Tag: Head of Public Affairs

Hong Kong – Sandpiper, an independent consultant in public affairs and strategic communications in Asia-Pacific, has announced the appointment of Saskia Kendall as the firm’s new head of public Affairs for Asia-Pacific.

Her responsibilities as the head of public relations for APAC include directing a team of experienced public relations specialists stationed throughout the region. The team works with clients from a variety of industries, including energy, financial services, healthcare, and technology.

Saskia joined Sandpiper in 2019 and has been instrumental in increasing the firm’s healthcare and public affairs services in the region. Her 20 years of expertise in public affairs, public policy, and communications in Asia Pacific, Europe, and the United Kingdom make her an asset in her work as a trusted advisor to recognized firms and brands in the area.

Emma Smith, chief executive at Sandpiper, said, “In today’s complex and highly regulated business environment, where the touch points between companies and government are expanding rapidly, public affairs is an increasingly important area for businesses. Saskia’s advisory approach combines global experience with local knowledge of the Asia Pacific markets, to help our clients engage effectively with policy makers, experts, and other industry stakeholders. We believe our integrated communications and public affairs offering is a unique proposition in the region, to help navigate the risks and challenges businesses face.”

Speaking on her new role, Kendall commented, “I am thrilled to be taking on this new challenge within Sandpiper. Our public affairs work has grown exponentially over the last few years as clients look for a more holistic and integrated approach to managing their issues and opportunities. Our unique combination of sector knowledge, public affairs expertise, and research capabilities makes us an ideal partner to support them with this. I am looking forward to working with our team to take our offering from strength to strength.”

Sydney, Australia – Public relations and brand experience agency Red Havas has announced the appointment of Lawrence Muskitta to be the head of the agency’s new public affairs offering. Said division spans government relations, stakeholder engagement, patient and consumer advocacy, public behavior change campaigns, as well as policy monitoring and intelligence gathering, crisis management and strategic partnerships.

Muskitta joins the agency from Facebook, where he held the role of public policy manager, for stakeholder engagement of EU Affairs, and was formerly based in Brussels. Prior to that, he spent two years at BCW Global in roles including head of marketing. During this stint, he has managed digital campaigns for major clients including the Australian Greens and the Australian Medical Association.

Speaking about his appointment, he commented that he is proud to join the agency in launching this new offering, stating that as the industry and governments grapple with issues such as geopolitics and climate change, public affairs will become essential to not only corporate reputation, but businesses’ bottom line.

“Our public affairs offering gives our clients a competitive advantage by helping them manage external change and take a leading role in shaping public debate. As this debate moves increasingly online, our team takes a digital-first approach to public affairs, seeing digital communities as central, not just an add-on to the political and media conversation,” Muskitta said.

Meanwhile, Simone Gupta, CEO at Havas PR Australia, commented that they are thrilled to have Muskitta launch the Red Havas public affairs offering, adding that his international experience in tech, sustainability and health policy, and his ability to identify trends that are shaping today’s world is a natural extension to Red Havas’ corporate communications expertise.

“The weakening in trust in government, the rapidly shifting global environment, combined with the power of technology and social media means that organisations and corporations need to support traditional stakeholder relations with peer to peer, citizen and community dialogue. Lawrence’s experience combined with Red Havas’ strong social media strategy expertise means we can provide this integrated digital approach to clients,” Gupta said.

He added, “He is already adding immense value to new and existing clients, guiding them through complex issues such as Senate inquiries, ACCC investigations and upcoming proposed regulations.”
Muskitta’s appointment follows the agency’s latest expansion to other markets globally, including China.