Edelman has made a series of senior digital hires to build regional hubs and expand the firm's Studios function across Asia-Pacific. 

These new hires will form specialist hubs in India, Greater China, Southeast Asia, Korea and Australia, operating across geographic borders to service clients in the region and working closely with Edelman’s Data & Intelligence (DxI) unit. 

The firm has also launched Edelman Studios in India, building on the regional studio work already performed in Singapore and Malaysia. By June 2022, Edelman says it will have more 60 people working in its Studio operations across the region, including a second hub in Taiwan to cater to clients operating in North Asia.

Saurabh Kulkarni has been appointed as the head of Edelman Studios in India, where he is tasked with building a regional hub for content creation. Kulkarni brings over two decades of experience from the Bollywood and Indian television industry, as well as multimedia companies such as Vice India and WPP’s content studio, Glitch. 

In addition to Justin Teo joining the firm in August as Edelman’s chief digital officer for China, Yuliani Setiadi has come onboard as head of digital for Hong Kong and Taiwan. She joins Edelman from Ogilvy, where she served as executive group director in Hong Kong and MD for the agency’s social and martech capability in Indonesia.

In Korea, the firm hired Rebekah Lee from Cheil Worldwide as head of digital earlier this year. Jonathan Wong and Henry Taylor also joined the teams in Malaysia and Australia, respectively, this October to serve as head of digital in those markets. Wong arrives from OpenMinds, where he was director for digital transformation and advisory for Southeast Asia. Taylor joins from the World Economic Forum where, as deputy head of the award-winning digital media team, he grew audiences and engagement to industry leading levels.

To manage the growing team’s operations across the region, Debra Ng returned to Edelman this year to take on the role of regional digital operations manager. 

“Over the course of the pandemic, we’ve seen our clients take significant steps to accelerate their digital capabilities, knowledge and skills. With these hires, we are doubling down on specialisms across the region to match the evolving needs of our clients, helping them create more compelling content, facilitate digital transformation, and leverage the growth of eCommerce and digital storytelling,” said Edelman Asia-Pacific CEO Stephen Kehoe.

"Each of these hires brings a deep specialism to the firm, allowing our clients to benefit from the industry’s most advanced and comprehensive practices, irrespective of which market they are in. By removing the silos of markets and specialisms, we are building a more client- and solution-centric operating model, setting ourselves and our clients up for success in a post-pandemic world."