Weber Shandwick's Marcus Smith takes Liberty Global role

Based in Liberty Global’s London office, Smith will head the company’s media strategy and press relations from the beginning of March and will report to senior vice-president investor relations and corporate communications Rick Westerman.

Westerman said: ‘This key hire comes as we continue expanding our operations in Europe. Last week we announced our intention to acquire Virgin Media in the UK, which will give us a substantial presence in Europe’s largest and most dynamic media market.

‘Marcus will play an important role in communicating our activities both at the corporate level and throughout our European operations.’

Smith spent 18 years at Weber Shandwick, most recently as board director and head of international affairs. He also spent five years at Carlton Communications before joining WS.

Liberty Global runs a number of media brands in Europe including UPC, Unitymedia, Kabel BW, Telenet and VTR. Its plan to acquire Virgin Media will bring it into the UK pay-TV market and into competition with BSkyB.

This article was first published on prweek.com