Design Bridge & Partners bolsters HK leadership with new appointments

Design Bridge & Partners has bolstered its leadership for Hong Kong with new hires, including Adrian Pring (pictured right) as head of strategy, Vivien Jin (pictured left) as strategy director and Danley Stone (pictured middle) taking on the role of head of client leadership and office lead.

Most recently as client business director at Design Bridge & Partners Singapore, Stone took on the role of Hong Kong office lead and head of client leadership in July 2024 and relocated from Singapore to Hong Kong.

Focusing on Hong Kong as well as clients in China and Southeast Asia, Stone is leading regional HSBC relationships and Prudential insurance account. She reports to Mark Budden, Asia Pacific chairman, Design Bridge & Partners and succeeds Hannah Duley, who joined HSBC as its APAC head of employer brand.

Stone brings nearly 20 years of experience in the branding and advertising space. She has been in Asia for 12 years and with the company in its various WPP iterations for eight years, having worked with clients such as Citibank, Mastercard, Lazada, Prudential and Coca-Cola. In her new role, she leads the Hong Kong office with a fierce sense of creative pride and thrives on cracking business-related challenges through the lens of the brand.

In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Stone said: “We are looking at this time as a rebirth of the Design Bridge and Partners office, with a renewed focus on world-class strategic capabilities. We are delighted to welcome both Pring and Jin to the team. The two of them are unique in their approaches and will undoubtedly push our work to even more compelling heights. Our HK-based design team (led by the brilliant Tim Brown, Executive Creative Director) is one of the most talented I’ve seen in my career, so combining their renowned creative capabilities with our fresh strategic superpower is truly game-changing.

Meanwhile, Pring has been appointed as head of strategy for Design Bridge & Partners Hong Kong, effective from February 2025. Reporting to Stone, Pring focuses on Hong Kong but also works with clients in China and Southeast Asia. This role is newly created as the agency has a renewed focus on the importance of strategy to the business.

Pring has over 15 years of experience helping leadership teams across a range of industries maximise the potential of their brands. During his career, he has developed creative and insightful brand strategies for Meta, HSBC, Equinor, Temenos, SNB Capital, KCB Group, Shell, Antelliq, HK Express Airlines and Abu Dhabi’s AD Ports Group.

Pring said: "I'm excited about strengthening the brand strategy offer in Hong Kong, giving us the ability to support clients as they face critical brand and business challenges. I'm also delighted to be back in WPP. I'm looking forward to collaborating across our incredible network of creative agencies."

With over 10 years of experience in the marketing and creative fields, Jin has developed a strong acumen in marketing strategies and creative problem-solving. In her new role, Jin reports to Pring and focuses on Hong Kong clients, as well as working with clients in China and Southeast Asia.

Her comprehensive and versatile portfolio spans a wide range of clients from P&G Group, LVMH, Jebsen Group, Chanel, Breitling, Airbnb, innocent Drinks, Mercedes Benz, Animoca Brands, WWF, New Zealand Tourism Board, Bank of China, amongst others.

Jin added, "Now, everything can be packaged nicely, but it's our job to ensure what we sell actually helps the world. Trends are dead; genuine connection and passionate resonance are what matter. Having seen the vision of Design Bridge and Partners, I'm ready to bring my strategic creativity and make magic with this team."

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