MSL veteran Glenn Osaki takes job at USC

Glenn Osaki, most recently APAC president of Publicis-Groupe agency MSL, has taken a position at the University of Southern California, where he earned a master's degree in public relations in 1987.

The university announced the appointment in a press release, and Osaki announced it on LinkedIn. Campaign has reached out to MSL for comment.

Osaki will serve as senior vice president and chief communications officer, effective June 1.

"After an amazing journey of 32 years with MSL—including the last 14 years based in Shanghai—I will miss my amazing client partners, and the talented and dedicated professionals at MSL in Asia-Pacific, whom I greatly admire and respect," Osaki wrote on LinkedIn. "My MSL colleagues—past and present—taught me so much about ethics, professionalism and international communications that I will take forward into my new position."

His responsibilities will include shaping the university’s overall communications strategy, serving as principal spokesperson for USC and collaborating with communications officers across the university's campuses to highlight achievements in research, teaching, scholarship and other facets of university life, according to USC.

"I am thrilled to apply my international brand-building and reputation management experience from outside of academia to provide an innovative perspective on digital storytelling and data-driven influence to shape USC’s communications,” Osaki said in the USC release.

Osaki's name is synonymous with MSL in APAC, where he presided over the evolution of a 15-member team into a regional network with more than 40 offices and 1,500 employees. Prior to moving to Shanghai in 2005, Osaki was managing director of MSL’s Los Angeles office.

Guillaume Herbette, MSL's global CEO, said Osaki holds a special place in the history of the firm. "He has been a transformative leader who has contributed in mighty ways to building our global network into one of the top firms in the world," Herbette said. "I join with MSL colleagues around the world in thanking Glenn for his contributions to our firm and wishing him the very best on the next step of his career."