PRWEEK.com. Golin China has appointed Kurt Deng to the newly created role of executive creative director, with a remit to drive earned-first creative in China. Deng joins the agency with over two decades of experience across both in PR and advertising across McCann Erickson, Ogilvy & Mather PR and Publicis. Deng reports directly to Lydia Shen, managing director of Golin China.

Brunswick Group hired Caroline Dent as partner, group strategy in the Singapore office. Dent was previously at ECI Partners, a UK-based private equity firm, where she was a partner. In her new role, she will help develop, coordinate and implement the firm’s overall corporate strategy. 

Red Havas has brought on Ken Lerona as its new business director in the Philippines. Lerona brings with him 20 years of  experience in marketing, brand, and communications across a range of industries. He was most recently head of marketing and corporate comms at Entrego. He will work closely with Janessa Tek-ing, who has been promoted from account director to associate business director.

Gusto Luxe, the agency for luxury brands, promoted Shashin Surti to managing director. He will continue to operate from Shanghai and report to to Gusto Luxe founding partner Nick Cakebread.

Asia PR Werkz has won the public relations remit for Trip.com in Southeast Asia, and has been reappointed by Singapore Management University’s Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship for the financial year 2021-2022. For Trip.com the agency will focus on media relations, brand communications and support for its marketing campaigns. For SMU IIE it will provide strategic public relations counsel and access to insights within the startup network and seek to increase its share of voice within the media. 

Red Havas has appointed Haylie Marchant to the role of executive director, Red Havas Brisbane. Merchant has 15 years of experience in agencies, including her last role as principal at M2 Communications where she consulted clients in technology, healthcare, transport, and consulting industries. Prior to that, she spent 10 years at Haystac, where she established and grew the Brisbane office before taking on the national head of strategy role in 2018. In addition to leading the agency to drive growth in the Brisbane market, Merchant will also join the Red Havas national senior management team.

Beverage manufacturer PT Multi Bintang Indonesia has appointed Maverick Indonesia to manage communications for four of its brands: Heineken, Bintang Pilsener, Bintang 0.0%, and Bintang Crystal. Multi Bintang Indonesia set down challenging communication demands in its brief, including relevance of legacy brands Bintang and Heineken amid new players in the market. “The success of this communication program would be measured based on a communication performance measurement framework launched by AMEC (Association of Measurement and Evaluation), so that the results will be more actionable,” said Marsha Imaniara,Maverick Indonesia general manager.

Soomee Moon joins Agoda as internal communications and engagement specialist in Greater China, Japan and South Korea. In her new role, she will influence employee engagement, performance results, and retention through use of internal comms aligned with Agoda’s global strategy. Prior to this, Moon was regional corporate communications director at VMLY&R Commerce.

Following a pitch, Mumbai-based PR agency Glad U Came will work on the integrated communication strategy for watch brand Joker & Witch. The agency also bagged the PR mandate for Indulgeo Essentials, an organic skincare and haircare brand.