AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, April 25 /PRNewswire/ -- AKQA today announced that it has signed one of the world's most respected and awarded creative directors, Martin Cedergren, as Executive Creative Director. Cedergren will be based at AKQA's newly opened Amsterdam office. Cedergren is the latest high- profile appointment at AKQA, which now boasts four of the world's top ten most highly rated creative directors according to Scandinavian advertising paper Resume's ranking of the Top 50 Creatives. Cedergren is currently ranked as the third best Interactive Creative in the world and will be part of AKQA's Creative Council together with award-winning colleagues like Lars Bastholm (#2), Rei Inamoto (#5) and PJ Pereira (#7).

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"Martin is one of the industry's most respected and sought after talents. That he has signed to AKQA reflects our ability to attract and retain the best talent within the industry," said Tom Bedecarre, CEO of AKQA. He added: "With the appointment of Martin as Executive Creative Director for our new Amsterdam office, we're in a great position to provide our clients with innovation globally."

Commenting on his appointment, Cedergren said: "Throughout my career, I have strived to push the boundaries of integrated communications. By signing with AKQA, I'll be working with the industry's best talent and forward thinking clients in order to further raise the bar in digital creativity and ground-breaking campaigns."

Previously Cedergren had been working in advertising and interactive marketing for more than twelve years. Most recently, he was Interactive Creative Director at the Scandinavian top advertising agency Forsman&Bodenfors for five years.

During the years Cedergren has been working with global brands like Volvo, adidas, IKEA, MTV, MyTravel, Nokia, Tele2, Atari, Yahoo and have served juries like Cannes Lions, One Show, Clio Awards, Webby Awards, London International Advertising Awards and the Swedish National Advertising Awards.

Prior to Forsman&Bodenfors, Cedergren founded the Stockholm-based digital agency Starlet Deluxe which later merged with the pan-European digital agency Abel&Baker working on leading brands such as adidas, Nokia and MTV. Cedergren was recently entitled "The most important digital creative" by the readers of the Swedish ad-paper Indikat.

An independent agency, AKQA has offices in London, San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C. and Shanghai. The last five years have resulted in over 75 major awards, including eighteen Cyber Lions in Cannes (one Grand Prix, four Golds, four Silvers and nine Bronzes), nine Clio Awards, four One Show pencils, one Grand Award, four Golds and three Silvers in New York Festivals, three Golds in Epica and an Excellence in Swedish Design.

http://www.akqa.com/ About AKQA

AKQA is the leading independent digital marketing agency with over 500 employees in San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., London, Shanghai and its newest office in Amsterdam. AKQA provides digital strategy, creative and technology solutions to the world's leading marketers, including Coca-Cola, Diageo, Nike, Unilever and Visa. For more information about AKQA, visit http://www.akqa.com/.

For more information: Molly Parsley, AKQA, molly.parsley@akqa.com or 415-645-9473 To contact AKQA Amsterdam: Rikki Khanna, AKQA Amsterdam, rikki.khanna@akqa.com, +31 (0)20 520 7420

CONTACT: Molly Parsley of AKQA, +1-415-645-9473, molly.parsley@akqa.com,
or Rikki Khanna of AKQA Amsterdam, +31 (0)20 520 7420, rikki.khanna@akqa.com

Web site: http://www.akqa.com/