SYDNEY — Citadel-Magnus has appointed Vanessa Beresford and Ryan Thompson as associate directors, strengthening the firm’s investor relations practice. Beresford has more than 20 years’ experience in investor relations and equity research in Australia, Canada and the UK. She joins Citadel-Magnus after most recently holding senior investor relations roles at Steadfast and Clearview. Thompson joins from London where he led investor relations for FTSE 250 international speciality insurance company, Hiscox. He has more than nine years’ experience in investor relations and financial communication in Australia and London across in-house and agency roles.

SYDNEY — Thrive PR + Communications has expanded its business, technology and gaming expertise with an additional four new hires across its Sydney and Melbourne offices. They are Miles Alexander, who joins Thrive from Zeno Group as an account director with experience managing local and global communications campaigns; Jenna Woods, who joins from Ovato Communications as a senior account manager with experience managing and implementing local and global communications campaigns; Bianca Cowie, who joins as an account manager specialising in storytelling through traditional and digital media delivering commercial outcomes for clients; and Robyn Rigoli, who joins as an account executive with experience across a range of sectors including FMCG, education, public sector and government organisations.  

SEOUL — MSL has launched a new office in Seoul as part of its growth strategy and further strengthening its presence in Asia-Pacific. Margaret Key, CEO of APAC & MEA, will be overseeing the formation of the agency and its operations in Seoul. This will extend MSL’s footprint in APAC which includes offices in China, Singapore, India, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.
 
MUMBAI — Lintas Live has been awarded the communication mandate for Soch Group, which works with Indian startups to scale their businesses. Lintas Live is responsible for managing communication for the Soch Group as well as its emerging brands across various verticals, including food & beverage, retail and fashion. The agency will build a strategic framework for them and manage their overall communication strategy to increase their awareness and visibility. The agency will also drive thought leadership and build brand affinity for the group, leveraging its rich expertise in building a strong identity for new ventures and supporting their growth from ground-up.

MUMBAI — R. Sriram, a former Economic Times associate editor, has joined Adfactors PR as a director in the strategic communications group. As editor of ET’s southern bureau during 2009-11, Sriram introduced coverage of the start-up ecosystem. He served as the resident editor of ET’s biggest edition for nearly 10 years and successfully relaunched the daily’s market section in 2016.