SINGAPORE—Edelman has appointed Gavin Coombes as regional digital practice president, Asia Pacific. He will oversee cross-practice and inter-office cooperation on digital work and will work with local practice leaders to provide counsel on client servicing, develop tools for practice management, and create intellectual capital. The appointment is effective immediately.

Coombes has experience in public relations, public affairs, integrated marketing services, brand identity/system design and digital marketing, working with clients such as Intel, Microsoft and Dell, the Singapore and Malaysian governments and Diageo and Unilever.

Coombes trained as a journalist and started his career in public affairs in his native New Zealand before moving to Singapore in 1998 as corporate communications director, South-East Asia for Visa International. From there he moved to Hong Kong in 2000 and joined Euro RSCG Worldwide as digital lead across Greater China before returning to Singapore in 2005 as the company's EVP for all marketing services across Asia Pacific. In 2007 he joined FutureBrand as Asia-Pacific CEO and most recently he worked with Profero in the same capacity.