Adfactors PR acquires majority stake in Australian communications consultancy

Matthew Peacock has been welcomed at NSW Farmers as Public Affairs Manager. He was recently at Dentsu Creative Public Relations for nearly four years, where he was last Head of Agribusiness and Sustainability. Prior to this, Matthew held comms roles at Meat & Livestock Australia. 

Patrick Avenell has been welcomed as Communications Manager at National Intermodal. He has previously worked in communications roles at APA Group, Centennial and LJ Hooker.

Ruder Finn Asia has appointed Chung Kai (CK) Lim to Vice President, Chief AI Officer, AI Product & Strategy, Asia and Greater China. CK joins Ruder Finn Asia from Dell Technologies, where he served as Asia Pacific and Japan Lead, Digital Demand Generation, overseeing AI and machine learning-powered demand generation.

Over the past decade, he has held senior regional marketing roles at Dell Technologies, Cognizant and Edelman, leading digital transformation, demand generation and marketing innovation across Asia Pacific, Japan, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. His experience spans GenAI deployment, marketing technology transformation, full-funnel digital campaigns and sales enablement across more than ten markets.

In his new role, CK is tasked with leading the acceleration of digital transformation and the adoption of emerging technologies across Ruder Finn's 30 Asia-Pacific offices and team of more than 800 consultants. He will focus on advancing internal AI enablement, driving functional transformation across the business, and shaping the consultancy's client-facing AI product roadmap.

"Communications consultancies are uniquely placed to lead in the answer engine era because we already create the press releases, earned media, executive bylines and third-party content that AI models trust and cite," said Chung Kai (CK) Lim. "My focus is twofold. Internally, we are making AI the default operating layer across every workflow. Externally, we are giving clients the visibility, control and citation share they need to protect and grow their brands."

Furthermore, the team has also launched its AI Visibility & Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Advisory developed under CK’s leadership. The advisory, powered by a combination of industry AI platforms and the consultancy’s proprietary GEO methodology, aims to help brands improve how they are understood, represented, and cited across generative AI platforms, including ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Google AI Overviews.

"Communications has entered a new era where influence is measured not only by what people read, but by what AI understands, cites and recommends," said Elan Shou, Global Chief Growth Officer and Managing Director, Asia and Greater China at Ruder Finn. "AI visibility is not a standalone discipline, it’s an evolution of strategic communications. The same trusted content that shapes reputation through media, thought leadership and executive visibility now shapes how AI platforms understand and recommend brands. By combining our communications expertise with AI-powered insights and optimization, we offer clients an end-to-end approach that strengthens AI visibility, protects reputation and drives business outcomes."