HONG KONG--APCO Worldwide has named Amy Wendholt as MD of the firm's Hong Kong office, the third person to hold the position in less than two years.

Wendholt shifts to the role from Beijing, where she previously headed APCO's government relations practice.

She succeeds David Hall, who took on interim MD duties in July 2012. Hall, who joined APCO as a senior counsellor from HSBC in early 2011, has now left the agency.

Prior to Hall, the office was led by Sukyi Yau, who spent one year in the position, before stepping down and departing APCO at the end of 2012.

Wendholt joins a Hong Kong team that includes former AmCham chairman Mark Michelson; industry veteran CT Hew; former US deputy consul Kenneth Jarrett; and, Tamora Chan, a veteran journalist with Reuters.

Wendholt arrived in China in 2004 and served as a visiting scholar at the Central University of Finance and Economics and the Beijing Administrative College, an institution which trains Communist Party civil servants, administrators and scholars. She also worked at Hill & Knowlton’s Beijing office with its government and policy affairs team.

Before arriving in China, Wendholt spent six years in Washington DC, working on Capitol Hill supporting the appropriations process as a budget analyst at the Congressional Budget Office and as a researcher for the AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies.

“Amy has remarkable talent in developing client service teams and creating innovative stakeholder engagement strategies, and we are delighted to bring her experience and leadership capabilities to Hong Kong," said APCO Greater China chairman KennethJarrett. "Her strong business management skills paired with her substantial experience with APCO in mainland China makes her an ideal person to lead and expand our business in this important regional hub.”