Berland will take up his new role on Monday and will be in charge of integrating the StrategyOne analytics business founded by Steve Lombardo into the new single company. Operating within Edelman, the business will cover over 65 offices globally and work with clients in need of consulting and research in developing communications campaigns. Lombardo “will be an important partner as we evolve Edelman’s research business,” said Berland.

Berland will report to Matthew J Harrington, Edelman’s global chief operating officer. His departure from PSB comes just two months after Microsoft hired co-founder Mark Penn as a corporate VP for strategic and special projects, reporting to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. All three of PSB’s founders are now no longer part of the company.

Berland says his priority will be “building real-time research tools at Edelman Berland that capture and share insights from social media, instant connections and online communities to help our clients develop the most effective campaigns.”

“Having Mike Berland on board not only means we have a high profile CEO at the helm of our offering, but more importantly it positions Edelman as a reliable global research business that can offer clients a rigid approach to garnering insights from traditional and digital methods, whilst also being able to understand the relevance of the information and be fit for presenting in the boardroom,” Laurence Evans, president, international of StrategyOne, told Research.

• See feature: Edelman Berland: an all new StrategyOne?