SINGAPORE — Erin Atan will be honoured with the Individual Achievement SABRE Award in Singapore on 12 September, at the ninth edition of the Asia-Pacific SABRE Awards.

Atan will take home the award after serving as Jardine Matheson corporate affairs head for the past 18 months. Atan, who reported directly to Jardine Matheson CEO Ben Keswick, joined the company from Rolls-Royce, where she spent more than six years, ultimately overseeing communications for Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Turkey.

Prior to that, Atan led BMW Asia's communications remit for two years, and also served a six-year stint at Lewis, which she helped launch in the region.

"This is a fantastic and a truly well deserved recognition," said Rolls-Royce Southeast Asia, Pacific and Korea president Bicky Bhangu. "Erin's natural ability to understand people as individuals, collectively in an organisation and across geographical boundaries, together with her strategic thinking and charismatic nature, makes any impossible challenges seem possible."

IN.FOM managing partner Mike Liew, who first worked with Atan 20 years ago, pointed to her progression as a communications professional.

"I first met Erin some 20 years ago, when she was a junior executive with the agency that was servicing my company," said Liew. "Despite her young age, she impressed me tremendously with her ability to read situations well and respond accordingly.

"In the years that went by, I have witnessed Erin continuously sharpen her capabilities and growth as a progressive communications professional who is not afraid to push the envelope and try new approaches to communications," added Liew. "Along the way, she has also grown as a well-respected leader, as demonstrated by the positive feedback that I have heard from people who have worked with and for her."