MELBOURNE — Manifest has launched a new office in Melbourne. The new operation will be Manifest’s fifth office, joining a group that already includes London, Manchester, Stockholm and New York. The Australian team will be led by Manifest Melbourne co-founders Isabel Thomson-Officer and Jessie Bowers (pictured), taking the managing director and creative director roles respectively.

HONG KONG — Victoria Coplans Hope, most recently Shangri-La’s global head of employee engagement and communications, has launched an Asia-focused employee engagement & communications consultancy in Hong Kong. Hope Communications will focus on employee engagement & communications, leadership communications, change communications and redundancy communications advisory. The firm also will be partnering with Ashbury Communications to deliver integrated internal and external communications propositions.

HONG KONG — BCW has launched Navigating Asia’s Rise and Geopolitical Implications, a new corporate and public affairs offering to help global clients manage risks and opportunities across key markets in the region. BCW’s solutions include context building, comprehensive risk mitigation and stakeholder engagement strategies. The offering will be led by BCW APAC’s corporate and public affairs practice.

MUMBAI — Genesis BCW has been appointed agency of record for IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited (IndiaFirst Life), one of the youngest life insurance companies in the country, following a multi-agency pitch. Genesis BCW will strengthen IndiaFirst Life’s core brand value of being a trusted business leader in the life insurance and pensions sector, leveraging through an integrated communications approach combining strategic counselling and communication, media advocacy, crises preparedness and driving thought leadership in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) space.

PERTH — Citadel-Magnus has bolstered its Perth team through the appointment of Ashleigh D’Alessandro to the position of senior associate. D’Alessandro brings to the firm more than nine years’ experience in Australia, including working as an advisor for a member of WA State Parliament and as the PR and communication coordinator at Australia’s largest private residential land developer.

HONG KONG — Lines Consulting has appointed Agnes Suen as director. Suen brings to Lines Consulting more than a decade of experience in financial communications, both agency and in-house. She most recently led her own financial PR agency, Vocal Communications Asia, and was associate director of the finance practice at Hill+Knowlton Asia.