Sandpiper rolls out AI-driven policy intelligence tool

Ashbury has appointed Jane Morgan (pictured) as Chief Client Officer and Head of Advisory, Singapore, and Saima Farooqi as Head of Advisory for the UAE.

As Chief Client Officer, Jane is tasked with enhancing Ashbury’s ability to deliver a consistently superior client experience and strengthening the team's dialogue with key clients. In her other role as Head of Advisory for Singapore, she leads Ashbury's client coverage in the market as well as managing the Singapore-based Advisory team.

Jane was most recently a Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting in Singapore and has also held senior positions at Golin and Edelman. She reports to Adam Harper, Ashbury’s Founder and Managing Partner, and coordinates closely with Noel Cheung, Partner and Head of Advisory.

"I have always been impressed by Jane's drive, her commitment to high standards and her strong focus on client relationships,” said Adam. “Her successful track record in consultancy leadership and client management will help us deliver the outstanding work that Ashbury is known for to a growing number of clients."

In the UAE, Saima leads the local team and is responsible for client relationships, reporting to Adam. Before joining Ashbury, she was an Executive Director in J.P. Morgan’s Asia Pacific Marketing and Communications team. Saima previously held senior corporate communications positions in Hong Kong, Dubai and London at BNP Paribas, the Dubai Financial Services Authority and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. She started her career as a journalist with Risk and FX Week.

“These two senior appointments are important steps forward in our strategy to become the leading financial communications consultancy focused on Asia Pacific and the Middle East," added Adam. “Their experience across consultancy leadership and in-house communications in the financial sector make us even more relevant to our clients. We will continue to invest in leading talent to grow our business and meet more of our clients’ needs." 

Nikhil Kharoo has stepped up to the role of Senior Director, Global Head of PR and Partnerships at Razer. Based in Singapore, he spearheads global public relations and partnership efforts across Asia, Europe, and U.S. regions, spanning brand narrative, media engagement, brand partnerships, and AI initiatives.

Nikhil has accumulated more than 18 years of communications experience, having held senior roles at Burson-Marsteller, Fitbit, and Google.

Edelman has appointed Wai Leong Tang (pictured left) as Head of Public and Government Affairs for Southeast Asia.

Based in Singapore, Wai Leong will work closely with Edelman’s market teams across Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam to support organisations in aligning regional decision-making with local government engagement, taking into account differing political, regulatory and stakeholder landscapes across markets. He reports to Delicia Tan, Edelman’s CEO for Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

“Across Southeast Asia, politics and policy are no longer peripheral issues; they are core drivers of business risk, trust and growth,” Wai Leong said. “Leaders today must balance regional strategy with local political realities, while demonstrating credibility with governments, regulators and the public. Our role at Edelman is to help them do that with clarity and confidence.”

Prior to this, he was Head of Public Affairs at H/Advisors.

Edelman also brought in Kenn Yee (pictured right) as Senior Program Manager in Singapore, where he supports the firm’s Southeast Asia public and government affairs arm.

Kenn brings experience in technology policy, AI, data governance, cybersecurity and information infrastructure across Asia Pacific. He helps organisations in understanding policy risks and issues, and in designing engagement strategies with regulators.