Clarity, a global integrated communications agency recently commended by PRWeek as both Best International Agency, and winner of 2020’s Specialist Consultancy of the Year, today announces new leadership for its Benelux operation.
Effective November 1st, Thomas joined Clarity in the role of managing director of the region and will sit on the European leadership team. This is a strategic hire for Clarity, following the highly successful acquisition of Yellow Communications, led by owner/founder Karin Van Geelen, in September 2020. Upon acquisition, Yellow became Clarity Amsterdam and served as Clarity’s first owned office in continental Europe, servicing clients in the Benelux region, with an enviable client portfolio including Citrix, Zoom, Solvinity and Boomi.
Based in Amsterdam and reporting into Clarity’s President, EMEA, Rachel Gilley, Thomas brings excellent corporate communications experience, working with some of the most recognised corporate and technology companies, starting out as a journalist, heading up content marketing at LVB Networks, then moving to Winkelman Van Hessen, Omnicom/Porter Novelli and, most recently, Edelman where he held leadership positions. He will be leading an excellent team of integrated comms experts and building out a senior team which includes Naomi van Duin who was recently promoted to senior account director.
Karin, as owner and founder of Yellow Communications, sold her agency to Clarity in September 2020. Karin led Yellow for over 15 years prior to the acquisition, building it into one of the leading independent technology agencies covering the Benelux region. Karin’s decision to step back was born out of her desire to spend more time with her family and to pursue outside interests.
“We’re delighted that someone of Thomas’ calibre and experience is taking over the leadership of Clarity Amsterdam and our Benelux offering. Having worked at some of the top international agencies and in roles where he has consulted the C-suite of some of the largest technology and enterprise clients, we’re excited about the new thinking that Thomas will bring, building on the brilliant team we have and our excellent client portfolio.
Karin has built a wonderful agency and a year on, having delivered a highly successful global integration, she has made the decision to spend more time with her family and engage in new adventures outside of agency life, and we wish her all the very best. Our acquisition of an Amsterdam-based agency was strategically important for us as our first mainland European office, and it continues to be a pivotal geography for us as we continue to expand further into Europe.” said Rachel Gilley.
“I am truly honoured to lead Clarity Benelux through its next phase and I am very excited about the opportunities ahead. I want to thank Karin for her leadership over the years and for the global leadership teams’ confidence in me. It is an exciting time for the communications industry from both an agency and our clients’ perspective and I look forward to partnering with Rachel and the team here in Amsterdam to drive growth and success in the coming years.” said Thomas Cordes.
“Looking back at the past year it has been an amazing ride with our inspiring team. The transition of Yellow becoming Clarity was a smooth process and we have grown our client base and service offerings since joining their global team. It is a bittersweet moment leaving the team and our wonderful customers and partners, while at the same time I am looking forward to spending time with my family and exploring opportunities as a life planner and business coach. I couldn’t be happier to hand over the reins to Thomas, who shares my same passion for, and dedication to, client partnerships and staff mentorship, and I know that the team I have built is in great hands” said Karin Van Geelen.
Clarity is projecting global revenue growth upwards of 55% in 2021, following record revenue growth in 2020 of 47% year on year. In 2021, the agency made a series of strategic investments in its business, adding a Planning and Impact division globally, acquiring Cornwall-based agency 3 White Hats to bring integrated social, search and analytics offerings to its clients across the globe and expanding its global partner network to 35 agencies worldwide. Recent client wins for Clarity include Staffbase, SurveyMonkey and Burt.
About Clarity
Clarity is a global integrated communications agency focused on telling the stories of the brands that are driving change through technology, named 2020’s PRWeek’s “Specialist Consultancy of the Year”. Serving clients ranging from seed-funded startups to industry titans, Clarity brings together teams of experts who solve communications challenges and drive real business results using earned, paid, and owned strategies as well as proprietary technologies that push the industry forward. In addition to the company’s fast-growing offices in New York, London, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Amsterdam and Cornwall, Clarity maintains a network of partner firms for a global reach. For more information, visit www.clarity.pr.
