SINGAPORE — Rakesh Thukral has been named Asia-Pacific chief operating officer, as Warren Fernandez (pictured) reshapes his leadership team following his arrival at Edelman as regional CEO four months ago.

Thukral's new role is part of a broader restructuring of Edelman's senior team in Asia-Pacific. He will continue in the India MD position that he has held since 2014, while reporting to Fernandez for a COO remit that includes oversight of day-to-day operations across the region.

In addition, Adrian Warr relinquishes the Southeast Asia CEO role he took on 12 months ago, with those markets now reporting directly to Fernandez. Warr becomes regional vice chair of practices and sectors, adding oversight of the firm's brand, corporate, impact and ESG teams to his existing leadership of employee engagement, and also heading the health and technology sector units.

Warr's new role comes after Edelman technology vice chair John Kerr recently exited the firm following 17 years with Edelman and Zeno in Asia.

Meanwhile, Michelle Hutton is now regional vice chair of client solutions, after being named to the vice chair position during Edelman's last significant leadership reshuffle in late 2020, under former Asia-Pacific CEO Stephen Kehoe. Hutton will support all major client work, overseeing the client experience as well as the quality of the firm’s service and output.

Both Warr and Hutton continue reporting to Fernandez. There are also additional roles for South Korea CEO SB Jang and Malaysia CEO Mazuin Zin, the former as senior regional advisor, and the latter as Southeast Asia regional advisor.

Edelman's annual results revealed earlier this week that Asia-Pacific had grown 4.8% on a like-for-like basis to $104.4m in 2022, making it the firm's slowest-growing region for the second consecutive calendar year.  

“The members of the new leadership team bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the table," said Fernandez. "Having inputs from more markets and backgrounds is important to shape the strategic thinking for our business and ensure day-to-day operational excellence."