Pros: Edelman is…read moreexpanding into areas such as creatives and digital in its drive to offer clients integrated MarComm services. It has been on a hiring hunt for the "best" talents in the advertising fields, whether they are creatives or strategy. This is the right direction to take because we need to learn from these professionals, instead of doing it ourselves if we are not the experts. Despite layoffs, we have proven to be the most caring and supportive to those who were affected. Our global CEO sent us an emphathetic email explaining what the company has done to keep the layoffs and its impact to a minimum. Even though Edelman is the largest PR company in the world, we have managed to remain independent and not be succumbed to the fate of acquisition and merger with another company that is completely at odd with our culture. Such independence means we are able to make decisions that reflect the best interests of our clients, employees and our company's future. Cons: Hiring people from advertising is undoubtedly 90% good. What happens to the 10%? Advertising people can be living in their own world. Instead of thinking of ways to make their advertising offering (strategy and creative) INTEGRATE with PR, which is the core business of Edelman and our foundation, advertising people often refuse to see the need to learn PR and consider how we can work together! So it becomes like having 4A agencies within a PR agency. We have seen this in our Shanghai team where a Senior VP with background account servicing in two large 4As finding herself completely unfit (or refusing to fit in?) in our culture and she left in just 10 months-hardly long enough for her to learn enough about PR to prove her value. We have also hired similar professionals in Hong Kong but I fear the same may happen here. The head of strategy can also be very arrogant and impolite to the point that it is hard to carry out a conversation with her because her attention tends to drift away and it seems that she does not think you are worthy of talking to her! If she wants to work only with people from advertising, she may as well stay in 4As? Suggstion for management: Please take the lead more to encourage and drive different talents to work with one another, instead of each department doing our own thing and then we combine everything and send to our clients. If you hire people from advertising, you should know that they are known for their attitude (like all creative people do have this mindset) so it is important to make sure they understand their role in Edelman. They are NOT a separate 4A ad agency fighting for clients' credit with us PRs in Edelman! Although they are neither under PRs, they should be on the same level as PRs and we shoult cooperate!