HONG KONG — BCW has elevated agency veterans Polka Yu and Joe Peng to regional leadership roles in Asia-Pacific. Yu is named deputy to regional president Matt Stafford, while Joe Peng becomes chief digital officer, also reporting to Stafford.

Yu’s expanded role will include oversight of BCW’s Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia markets, after she previously served as MD of integrated communications since 2018.

Yu will also work with Stafford to implement the next phase of BCW’s three-year growth strategy in Asia-Pacific, focusing on investment in creative technology, research, and content production; while aiming to reinforce the the firm's capabilities in reputation management, Asia-based MNCs, and technology, consumer and healthcare sectors.

Peng, who has led the firm's digital innovation group since 2017, will spearhead the optimization of the firm's regional digital innovation offering, including establishing new digital platforms of excellence around data analytics and artificial intelligence.

“I have worked with Polka and Joe since we were humble mid-level consultants back in 2008,” said Stafford. “Together with their fantastic teams, they have played critical roles in our company’s evolution to a truly integrated and digital innovation agency in this region. This transformation was a key contributor to the strong growth BCW has delivered in Asia-Pacific over the past three years.” 

Yu spent a decade in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou helping MNCs with their China campaigns, before relocating to Hong Kong in 2014 to focus on supporting Chinese companies with their global strategies.

Over the past 15 years, meanwhile, Peng has delivered digital media campaigns for clients across a range of industries, leading digital innovation at Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & Wolfe.