Stefanie Francesca is promoted to Head of Brand Experiences

Peter Jean has commenced a media and communications role at the Australian National University. In 2025, he wrapped up six and a half years at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare as Media and Communications Manager and spent several months undertaking freelance communications and editing work. Prior to this, Peter was a journalist at The Advertiser, The Canberra Times, The Herald-Sun and AAP, mainly covering politics and health.  

Cathrine Pierce has been welcomed at Radius Care as PR and Communications Lead. She was based in Norway for nearly two years, most recently as Communications Manager at Marketing and Communications Agency, Project Neon. Prior to this, Cathrine worked for BBR PR in Auckland. 

 SEC Newgate has announced the launch of an office in Tokyo, marking the group's expansion into Japan. This new location builds upon its current presence in Asia, where it currently counts offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia, as well as affiliates across the region.

Leading SEC Newgate Japan's operations is Mai Mizuta, who joins as Managing Partner. She brings experience advising senior corporate leaders and global investors in reputation management, shareholder activism, cross-border M&A, and crisis communications. Mai was most recently at Teneo, where she established the firm's Japan business, and previously spent more than a decade with ION Analytics, where she served as Asia-Pacific Content Director for Mergermarket and Dealreporter.

"I am delighted to join SEC Newgate and establish the firm's presence in Japan at a time when the country's corporate, financial, and political landscape is undergoing significant transformation," commented Mai. "SEC Newgate's global platform and integrated advisory capabilities position us well to support both Japanese and multinational clients as they navigate increasingly complex strategic and reputational challenges domestically and internationally."

The Tokyo office will support Japanese and international corporates, financial institutions, and private equity firms on their domestic and international corporate affairs priorities. Services include reputation and crisis management, stakeholder engagement, financial communications, cross-border M&A, and shareholder activism defence. 

The agency shared that the expansion comes as Japan undergoes significant transformation across its corporate, financial, and geopolitical landscape, driven in part by ongoing corporate governance reforms and increasing engagement from global investors. At the same time, Japanese companies are navigating complex global environments under geopolitical uncertainty and evolving stakeholder expectations.

"Japan is the world's fourth largest economy and a vitally important market across the Asia-Pacific region and around the world," said Brian Tyson, Deputy Group CEO, Head of APAC Region, and Chairman of SEC Newgate Australia. "Trade, investment, and corporate engagement between Japan and the rest of the world are only going to increase in the coming years. Establishing this new office in Tokyo means we can provide seamless advice to Japanese companies domestically, through Asia and around the world as well as providing multinationals support in this economically critical market."