BRUSSELS—Ketchum has appointed Auke Haagsma, a former official of the European Commission, as head of public affairs in its Brussels.

At the Commission, Auke has held various responsibilities in areas such as environment, energy, transport, consumer protection, standards, competition policy, public procurement, food & health and international trade. Since leaving the Commission, he has worked an independent consultant on these and other issues.

Haagsma's arrival marks an important step in the development of Ketchum’s public affairs capability in Europe. The firm has previously worked closely with its Brussels-based Omnicom-owned sister agency Gplus in the European capital but has been seeking the develop an in-house capability to complement existing public affairs capabilities in Washington, DC, London, and Beijing.

Haagsma will allow Ketchum to offer clients high-level support on regulatory and legislative processes at the EU.