HONG KONG — BCW's deputy Asia-Pacific president Polka Yu has stepped down, after a total of 16 years with the WPP agency. 

Yu's departure comes ahead of the formal merger of BCW and Hill & Knowlton on 1 July, which will create the new Burson entity. It also follows last month's exit of former BCW Asia-Pacific president Matt Stafford, who was replaced as Burson South Asia-Pacific CEO by Adrian Warr. 

Yu initially joined Burson-Marsteller in 2004 as an intern, before leaving in 2009 to work at Ruder Finn. She rejoined B-M in 2013, before shifting to WPP sister agency Cohn & Wolfe in 2017, ahead of the 2018 merger to create BCW.

Alongside Stafford, Yu emerged as one of BCW's key leaders in the Asia-Pacific region, overseeing integrated communications and becoming deputy president in 2021. 

Yu declined to comment, but in a LinkedIn post she paid tribute to the firm's work in building a global China practice and robust Hong Kong hub. 

A BCW spokeswoman declined to comment on Yu's departure or on whether a replacement for her role will be sought. In addition to Warr, Burson's Asia-Pacific leadership team also features North Asia CEO HS Chung, who will oversee Greater China in addition to Korea and Japan.