iD Collective welcomes Australian footwear brand to its portfolio

Gail Watson has joined the Victorian Chamber of Commerce as Media Manager. She has moved into comms following her time at 3AW as News Director.

Gail has also worked as a sessional teacher at RMIT. 

Ebanny Dwyer has commenced at Australian luxury fashion brand, Christopher Esber, as Acting Marketing and Communications Director. Previously, she was a freelance Luxury Communications, Event and Brand Director, which included her time agency-side at Character + Distinction for clients such as Adore Beauty, Heaps Normal and Cargo Crew, as well as Camilla and Marc. Prior to this, Ebanny was at NAC Media group and Maticevski. 

APRW has appointed Puja Bharwani as Associate Director. In the role, she will work with clients across narrative strategy and positioning, media relations, and execution across earned, owned, and stakeholder channels.

Puja will focus on AI enterprise technology companies and financial institutions, including venture capital firms, private equity funds and family offices. She will also work with select consumer and luxury lifestyle brands, including creators and brand influencers.

A former Reuters journalist, Puja previously served as Head of Marketing and PR at Antler. She brings a combination of editorial, operational and advisory experience to APRW.

“Communication is not something that happens after decisions are made. It is part of how policies, decisions, and strategies are understood, tested, and accepted,” Puja said.

“In a world where trust is fragmented and audiences are engaging directly with leaders and brands in real time; this has never been truer or more consequential. Joining APRW gives me the platform to work on that problem at scale, with clients across industries, at the moment when getting it right matters most.”

Cho Pei Lin, Managing Director of APRW, shared, “Puja shares APRW's belief that great communications begin with a strong story, underpinned by sound strategy and brought to life through thoughtful execution.

“She brings a rare breadth of experience spanning journalism, venture building, technology startups and AI, giving her a distinctive perspective on how organisations can be prepared and communicate clearly in an evolving landscape. We are delighted to welcome someone whose expertise and values are aligned with ours. Her appointment marks another step in APRW's continued expansion, as we grow our advisory capabilities to meet the increasingly complex communications needs of clients across industries.”

In addition to building the strategic communications advisory practice, Puja brings her proprietary Owned Story™ programme into Knowledge Studio by APRW (APRW KnowS), the agency's communication readiness and advisory arm.

The programme, which includes workshop, a proprietary prompting system and a card game, will complement APRW KnowS in helping organisations define and own their narrative before they face their stakeholders.