Virgin Australia has appointed Matthew Ongarello as Group Head of PR and Brand, marking his return to the airline after serving as Head of News at Virgin Group in London.

Matthew brings with him experience working across Virgin Group’s global company portfolio, following several years in senior positions in Virgin Australia's corporate affairs and PR teams.
 
"It’s a privilege to come home to Virgin Australia," Matthew commented. "The Virgin brand has always been synonymous with creativity, innovation and heart. I look forward to leading our incredible PR, Brand and Creative Services teams as we continue to tell the Virgin Australia story in a way that inspires our people, partners and guests.
 
"Aviation has a way of capturing you and never letting go. My first role at Virgin Australia was behind the check-in counter at Melbourne Airport while I was studying at RMIT, and I’m honoured to now come full circle as Group Head of PR and Brand."
 
As part of his responsibilities, Matthew oversees the Virgin Australia and Velocity Frequent Flyer public relations, brand strategy, and creative direction. He is further tasked with shaping the airline and loyalty program’s external reputation and strengthening its brand positioning.

"We're thrilled to welcome Matthew back to the Virgin Australia family," said Libby Minogue, Virgin Australia Chief Marketing Officer. "Matthew’s deep understanding of the Virgin brand, combined with his international experience across the Virgin Group portfolio, makes him the perfect person to lead our PR and Brand team during this exciting period of growth.

"Matthew's passion for aviation and storytelling, along with his proven track record of building meaningful connections between brands and people, will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen Virgin Australia's position as Australia's most loved airline."

Hong Kong-based consultancy, Snowball, has welcomed Cecilia Chan as Senior Consultant. In her new role, she is tasked with crafting branding strategies for Snowball's consulting services that drive business growth, enhance visibility, and strengthen market positioning for both startups and established brands.

Cecilia brings with her more than two decades of experience in leading regional comms, external relations, branding, marketing, and business growth for businesses across Asia Pacific. She most recently completed her dual roles at Colliers as Head of Marketing & Communications, Hong Kong and Senior Director of Marketing, Valuation and Advisory Services, Asia.

Cecilia's portfolio further includes posts at Lenovo, PCCW, Carousell and theDesk.

History Will Be Kind (HWBK) has promoted Edwina Brook (Eddie) to the newly created role of Managing Director.

In her new position, Eddie will steward and build the brand as the agency moves into its second decade in market.

Eddie has amassed more than 15 years’ integrated consulting experience across sectors, disciplines and channels, including influencer, social impact, executive training, generative AI and search.

The appointment will see her work closely with Founder and CEO, EJ Granleese to optimise HWBK's broader offer as part of the Deepend Group.

EJ said: “HWBK has always been about the people - building the right team with the right values and empowering them to do the best work of their lives. Promoting Eddie to MD is a natural evolution – she has been a true business partner from the get-go and has been integral to our success to date. She is a fiercely focused, smart, empathetic and strategic leader with a truly outstanding track record. She brings the smarts, creativity, impressive cross-sector consulting clout and future-focus we need, and we’re lucky to have her steering the ship.” 

Eddie said it is a privilege to step into the new role and help lead the agency into its next chapter: "History has never been static - constant iteration, evolution and a determination to lead - not follow - has been fundamental to our approach. In a market where the speed of change is accelerating, the skillsets we need, the way we approach complex business challenges and our strategies need to change too.  

“We have always embraced a growth mindset, and I’m more excited than ever about the opportunity to elevate our unique proposition while building our incredible team, working in partnership with EJ and our Group partners.”