Burson strengthens social and influence capability with key leadership appointments

Burson's former Chief Operating Officer, EMEA, Matt Buchanan, has been named Global Chief Social and Influence Officer and a member of Burson’s global leadership team. In this newly created role, he is responsible for building on the agency’s foundation in Social and Influence in the U.S. and scaling the capability globally.

“Reputation is no longer built through a single channel, format or voice, but through ideas that originate in culture and society, travel through communities and stakeholders, and earn attention across every platform,” said Corey duBrowa, CEO, Burson. “And with nearly 40 per cent of adults under 30 getting their news from influencers, it’s clear that reputations must be built in platform-fluent ways from the start. That shift represents a genuine inflexion point, and this appointment is about making sure Burson is scaled to meet it."

“Matt’s considerable experience in building modern, earned-first communication campaigns and driving results for clients across PR, social and influence make him the right choice to ensure that our clients’ narratives resonate and achieve the reach necessary to build their reputations on the global stage,” Corey added.

Matt joined Burson in 2025 from Ogilvy, where he spent more than six years, most recently as Global & EMEA President, Ogilvy PR, leading global clients and the agency’s PR, social and influence business in the EMEA region. Before Ogilvy, he was with Havas-owned One Green Bean for seven years, initially as Australian Managing Director, ahead of returning to London to launch its UK business as Managing Director. He has worked across diverse sectors for global clients such as The Coca-Cola Company, L’Oréal, Google, TJX Europe and Pfizer, among many others.

“Communications today is about the seamless integration of social and influence across all marketing and communications strategies and creative outputs,” said Matt. “What we’re building at Burson is a social-first creative muscle that works in service of reputation - ideas conceived for platforms, creators, communities and opinion leaders that actually shape how audiences feel about brands and the people that lead them. That integration of social, influence and earned, executed with fluency in culture and policy, is where the most meaningful reputation work happens now, and where we will build Burson as the benchmark.”

Furthermore, Olly Gosling has joined the agency as Head of Social and Influence, EMEA, after five years at global creator marketing agency Influencer. Most recently serving as Vice President of Strategy, Media & Production, where he led Impact Studio, a cross-functional division designed to solve brand challenges through the integration of creative strategy, deep insights and media distribution. Olly also has held key roles at The Walt Disney Company, Maker Studios and MediaCom.

“The intersection of creator culture and corporate strategy is where the next decade of brand growth lives,” said Olly. “Burson already has a reputation for strategic impact and a clear commitment to creator-led strategy; my focus will be to build upon that foundation to further convert digital influence into brand reputation.

“In an age of infinite content, attention is no longer a commodity brands can simply buy; it must be earned through the cultural relevance that creators uniquely provide,” Olly continued. “I’m thrilled to join Matt and this world-class team across EMEA to ensure our social and influence work doesn’t just capture attention, but drives the kind of sustainable, long-term impact that will define the next era of influence.”