89 Degrees East welcomes new Head of Content

Emma Lowde has started as Senior Communications Manager at Diraq, a Sydney-founded quantum computing company developing silicon-based technology to make quantum computers scalable, economical, and widely accessible. She joins from Intuit, where she was most recently Senior Communications Manager for the APAC region.

Emma has built up 15 years’ experience as a communications professional, including leadership roles at eBay Australia and New Zealand, following agency roles in Australia and the UK. 

PR and communications agency, Wrights, has promoted Rika Rufina to Communication Manager, strengthening the agency’s integrated communications, issues management, and Asia Pacific capabilities.

Rika will help steer corporate and consumer retainer accounts, bringing together PR, social, and creative campaigns. She will also work with Chief Executive Officer Douglas Wright and General Manager Reena Llanillo to develop and implement issues management strategies.

Rika joined Wrights in August 2025 as a Senior Communication Consultant, bringing experience from PR agencies, as well as from in-house roles across APAC, particularly in the Singapore market.

Douglas said Rika’s promotion reflected the contribution she had made to the agency and its clients.

“Rika has delivered strong results. I look forward to working closer with her and the Wrights team as we continue to deliver ingenious and impactful communications, anchored in authenticity and positive change,” he said.

“Our secret sauce is simple: ingenious thinking, brought to life by a talented and ambitious team. Rika’s promotion is another important step in strengthening our team and setting Wrights up for its next phase of growth.”

The promotion forms part of a broader period of growth for Wrights, with the agency also promoting Charlotte Dickson to Communication Consultant and will welcome Annabel Chambers as PR and Social Coordinator. 

Dudley White has been appointed Managing Director at Alleato Strategic Communications, based in Sydney. He was previously based in Hong Kong, and was Managing Director at Ashbury Communications and Clarion Advisory.

Dudley holds in-house experience within the insurance and banking sectors, as well as agency-side at Edelman.