Didier Lagae, CEO and founder of MARCO Agency, has been awarded a Global Stevie Award in the category, “Communications, Investor Relations or PR Executive of the Year”. Lagae is the only European professional to receive an award in this category, further consolidating his position in the PR and communication sector, after receiving the award for Best PR Professional in Europe at the prestigious PRWeek Global Awards held last May.
The Stevie Awards are one of the most important business awards in the world, created in 2002 with the aim of recognising the achievements and contributions of organisations and professionals linked to the communication sector on a global scale. The category “Communications, Investor Relations or PR Executive of the Year”, in which Lagae has been awarded, rewards the professional with the greatest achievements among executives in the global communication sector.
The prestigious award represents a new success in Lagae’s career, and further consolidates his position as one of the most recognised international consultants in communication. It also strengthens his reputation as a Climate Leader and comes after the successful presentation of his book, Country Brand, a Branded Country. Lagae holds a degree in Communication from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, a Postgraduate Degree in Financial Communication from the Université Catholique de Louvain and a Master’s Degree in Communication Sciences from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Lagae has a long professional career in which he managed the network of ECCO agencies, was responsible for external communication in the EMEA region for Levi’s, directed global communication for The Body Shop, was responsible for the Reputation Management areas in the EMEA region of Weber Shandwick and was a Director at Edelman in Iberia.
Lagae currently leads a team of more than 130 consultants of more than twenty different nationalities in ten offices on four continents at MARCO Agency, the agency he founded in 2002 and of which he is CEO. MARCO is the most awarded agency for the eighth consecutive year and the best valued by PR Scope for the performance of its full range of 360º communication services, as well as for its projects carried out all over the world, which reinforce its international reputation. On the verge of its 18th birthday, the agency is experiencing an impressive period of growth, with an annual increase in revenue of 20% over the last five years, which places it as one of the consulting firms with the highest turnover in the Iberian Peninsula and has allowed it to boost its expansion in Latin America with the opening of new offices in Mexico City, Bogota and Lima.
Lagae commented: “I am proud to be the only representative of the Public Relations sector in Europe to be recognised at this 16th edition of the awards. The communication and reputation management industry is going through a time of great change and evolution and it is very gratifying to be honoured as one of the leaders by the business community.”
Argentina’s Sebastian Siseles, Freelancer.com’s International Vice President in charge of the company’s institutional relationships as well as its global communication and marketing strategy, and South Korea’s Soon-seok Yang, Executive Director of the KT Group and responsible for the corporate reputation of integrated telecommunications service provider KBN (Korean Telecom Broadcasting Network) shared the gold. The awards will be presented at an exclusive gala in Vienna, Austria, on Saturday 19 October.
