Abhijit Dutta is currently Senior Director and Head of Communications and Government Affairs for the Asia Pacific region at Kimberly-Clark, the maker of iconic global brands such as Kleenex, Huggies and Kotex. In this role he is responsible for the company’s reputation and its purpose agenda in its largest international region spanning 30 countries, including China, India, ASEAN and ANZ.
Prior to Kimberly-Clark, he served in a number of communications and public affairs leadership roles at Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Rio Tinto. He is passionate about the potential of strategic communications to build communities and deliver impact, especially at the intersections of public and private sector agendas.
He serves as a Director on the global Board of Population Services International (PSI), an international NGO working at the frontiers of global health, especially female reproductive health.
He is the author of a book on Myanmar, “Myanmar in the World: Journeys through a Changing Burma” (2018). He lives in Singapore.
Quote:
Given that 2022 marked a return to a new normal, I will be looking to see how agencies have adapted to a hybrid way of thinking and doing, leveraging the many new ways of communicating developed over the pandemic period, while also returning to a more tangible and physical world of ideas and executions.
Amanda de Silva is the Head of Employee & Digital Communications at DHL in Asia Pacific. Having been with the organization for 11 years, she has managed regional External Communications programs, led DHL’s global Social Impact partnerships across the region, and headed up Organizational Communications for DHL Supply Chain Asia Pacific. In her current role she leads a team that primarily focuses on driving employee engagement and internal communications across DHL’s three divisions. Amanda joined DHL after 10 years on the agency side, servicing brands across Technology and Corporate & Finance industries.
Andrew is an experienced marketing and public affairs professional with a unique background that mixes business, innovation strategy, legal and communications skills. During his 14+ years at Johnson & Johnson, Andrew has worked in commercial, communications and government affairs functions. He currently serves on the Janssen Asia Pacific Leadership Team as the Vice President of Communication & Public Affairs. Andrew is responsible for leading the team building, strengthening, and shaping Janssen’s reputation and communication efforts across the region.
Outside of Johnson & Johnson, Andrew has lectured and tutored in public relations, international communication, radio and corporate video production at Macquarie University in Sydney.
Ankita is a global marketing & communications leader with experience across diverse sectors including banking, insurance, fintech, e-commerce, and cybersecurity. In her current role at Credit Suisse, she is leading the Recruitment Marketing team responsible for positioning the bank as an employer of choice in the Asia-Pacific region.
Her career in the Marketing & Communications industry spanning over a decade comprises running high-impact marketing initiatives focused on brand building, demand generation, product development, and go-to-market strategy. She has a proven track record in using data and tech to create meaningful brand experiences. Ankita has worked on several award-winning marketing campaigns using a blend of social, PR, content-led, and data-driven marketing strategies, for both B2B and B2C brands.
An alumna of the Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication (India), Ankita has a specialization in Public Relations and Corporate Communications. She is passionate about advancing DE&I, sustainability, and social impact with her work.
Quote:
As the world loses its borders to the power of digital media, the need for great stories has become more compelling than ever. Do you think your PR campaign made you think strategically, be creative, and create an impact? Then I’m excited to review your entry.
Annie is responsible for shaping Visa’s corporate communication strategies and enhancing corporate reputation to support market opening and business priorities in Greater China. She leads employee engagements and social impact programs including financial inclusion and education, women capacity program and community services with an aim of contributing and creating positive impacts to the community.
Annie joined Visa as Head of Corporate Communications, Hong Kong & Macau and Taiwan in 2014. Prior to that, she had spent ten years in a number of senior roles in Corporate Affairs, Marketing and Corporate Communications with HSBC in Asia Pacific. Her last role was Head of Marketing, Global Banking and Markets, Asia Pacific.
Quote:
“In light of all the unprecedented events in the past few years, it’s a test for PR practitioners. We are looking for success cases that demonstrate the leadership, capabilities and resilience of individuals and team. The PR Awards provides a platform for professionals to share best practices and learn from each other, contributing to the continued development of the PR industry.”
Anthony Larmon, MD, Southeast Asia at ERA Communications was named Asia-Pacific’s PR Professional of the Year at the 2020 PR Asia Awards and an #innovator25 by global communications publication PRovoke. He is passionate about communications’ role in fostering understanding in a world that is increasingly connected, yet divided.
Anthony has 11 years’ experience with global leaders like Edelman and FleishmanHillard in the areas of corporate affairs, brand reputation and social impact, and, using this experience, he has grown his firm from a handful of people in 2014, to over 100 people across Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam in 2021.
Quote:
“Having joined many PR Awards Asia events, I recommend industry peers to get involved and celebrate your team’s hard work. Our region is one of the most innovative in the world, and here is one of very few great platforms to prove it.”
Anvey Factora is an award-winning marketing and communications practitioner, serial marketer and education content creator with more than a decade of solid PR, advertising and IMC agency experience collaborating with some of the top multi-national and local brands in the country.
Pursuing his passion towards integrated marketing and consumer technology, Anvey transitioned from agency to leadership roles in ASUS, Huawei and Lazada Philippines wherein he spearheaded strategic planning and implementation of various local marketing campaigns and regional strategic programs.
Currently, Anvey Heads the Integrated Marketing Communications, E-commerce and Retail team of Canon Marketing (Philippines) Inc., Consumer Imaging Information Division.
Quote:
“PR is about communicating ordinary things the extraordinary way.”
Based in Mumbai, Ashmita comes with over 15 years of experience in PR and Corporate Communications across industries such as Automotive, Banking and Finance, Entertainment and Lifestyle.
In her current role, Ashmita is leading the Communications practice for the Tata Passenger and Electric Vehicle Businesses where she is responsible for building and sustaining Business’s reputation across diverse stakeholders. She works with leadership teams to strategies on the Communication roadmap. She is leading the team to support Business with an integrated communication’s approach, crisis management and brand building, across platforms/ mediums. She strives towards developing media into strong influencers for Tata Motors.
In her long stint at Tata Motors, Ashmita has shouldered various responsibilities under the Communication practice, ranging from External, Internal to Digital. She has played a leading role in setting up the internal communication process at Tata Motors. She has worked with subsidiary companies for a well-integrated Communications impact across key markets. Additionally, supported the Executive Committee in 2019 as the Acting Head, Corporate Communications.
In 2020, Ashmita received the Women Super Achievers Award by World Women Leadership Congress. In 2022, Ashmita was acknowledged amongst the 40 Young Turks of Communications by Reputation Today. Under her leadership the team has won several awards for Analytics, Brand Communication campaigns.
Prior to Tata Motors, Ashmita worked with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance where she was responsible for managing PR for 2 business verticals. She worked with Vaishnavi Corporate Communications across various designations with clientele across Corporate, Financial, Entertainment, Lifestyle industries. Her multi-industry exposure has helped her build a strong network of media relations across beat.
She holds a Post Graduate Degree in PR & Events and comes with Bachelor’s degree in Management from the University of Mumbai. In her free time, she enjoys travelling and painting.
Audrey is a communications leader with more than 20 years of regional experience. She currently leads the communications team for Sony Electronics in Asia Pacific, overseeing the full spectrum of external and internal communications, brand management, government relations and sustainability. She is responsible for developing and driving the company’s regional communications strategy and initiatives, to support business growth and enhance corporate reputation. Her passion in CSR has led her to spearhead various initiatives for Sony in Singapore to contribute and engage with the local community.
Quote:
Looking forward to entries that will push the boundaries, that aim to inspire and engage, while positively impacting the bottom-line.
Bella started her career as an intern with Ogilvy in San Francisco in the late 90s. Since then, she has worked with many large global technology companies such as Cisco, Yahoo!, GE, Siemens, and SAP, either as their external PR consultant or an in-house communications lead. In 2017, Bella joined Airbnb as one of the company’s founding members in China, helping to brand Airbnb as a trendy and fun way to travel for all generations. She’s currently Senior Director of Communications, APAC and Greater China for Baxter, an American healthcare company, where she helps reinvent the ways of telling corporate stories and engaging stakeholders.
Quote:
“At such challenging yet exciting time for communicators, I am looking forward to reviewing campaigns that can bring out the best of humanity, and make long-term positive impact on our future.”
