Malaysia Malaysia Airlines has appointed Juliana Chua as its new head of brand, strategy, and creative. Chua shared the announcement on a personal LinkedIn update.

Chua brings with her more than 20 years of experience in marketing and advertising, working with media, creative, and event agencies. In her last stint, she was with mattress company Sonno as head of marketing.

In addition, she also headed the brand and marketing of technology solutions provider Vettons. She has also worked with Kuala Lumpur Pavilion as its general manager of brand and marketing. Moreover, she also assumed the general manager position of branding agency Ignite.

Her other notable roles include being the business director and head of activation at advertising agency TBWA Kuala Lumpur, brand manager and planning director at media agency Zenith Media, and senior account manager at media investment company GroupM.

Malaysia – David Viray, who is head of branding of AirAsia for the last 2 years, covering both the airline and the super app in the Philippine market, has been elevated to assume the branding leadership region-wide. Viray, who announced the new appointment on his LinkedIn, is now the head of brand of AirAsia’s airline business in Malaysia and across all of its markets in Asia. 

Viray is a seasoned marketing leader within the AirAsia network, having accumulated almost 9 years of experience in the company. He started as a brand manager in 2014, and moved to several leadership positions in a combination of both region-wide and market-specific capacities 

In his LinkedIn post, he expressed elation on the way he would be starting his ninth year as an ‘Allstar’, the unique moniker of the airline for its employees. He shared that the excitement never fades despite being with the company for quite some time, and goes to thank Rudy Khaw, the airline’s chief brand officer. 

“Challenges keep on coming which helps me constantly feel that there’s always room for growth and possibilities,” he said. 

In November, it was announced that Tony Fernandes, the former Group CEO of AirAsia‘s budget airline, AirAsia X, has relinquished the said position to focus on his group leadership at parent firm Capital A

Australia — The creative agency Enigma continues to add senior talent to their company, this time by tapping the respected brand strategist Olivia Hannah Matthews as its new head of brand.

A highly experienced executive brand strategist, Matthew holds an extensive understanding of the industry. She brings 20 years of creating, managing, and driving established global and Australian brands to Enigma. In her new remit, she will lead the Enigma Brand team in strategy across Sydney, Newcastle, and Brisbane.

Matthews has led expert brand strategy for hundreds of brands during her career, including her early days at Leo Burnett London, where she worked on Kellogg’s, before stints at top Australian agencies including LOUD, Love, and The One Centre Brand Agency.

Commenting on her appointment, Matthew’s said, “The opportunity to take this role at Enigma was too good to pass up. Enigma has a reputation for creating some of the most awarded and effective advertising in the nation. My passion is to provide businesses with a clear, strategic brand blueprint that truly differentiates them in the market, delivers customer engagement and of course, results. I’m looking forward to bringing this to the Enigma team and its client base.”

In 2009, Hannah Matthews established her own creative consulting business, working on projects for PwC Australia, Lend Lease, Vow Financial, and the I-MED Network. More recently, she led the brand and creative work for Gowing Bros Limited, a 150-year-old investment company, with a diversified portfolio of property and retail assets.

Lisa Sutton Gardner, founder and director of Enigma, said Matthew’s ability to provide strategic and creative thinking for brands would be an invaluable asset to the agency and its clients, as Enigma readies for significant growth.

Gardner adds, “With the agency continuing to grow with big plans, Matthew’s will bring her ability to not only manage, and drive established brands, but also to build them from scratch – something she’s been doing for the past 20 years.”

Her appointment is effective immediately and follows the announcement of John Gutteridge as the company’s new CEO and the designation of Karl Bates as the new executive strategy director.

Singapore – Global communications firm Edelman has recently promoted Ashutosh Munshi, its head of brand for India division, to assume the same position for a regional scope – Edelman’s operations in Asia Pacific.

Through his new role, Munshi is tasked with overseeing the launch of new regional capabilities for the Brand practice, involving stronger integration and collaboration across Edelman’s strategy, creative, data and analytics, influencer, digital, and public relations capabilities.

Prior to his recent position, Munshi has worked with Edelman for 18 years, and has worked in its Mumbai, London, and New York offices during this time. As head of brand for Edelman India, he has led the market’s Brand and Creative teams on the creation of new communications products for authentic influencer marketing, brand campaign risk assessments, and the firm’s earned creative capability.

“This year has seen a paradigm shift in how brands need to communicate and engage with consumers and society at large. At Edelman, we believe that it has become even more critical for brands to navigate these changes, in order to earn attention and play a larger role in society. This involves adopting a marketing approach reset that places action at the core, striking the right tone with earned-centric creative ideas, and using trusted voices and credible peer channels,” Munshi commented regarding his appointment.

Munshi will report to Edelman’s global chair of brand and F&B, Megan Van Someren, as well as to Stephen Kehoe, CEO of Edelman Asia-Pacific.

“We are delighted to have Ashutosh take on this new role, to which he brings over twenty years of experience integrating and delivering strategic, creative, and insight-driven work. Work that achieves tangible and measurable business outcomes for client partners,” Van Someren said.

She added, “As we look ahead at the new year and at the continuous shifts in consumer expectations, how brands behave matters more than ever before. The time is now for brands to step up and put trust at the helm – and not just through communication but through action and advocacy.”

Meanwhile, Kehoe said, “As a testament to our talent and commitment to grow from within, I am proud to see Ashutosh now take the lead in launching new regional capabilities for our Brand practice, setting the bar higher in areas of brand obsession, curiosity, and excellence.”