Tag: Greater China

Singapore – Global cross-border payments platform Thunes has announced the appointment of new senior vice presidents in the Asia-Pacific, namely Biren Zandani, SVP for Asia Pacific and Daphne Huang, SVP for Greater China.

Zandani, who is based in Singapore, is a recognized payments expert with over 20 years of experience in financial services, particularly B2B, B2P, and P2P payments. Prior to joining Thunes, he was the head of APAC at Transfast, a Mastercard company, where he was in charge of generating revenue and establishing robust network partnerships. He was also the head of business development and network management for SEA and ANZ at Earthport, now Visa Direct.

Meanwhile, Huang, based in Beijing, brings in over two decades of sales, business development, banking, and fintech experience. She was previously the head of China for SWIFT, where she spearheaded its strategic and business development initiatives.

In addition to the two new appointments, Thunes has also appointed other SVPs in other regions, namely Jenna Wyer, SVP for the Americas and Simon Nelson, SVP for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Speaking about the new senior hires, Aik Boon Tan, chief commercial officer at Thunes, said, “We have been ramping up our efforts to piece together a best-in-class team and solidify our leadership globally. The company is now in a position to take on new challenges with an expanded leadership team.”

He added, “We have added four highly talented regional senior vice presidents (SVPs) to complement the strong leadership we already have in Africa and Europe, who together will accelerate our growth of Thunes across the different regions where we operate. And I’m glad to highlight that half of our global SVPs now are women, as diversity in the workplace can only strengthen us as a company.”

Beijing, China – As global communications firm Edelman looks into unifying their public relations and creative work in East Asia, the agency has now added a new member of its growing leadership team, Pully Chau as the recently-appointed agency’s president in Greater China.

Chau brings to the agency 33 years of agency leadership experience to her new role, having served as CEO for Greater China at marketing company Cheil Group, a role she was promoted to in 2017 after joining as the Group’s first woman COO in 2015. During this time, she led the Greater China teams to deliver acclaimed work on the global stage while growing the business to win accounts such as Volkswagen, Tempo, Infiniti, and Coca-Cola.

She grew her passion for integrated communications while working on the P&G business for 17 years at advertising agencies DMB&B and Saatchi & Saatchi in both Hong Kong and Shanghai. She has also previously served as Greater China CEO & Chairman for DraftFCB, an advertising company that has since then rebranded as FCB.

Speaking on her new role, Chau comments, “Nothing beats the excitement of joining the largest PR agency in their quest to redefine the game. With a unified mission to drive fast growth through integration, and by empowering the company’s diverse team of high-flying talent, we are going to take the industry in a new direction.”

Chau will report to Stephen Kehoe, Edelman’s President and CEO for Asia-Pacific, as she will lead the charge on enhancing the agency’s existing offerings and launch new specialist capabilities to further fuel growth.

“Pully is known in the industry as a game-changer. She is the right partner to build Edelman’s future in these unique, high-growth markets that are evolving ahead of the curve. She is a proven business driver, having led large agencies and won substantial client remits at the highest level. Pully is very well connected across Greater China and will be a force multiplier for Edelman in the region,” Kehoe stated.

Moving forward, Chau will be also receiving reports from the leaders of Edelman’s businesses across mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taipei; namely, Mark Wang, Adrian Warr and Alexandra Pao, which will aid in building synergies across offices and driving growth across the Greater Bay Area.

The agency now comprises four offices in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, and comprises over 400 people, a figure that is growing as they add new business to their client roster, which includes adidas, Cathay, Ernst & Young, HSBC, HP, and Mars.