Transpower New Zealand brings in senior hire

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. 

 HAVAS Red has launched EchoWeave, a global specialisation designed to help brands master generative engine optimisation (GEO). Spearheaded by the agency's Australia and UK teams, the development gives communicators and marketers capabilities to understand, measure and elevate brand visibility as AI becomes the primary tool for how people search, compare and decide. 

EchoWeave delivers:

• Multi-model competitor insights: Compare a brand’s visibility against competitors across AI search platforms in a single, comprehensive view.
• Visibility insights: Track how brand visibility shifts over time and adjust strategy as AI models evolve.
• Citation and source analysis: Discover which sources AI models rely on most and understand how a brand can become one of their trusted references.
• Content scoring: Evaluate a brand’s existing content for AI relevance and optimise it to perform effectively at the prompt level.
• Gap analysis: Identify the specific topics and prompt areas where a brand is underperforming and take clear corrective action.

Steve Fontanot, Commercial Managing Director, APAC, HAVAS Red, said LLMs are redefining brand discovery: "EchoWeave gives communications leaders the clarity and intelligence they need to ensure their strongest stories are understood, trusted and elevated within AI-driven environments."

Rachael Sansom, CEO, HAVAS Red Europe and UK, added: “The same question is coming from every CMO and communications leader we speak to: ‘How do we ensure our brand is accurately understood by AI?'

“EchoWeave gives leaders a clear, data-driven path to turn that challenge into a practical plan they can act on today.”  

The Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) has announced the 55 finalists for the 52^nd annual PRINZ Awards.

The finalists have been selected following a judging process led by a panel of industry professionals across New Zealand and overseas, with backgrounds spanning agency, in-house, and government roles. The panel is overseen by two Chief Judges, Tracey Bridges FPRINZ LPRINZ and Nikki Wright FPRINZ APR.

They commented: "The calibre of this year's finalists is exceptionally high, reflecting both the strategic maturity of the profession and the growing impact of communications in complex environments. The judging process has been rigorous and thoughtful, with strong debate around work that demonstrates clear outcomes, insight, and real-world influence."

The awards span 14 categories, including the Telum Media Best Use of Media Relations and the new Best Use of Small Budget for Impact category. Gold award winners in the campaign categories will be shortlisted to take home the PRINZ Supreme Award.

Finalists are invited to attend the 2026 PRINZ Awards Gala Dinner at the Hilton Auckland on Thursday 4^th June, where Bronze, Silver, and Gold awards will be presented.

The full list of finalists can be found here.