W Communications names Country Manager to lead Malaysia operation

Medill Executive Education at Northwestern University has released its Medill 2026 CCO Monitor Survey Results, “The Medill CCO Monitor: Defining the Competencies of C-Suite Success.”

Conducted between September and November 2025, the survey features responses and insights from 125 senior communications executives from across industries.

Participants shared insights into the modern chief communications officer role, including the importance of being a business leader first, a comms leader second; developing leadership, judgement, and influence; and maintaining curiosity and learning.

Key survey findings include:

• Respondents ranked strategic business thinking and financial acumen (66 per cent), executive presence and ability to counsel C-suite leaders (66 per cent), and mastery of the communications craft (53 per cent) as the three most important skills for success as a CCO.
• Business and financial acumen (24 per cent) and executive presence(24 per cent) were also selected as the top skills CCOs needed to develop on the job most after becoming a senior communications leader, followed by cross-functional leadership; influencing without authority (19 per cent).
• Respondents ranked the same three qualities as the top skills that the senior leaders on their current team need for the CCO role: business and financial acumen (76 per cent), executive presence (64 per cent), and cross-functional leadership (56 per cent).
• In response to the most important professional development experiences for future CCOs, 91 per cent of participants selected working across comms disciplines as the most critical, followed by managing teams (68 per cent) and crisis management (55 per cent).
• AI and automation (66 per cent), growth of misinformation (38 per cent), and political and social polarisation (30 per cent) topped the list of external forces CCOs expect to shape their role over the next three to five years.

PUMA Malaysia has appointed Mad Hat Asia as its PR agency of record following a competitive pitch.

Effective from February 2026 to January 2027, the 12-month partnership will see the agency serve as the brand’s dedicated PR point-of-contact, overseeing local press office functions and media relations. The scope includes media and influencer engagement, narrative localisation, relationship management, campaign activation coordination and event support.

Commenting on the appointment, Rengeeta Rendava, Founder and Managing Director of Mad Hat Asia (pictured right), said, “PUMA’s focus on growing communities around sport across different skill levels and interests makes this an exciting fit for how we approach communications at Mad Hat Asia. We believe the strongest lifestyle brands are built through community-first storytelling that generates participation and conversation, not just visibility.”

The appointment follows the agency’s renewed partnership with Bel Group for 2026, where it leads integrated communications, brand-building initiatives and consumer engagement. 

 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."