Tag: Edelman

China – Edelman China has named Xiaoyan Wang as its new health lead. In her new role, Wang will spearhead the development of the firm’s health sector vision, uniting teams across various disciplines to deliver specialised and strategic solutions for client challenges.

Wang brings nearly 25 years of experience in pharmaceuticals and marketing, encompassing consumer health, medical communications, branding, advertising, and digital innovation. Her extensive and diverse background makes her a valuable asset to Edelman China.

With a strong personal interest in public health, Wang believes that effective and empathetic communication is a key driver in improving health outcomes for all. She has collaborated with numerous leading life sciences companies, and in her previous agency roles, she successfully built high-performing teams from the ground up, achieving rapid revenue growth and establishing best-in-class healthcare solutions in China.

Speaking on her appointment, Wang said, “The healthcare industry is currently undergoing a period of great change, as we face challenges and opportunities such as pressure on drug prices, increased regulation, and accelerated innovation. In this period of transition, I’m delighted to join Edelman and provide health clients with strategic solutions that enhance health outcomes. I also look forward to contributing to Edelman’s continuous development of the health sector.”

Also commenting on the appointment, Will Collie, vice chair of health in Asia Pacific at Edelman, stated, “Xiaoyan has solid business management skills and market development capabilities, and her joining is undoubtedly a great addition to Edelman. Importantly, Xiaoyan’s track record of working with international health brands will be of significant importance to clients in China.” 

“Edelman’s internationally connected business and communications consulting teams will be a key differentiator in Edelman’s approach to serving clients in the health sector. Xiaoyan completes our efforts to have senior leaders in every major market across Asia and the Pacific. We believe she will continue to bring her professional strengths into full play in the future and strive to enhance Edelman’s integrated communication capabilities in the healthcare field, expanding business possibilities,” Collie added. 

Jakarta, Indonesia – Global integrated communications firm, Edelman appointed Nia Pratiwi as managing director for its operations in Indonesia, poised to partner with the firm’s clients to navigate and enhance their organisational and brand reputations in today’s increasingly complex environment, signifying a strategic step towards growth and expansion. 

Pratiwi is a seasoned industry specialist with over 20 years of experience in corporate communications, public affairs, and government relations. Having held leadership positions at renowned firms such as Burson Cohn & Wolfe, Burson Marsteller, Fleishmann Hillard, and Pfizer, she will now steer Edelman Indonesia’s next stage of strategic business growth in the rapidly growing, vibrant socio-economic climate of Indonesia.

Commenting on the appointment Warren Fernandez, CEO, Edelman APAC, said, “Indonesia’s economic growth story continues to draw interest around the world and remains core to Edelman’s growth for the region. We are excited about the many inspiring Asian hero business stories coming out of Indonesia.”

Speaking on her own appointment Pratiwi commented, “I am truly excited to be a part of Edelman Indonesia,” she stated. “With the group’s industry-leading position, Edelman is well-positioned to provide clients with exceptional results and continue to stay ahead of the industry.”

In her remarks she commended Edelman’s consecutive wins of the Campaign ‘PR Agency of the Year’ award for three years, underscoring the team’s dedication to excellence.“I’m amazed at how the firm continues to retain its Campaign ‘PR Agency of the Year’ title now three years in a row, a true testament to the team’s determination and resolve to be the best-in-class.

Edelman is credited for over two decades of industry leading research on public trust in societal institutions with the Edelman Trust Barometer Pratiwi’s appointment is effective immediately, signalling Edelman’s commitment to strengthening its presence and capabilities in Indonesia’s vibrant market.

Singapore – Edelman has announced the appointment of Alyssa Soh to head of influencer marketing in APAC, and the elevation of Simon Murphy to the role of head of business marketing. Soh will report to Tyler Vaught, global head of influencer marketing at Edelman while Murphy will report to Joe Kingsbury, global chair of B2B marketing at Edelman.

Soh joins Edelman after a decade in the tech sector, most recently as head of branded content and creators for X (formerly Twitter) JAPAC. In her previous roles, Soh led multi-functional teams across the region, working hand-in-hand with X’s top advertisers to create consistently exceptional creative work, driving optimal performance on the platform. 

In the newly created role, Soh is tasked with scaling Edelman’s influencer marketing offering across the region, establishing an exemplary body of work, and fortifying Edelman’s position as a market leader.

“I believe leveraging Edelman’s established and trusted position in the global communications industry, as well as its comprehensive suite of solutions, will allow us to innovate in this market – enhancing our work with both Brands and Creators to create meaningful content and trusted connections with their audiences across owned, paid and earned channels,” Soh shared.

Meanwhile, Murphy has been with Edelman for 6 years, having joined the firm in Hong Kong as head of corporate in 2017, before relocating to Melbourne in 2022 to take up the role of EVP and head of corporate innovation for APAC and global client lead. He possesses over 25 years of international experience in corporate affairs and communications, having worked in Australia, Hong Kong, India and the UK. 

In his new role, he will lead Edelman’s specialized B2B offering, focused on driving reputation, business demand and revenue growth for B2B clients, across the APAC region.

“Business has always been about trust and relationships. At Edelman we earn trust to drive growth. We make meaningful connections and sustain conversations. Which drives bigger, better, long-term impact,” Murphy said.

London – Grace Blue, the global executive search firm, has appointed Mark Wang as its new senior consultant. Wang will be supporting APAC CEO, Helen Duffy, in expanding and developing further the Grace Blue business offering in China.

Based in Beijing, Wang will support Grace Blue’s clients in the market and lead new business efforts as part of Grace Blue APAC’s expansion plans and wider global strategy. 

Wang joins Grace Blue with a wealth of both client-side and agency experience. Most recently, he was CEO of Edelman in China, and formerly, the MD of Ogilvy One Beijing. Before entering the agency world, he spent 17 years on the brand side in technology with HP, Dell, and IBM. 

Duffy commented, “The constant evolution of the unique digital ecosystem in China, and the skills needed for that, coupled with a greater domestic focus has meant the departure of much international talent over the past 18 months given the challenges of COVID-19. This means an increased focus on hiring the best domestic talent from within the China market. Mark’s extensive experience and authority in the market will be a huge asset in helping our clients navigate these changes in the talent landscape, and he is wonderfully placed to find the best senior talent to take advantage of the new and very different opportunities ahead.”

Wang said, “China is never short of business opportunities, but it is always in need of strong leaders who can capture and convert those opportunities, especially in fast-evolving market dynamics and through present uncertainties amid global tensions. I am honoured and fortunate to join Grace Blue, helping clients across sectors to find the right leaders to drive new growth in China.”

Sarah Skinner, Global MD and CEO for EMEA at Grace Blue, added, “We are thrilled to welcome Mark and the invaluable insight that he will bring our global clients for whom China is a critical market.”

Singapore – Edelman Global Advisory (EGA), a boutique firm providing government affairs and business advisory services as part of Daniel J. Edelman, Inc. (Edelman), has announced that it will be expanding its capabilities and geographic reach through the acquisition of Landmark Public Affairs (Landmark), a global public affairs and strategic communications agency. 

Landmark helps clients engage effectively with decision-makers, stakeholders, opinion formers, and the media to achieve strategic business objectives. It boasts a team of experienced consultants that come from over 20 countries, speaking more than 20 languages and bringing a broad range of talent, capabilities, and reach throughout APAC markets. 

According to EGA, the acquisition will build upon its strong capabilities in APAC by combining EGA’s global vision and best-in-class government affairs and business advisory capabilities with Landmark’s regulatory insights and policy expertise. EGA’s APAC network spans Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Mainland China, Australia, India, Indonesia, and Singapore. 

“This acquisition adds to the strong bench of senior public affairs and government relations regulatory analysts that EGA has assembled in the Asia Pacific region. It enables us to expand our presence into the regional hub of Singapore, where Landmark based its Asia headquarters for over a decade and where clients are increasingly engaging us for our advisory support in the Southeast Asia sub-region and the wider Asia Pacific region,” said Leigh Wedell, chief operating officer of EGA. 

Meanwhile, Richard Andrew, Landmark’s managing director for Asia, who will serve as EGA Co-Chair of Asia Pacific, commented, “We are thrilled to be entering this partnership with EGA, which will enhance our pan-APAC work with clients, bringing them expanded offerings, broader networks of regional and global expertise, and even greater success.” 

“This move will also provide our talented teams with expanded opportunities for professional growth and the chance to work across new sectors and challenges in Asia – home to three of the world’s top five economies,” he added. 

Andrew, based in Singapore, leads a team serving multinational clients across diverse issues and sectors in Asia. He and his team advise several highly regarded pan-Asia industry and trade associations. 

With experience that spans 2 decades, Andrew has worked at Asia’s intersection of business, government, and civil society. For the new leadership arrangement, Andrew will be joining EGA’s Gracie Sun, who will serve as co-chair of Asia Pacific, and EGA’s Ian McCabe, who will serve as executive chair for the Asia region. 

In the past months, the flagship Edelman agency has also made a few fresh appointments for APAC. 

Ex-Straits Times Warren Fernandez was named as Edelman’s new CEO for the region, whilst the company has newly appointed Jenny Granger as its APAC head of strategy for the health-focused practice. 

Singapore – Edelman has appointed Jenny Granger as the head of strategy for health in Asia-Pacific, which reflects the firm’s strategic focus on handling clients in the pharmaceutical, medical technology and consumer wellness space.

At Edelman, Granger will work closely with client leaders, creative teams and clients themselves to help address some of the most pressing challenges currently facing the sector, in order to provide cut-through communications and marketing strategies. 

Her appointment will further build the foundation Edelman’s health business has built around cross-regional expertise, with teams working across the region to service clients. Granger will focus on integrating creative and strategy with Edelman’s health teams across Asia.

A senior communications strategist and market researcher with more than 20 years of experience in integrated marcoms strategy for prescription and OTC brands, Granger joins Edelman after leading her own strategy and research consultancy with a focus on go-to-market and growth strategies across health and wellness, pharmaceuticals, beverage industries and not-for-profits.

Speaking on her appointment, Granger says, “Edelman’s attraction is its unique set of strengths for knowing how to build ‘Trust through Action’. I’m looking forward to working with some great minds in technology, strategy, and creativity across the APAC region to create impactful health communications for our clients, who themselves are doing extraordinary work for their customers and patients.”

Meanwhile, Will Collie, vice chair of health for Edelman in APAC, commented, “As expectations of the communications and marketing function become more focused on driving real business outcomes, Edelman’s health clients need to know that we are putting strategy expertise at the centre of our consulting. The communications and marketing environment has become complex, so we are deliberately building teams that think broadly around the entire health business ecosystem, providing a focused and strategic perspective to the issues our clients face.”

Collie adds, “We’re building teams with no boundaries, bringing the best minds to our clients regardless of where they’re based. Our integrated approach, coupling data, insights and health expertise to deliver high-impact creative engagement, sets us apart. The addition of these deep-rooted Health experts, with their knowledge of the region and insights at the local level, strengthens our capabilities both across APAC as a region as well as in local markets where clients are operating on the ground.”

Singapore – Edelman in Singapore has appointed Amanda Koh as its newest head of technology. In her new role, she will be building on the agency’s strong technology sector capability and expertise. She will report to Julia Wei, CEO of Edelman Singapore.

Koh returns to Edelman after seven years in-house, and most recently comes from being the Asia Pacific & Middle East Head of Marketing and Communications at Vodafone. She had previously spent nine years at Edelman – both in Singapore and Sydney. In this time, she was responsible for leading key client relationships across Edelman’s spectrum of offerings, from media relations to content and digital.

Speaking on her appointment, she said, “Edelman was the place where I fostered my love of technology, especially its far-reaching impact on societies, workplaces and business. It is therefore incredibly exciting to get the opportunity to return and lead the growth of Edelman’s technology sector, working technology companies and leaders to deliver on people’s expectations for societal impact and responsible leadership.”

Meanwhile, Wei commented, “I am thrilled to have Amanda return to Edelman to lead our teams in a very pivotal moment in time for the technology sector, amidst increased expectations for technology leaders to communicate the societal impact of innovation and address concerns on issues like data privacy and automation to build trust.”

She added, “Amanda will be instrumental in Edelman Singapore’s next chapter of growth and innovation – both for our culture and our capabilities, as we continue to bolster sector specialism in areas like technology.”

Recent Edelman appointments in the APAC region include those in the integrated creative team in Hong Kong, health leadership appointments in APAC, and the appointment of Warren Fernandez as CEO for APAC.

Hong Kong – Edelman Hong Kong continues to bolster its integrated creative team with the appointment of Andy Chan as design director and Richard Poon as producer and production manager.

Edelman will leverage Chan’s and Poon’s design and production expertise to further enhance the firm’s ability to deliver outstanding work in full-spectrum service.

Chan brings over 10 years of design experience to the agency, having worked in different design-based companies in the past from product design, graphic design, and advertising art directing to in-house branding at Ogilvy UK and HK, DDB and Cathay Pacific.

Meanwhile, Poon comes from an animation and design background and brings over eight years of experience to the firm. He has worked as a producer, mostly in the broadcast industry, across brands such as Disney, FOX, National Geographic, and CASETIFY. 

Both hires will report directly to John Koay, Edelman’s Executive Creative Director for Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to welcome Andy and Richard onboard; they are both very experienced talents in their own fields. The expanded Creative and Digital team of 20 at Edelman Hong Kong offer our clients a focus on truly integrated solutions while the industry transforms its expectations around the role and impact of communications,” Koay said.

The new Hong Kong appointments come after Edelman recently appointed Ex-Straits Times Warren Fernandez as its new chief executive officer in Asia-Pacific.

Hong Kong – Global fast food brand KFC has launched a new campaign, encouraging overthinking to think less and indulge more with their signature fried chicken–using a brand-new tech device called the ‘KFC Brainwave Bucket’.

Conceptualised alongside Edelman Hong Kong, the device is a brain-sensing helmet with a built-in headband that analyses people’s brain activity. The data from the helmet is connected to an app which provides real-time biofeedback showing how active the mind is.

The helmet design, and the mind-detecting enclosure, are based on KFC’s iconic bucket. People are invited to sit inside the bucket-inspired structure and wear the helmet on their head, after which they’re encouraged to switch off and think less with the help of some Finger Lickin’ Good chicken.

The campaign is based on recent studies that indicate Hong Kong is one of the most stressful cities in the world and ranks first in the stress index of employees all around East Asia, with a massive 53% of employees feeling pressured and stressed from their day-to-day occupation. However, scientific findings have shown that comfort food relieves the stress response in the brain.

John Koay, regional executive creative director at Edelman, said, “Born from a great truth, we recognise the brand’s ability to provide people in this pressure cooker of a city with a moment of escape – and the Brainwave Bucket is a fun way to prove it. Partnering with KFC always brings so much excitement and innovative opportunity and this campaign is a great demonstration of that.”

Singapore – Warren Fernandez, formerly an editor affiliated with The Straits Times, has been named the new chief executive officer of Edelman in Asia-Pacific, effective October 25 this year.

Fernandez will join the firm’s global executive leadership team and report to global president and chief operating officer Matthew Harrington. He replaces Stephen Kehoe, who left Edelman in June. Dave Samson, global vice chairman of corporate affairs, has served as interim CEO since Kehoe’s departure.

His appointment also follows several key appointments for Edelman’s health arm in APAC, in Singapore, and the appointment of Melvin Goo as new chief operating officer for Indonesia.

He joins from English/Malay/Tamil Media Group in SPH Media, where he was the editor-in-chief. He simultaneously served as the editor of The Straits Times. He joined The Straits Times as a political reporter in 1990 and would go on to serve as news editor as well as foreign editor and deputy editor. 

In 2008, Fernandez left to join Royal Dutch Shell as a global manager for its Future Energy project, working with its scenario planning and communications teams in London and the Hague. He returned to the paper in 2012 as its senior-most editor.

Speaking on his appointment, he said, “I’m very excited to join a firm that I have admired and worked with, as a client and partner, over the years. Edelman continues to drive the conversation on Trust and shape the future of the communications industry. I believe there is enormous potential to continue to expand upon the vital thought leadership, as well as media, brand and strategic communications advice we provide to our clients. I look forward to leading the team in Asia Pacific and working with the industry-leading talent across its global network.”

Meanwhile, Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, commented, “Asia is one of the most important markets to Edelman’s future. We have purposely built a communications advisory firm to help Asian companies step onto the global stage, while also supporting other companies as they seek to expand into the diverse markets of Asia. Our ability to help companies navigate the complexities across this vast and dynamic region have never been more critical to businesses and we are the right firm to help them succeed in doing so.”