands belonging to Diageo, Nestlé, Unilever, Yum Brands, Pernod Ricard, SABMiller, Fiat, Harley-Davidson and British Airways.

LONDON— Richard Ellis, who was head of communications and policy at the UK Public Relations Consultancy Association for the last five years, has launched Aardvark Communications, a PR, communications and public affairs consultancy specializing in trade associations and professional services organizations.

LONDON—MSL London has formed a new health practice, headed by managing director Richard Hayhurst formerly UK managing director at Schwartz Communications, a sister firm specializing in healthcare, e-health and medtech sectors. He has also worked with agencies including HCC DeFacto and Hayhurst Media. Hayhurst will report to Kelly Walsh, CEO, MSL London.

LONDON—Food Freshness Technology has hired the food sector specialists of College Hill’s corporate practice to manage the launch of its freshness preservation technology for fruit and vegetables, It'sFresh!

LONDON—Kate Bassett has joined Seven Hills as head of editorial. Prior to joining Seven Hills, Bassett was the editor of Real Business, one of Britain's longest running print, digital and events brand for fast-growth companies. She has chaired and hosted events ranging from the Inspirational Women's Network to the annual Entrepreneurs' Summit and the Growing Business Awards. Her work has also appeared in The Guardian, The Times, The Financial Times and The Independent.

OXFORDSHIRE—Damco, one of the world’s leading third party logistics providers, has appointed Bottle
to handle its PR brief for 2012. The firm has been tasked with positioning Damco as the preferred provider of logistics within the toy industry.