SINGAPORE — Cohn & Wolfe, a leading brand communications agency, today announced the appointment of Angelina Ong as President, Asia-Pacific. Charged with overseeing all Asia-Pacific offices, Ong will work closely with market leaders to build on the agency’s growth in the region. Ong will focus on client service, new business, talent development and cross-market collaboration. She will be based in Singapore and report to Donna Imperato, Chief Executive Officer, Cohn & Wolfe Group.
“Asia-Pacific has been a crucial part of Cohn & Wolfe’s success story these past few years, as we’ve expanded into new markets, added new talent and built our offering across the region,” said Imperato. “Angelina’s experience working with a wide range of blue-chip brands, combined with her leadership acumen and strong client skills, will strengthen our offering and drive increased growth across our Asian markets.”
Ong has over 18 years of public relations experience, building brands for several prominent companies such as Coca Cola, P&G, Philips, British Airways, Wrigley, Pfizer, GSK, Bayer, HSBC, 3M and Bosch. Recently, Ong was Regional Managing Director, APAC at Burson-Marsteller where she helped shape the agency’s APAC Brand Marketing offering, providing strategic counsel to help brands ‘glocalize’ in a complex Asian landscape. Previously, she held positions as Head of B2C Marketing, APAC, Yahoo! and as General Manager, Marketing Practice, Edelman China.
“I am very excited to be joining the brilliant team at Cohn & Wolfe,” said Ong. “With a compelling agency philosophy and a combination of vertical expertise, deep insights, creative thinking and integrated marketing know-how, Cohn & Wolfe is perfectly positioned to help clients create brands that connect with stakeholders. I look forward to bringing the wide range of Cohn & Wolfe’s capabilities and a broadened suite of integrated communication offerings to companies in the Asia-Pacific region.”
As part of Cohn & Wolfe’s aggressive growth strategy and commitment to the Asia-Pacific region, Ong’s appointment is one of three new senior leaders brought on to drive regional growth and deepen the agency’s offering. Earlier this month, Cohn & Wolfe welcomed Harriet Gaywood as Managing Director of mainland China, responsible for the stewardship of Beijing and Shanghai. Lyle Closs joined as Chief Operating Officer to oversee financials, HR and professional development across Asia-Pacific. In 2014, the agency opened two additional wholly owned offices in Thailand and the Philippines, growing the Asia- Pacific offering to 10 markets, up from only two markets less than three years ago. In the past year, the region has garnered accolades from the Cannes Health Lions, In2 SABRES, Marketing Excellence, Hong Kong PR Champions and Hong Kong PR Awards, and continues to draw tremendous praise from the industry.
