IMI Media Group has appointed Mona Elsaka as Chief Brand, Marketing and Communications Officer. In her this role she oversees brand, marketing, communications and creative functions across the Group, which includes The National, IMI Ventures and RedBird IMI.

Mona brings experience across brand, marketing and partnerships, having held senior leadership roles at global companies including PepsiCo and Mastercard. Earlier in her career, she worked in the humanitarian sector with the United Nations.

At PepsiCo, Mona led the company’s partnership with Expo 2020 Dubai, while at Mastercard she was part of the global sponsorships and partnerships team, overseeing major international properties including the Uefa Champions League, Formula One and the Cannes Film Festival.

H/Advisors has announced the opening of its Hong Kong office and the appointment of Candise Tang as Senior Director to lead the firm’s business in Hong Kong and the Greater China region. The new office adds to H/Advisors' presence in the region, with existing bases in markets including Malaysia, Indonesia, Tokyo, and Australia.

Candise brings over a decade of experience in strategic communications and public affairs advisory across Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland, and the APAC region, with roles across international communications agencies and in-house positions. Prior to joining H/Advisors, she was a senior member responsible for growing the Greater China presence for an international agency. She reports to Shih Huei Ang and Mark Worthington, Co-Founders of H/Advisors Klareco, headquartered in Singapore.  

Candise commented, “I am thrilled to join H/Advisors at this exciting time of growth in Hong Kong and the region. The firm’s strategic focus and integrated approach align perfectly with clients’ needs in navigating reputational, regulatory, and market challenges. As a leading financial hub, Hong Kong offers unique opportunities to bridge global and regional markets. I look forward to working with the team to help clients build trust and achieve their ambitions.”

In a conversation with Telum Media, Candise pointed out the increased inbound activity from international firms, including the United States and Europe, alongside a rise in IPO activity across both public and private markets in Hong Kong. 

“The pace has definitely accelerated from the second half of last year, and 2026 is definitely another year that we see a lot of growth.”

She added that the firm is seeing opportunities across the financial services sector and companies looking to expand into different markets. "A lot of Chinese companies are expanding into Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. In this context, Hong Kong acts as an opportunistic gateway for market expansion."

Stephane Fouks, Executive Chairman of H/Advisors and Executive Vice-President of Havas, remarked, “This Hong Kong office opening strengthens H/Advisors’ global strategic footprint at a pivotal time for international business and public institutions. It enhances our ability to deliver seamless, high-impact counsel to clients facing complex challenges across continents. By expanding in key markets, we continue to combine deep local understanding with world-class resources to protect and advance reputations on a truly global scale.”  

Shih Huei Ang, CEO and Co-Founder of H/Advisors Klareco, said: “We are delighted to open our Hong Kong office and welcome Candise to the team. Her deep regional expertise will be invaluable as we build on our Southeast Asia foundation to expand across APAC. With Singapore and Southeast Asia as our established power base, this launch strengthens our ability to connect dynamic markets across the region and deliver local insight with global perspective.”

FGS Global has announced the launch of its AI Advisory practice. It sits within FGS Global's recently formed AI and Innovation group, led by Aaron Kwittken, Global Head of AI and Innovation.

The new practice consolidates FGS Global's AI capabilities and covers four key areas of focus: Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), AI risk and crisis management, strategic intelligence and analytics, and organisational AI transformation. 

The AI Advisory offering is supported by a global team of more than 200 strategists, analysts, engineers, developers, designers, and data scientists across AI strategy, digital influence, campaigns, earned, paid and owned media, influencer engagement, special situations, and crisis management. It is further backed by the firm's global development team, FGS Labs, which builds client-facing and internal tech such as proprietary agentic AI platform, Fergus. 

"Organisations today face a dual imperative: harness AI to optimise workflows and strengthen stakeholder engagement while also safeguarding against AI-generated threats to reputation and operations," said Aaron. "Our AI Advisory practice provides both the strategic framework and tactical and technical capabilities clients need to navigate this transformation confidently, persistently and effectively."

Alongside the launch of the practice, FGS Global has also announced the acquisition and integration of digital threat detection and intelligence consultancy, Memetica.

The consultancy has been a long-time partner of FGS Global to provide clients with custom monitoring and analysis of online channels, including deep and dark web platforms. Its addition to the firm aims to help clients manage hostile online actors and malicious social media activity that could lead to cybersecurity incidents, AI-generated disinformation campaigns, SEO manipulation, doxxing, and violent threats. 

"The addition of Memetica comes at a time when clients urgently need sharper insights to manage threats to their reputation and license to operate from across a digital landscape that is evolving every day," said Alex Geiser, Global CEO of FGS Global. "With AI accelerating the scale and sophistication of online narratives, our advanced expertise in early threat detection and response will only become more important to our work."