The Hoffman Agency has made two senior appointments in its Singapore office to strengthen client servicing across multiple geographies.

Akansha Rai (pictured left) has been appointed Senior Vice President, Client Partnerships. She will lead regional programmes spanning Southeast Asia, Greater China, and India for brands including Zoom, Oracle, Ripple, and Western Digital. Akansha brings close to two decades of experience across Asia Pacific, spanning stakeholder engagement, reputation management and policy communications.

Keng Wee Ng (pictured right) has joined as Vice President, Client Partnerships. He brings more than 16 years of communications experience across change and issues management, internal and external communications, government relations, and partnerships. Keng Wee spent close to a decade with communications agencies before moving in-house, where he led regional communications at WeWork and PropertyGuru.

Both Akansha and Keng Wee will report to Maureen Tseng, Managing Director, Southeast Asia.

Burson has been appointed to lead integrated communications for Norwegian Seafood Council in Japan following a competitive, multi-year pitch. This news marks the expansion of the agency's partnership with the Council beyond its existing South Korea remit.

With this new appointment, Burson is expected to deliver strategic counsel and integrated execution across earned media, influencer engagement, industry communications, and brand activations to strengthen awareness, consideration, and consumption of Norwegian seafood across the Korean and Japanese seafood markets.

"We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with the Norwegian Seafood Council into Japan, one of the world’s most sophisticated seafood markets," said HS Chung, Asia-Pacific CEO, Burson. "Building on our success in Korea, we look forward to highlighting the versatility of Norwegian seafood and educating both trade and consumer audiences on the wide range of choices and innovative menus available, through culturally fluent storytelling, data-led strategy and consistent execution across markets."

"Burson has delivered excellent strategic thinking, deep market insight and proven performance in Korea," said Johan Kvalheim, Counsellor Fisheries at the Norwegian Embassy in Tokyo, representing the Norwegian Seafood Council. "As we enter this next phase in Japan, we’re excited to expand our partnership with Burson to strengthen awareness of Norwegian seafood, highlight its quality and sustainability and support long term demand in two of our key Asian markets."

This news follows a series of new business wins and expanded remits for Burson, including global brands such as Jaguar Land Rover, Kenvue, and the UK Government.

Anya Phillips has been promoted to Account Director at PR and brand engagement agency, Campaign Lab. She joined the team in 2023, relocating from the UK to Sydney, Australia.

Anya has worked at agencies including Ketchum and Edelman, and has supported global brands such as Samsung, Adobe, OPPO, and Colgate.