Singapore – The Singapore arm of public relations firm Sandpiper Communications welcomes Rasheed Abu Bakar as its new associate director, bringing a multitude of client experience from technology, energy, and aviation industries.
Through his new role, Rasheed will lead Southeast Asia and international briefs for the firm’s expanding technology, energy and environment, and aviation practices, and is tasked as well in growing these practices.
Prior to the role, he has worked with management consulting APCO Worldwide as its director, where he led international corporate communications and public affairs briefs for clients of the firm’s Singapore and Indonesia offices. In addition, he has also worked with public relations company The Hoffman Agency as account director where he also led growth for the business across both Singapore and Indonesia, which included establishing Hoffman’s office in the latter.
Speaking about his appointment, he said, “I was drawn to Sandpiper’s entrepreneurial spirt and inclusive and empowering culture and I look forward to contributing to our team’s success. The pandemic has created both opportunities and challenges for the sectors where I specialize, and it is exciting to see the communications needs of technology companies maturing as digitalization has accelerated significantly.”
“I take great pride in building innovative and impactful teams and count Sir Alex Ferguson as an inspiration. I hope to help lead our talented team towards our common goals of delivering pioneering work for clients, fostering a great culture, and growing our agency,” Abu Bakar added.
He will be working closely with Sarada Chellam, general manager for Singapore at Sandpiper Communications.
“Rasheed has an impressive track record of delivering strategic and high-impact client work, and driving business growth across the industries where he specialises. He also brings a sense of fun to his work, which is one of Sandpiper’s core values. I look forward to having Rasheed as a colleague and working with him to grow our business together,” Chellam stated.
According to Emma Smith, chief executive at Sandpiper Communications, Rasheed’s appointment is timely, as there has been a trend specifically among technology companies to seek after corporate communications to grow and protect their reputation capital.
“Rasheed brings very relevant experience for the times we face, and I am delighted to welcome Rasheed to our team,” Smith added.
