Edelman SG names Julia Wei CEO, makes slew of senior promotions

Edelman has appointed Julia Wei as CEO of Singapore, reporting to Southeast Asia CEO Adrian Warr. She will spearhead the next chapter of growth and will build on the agency's growth and innovation in earned-centric, integrated campaigns.

She was previously with AKA Asia as managing partner and returns to Edelman where she previously spent a decade honing her capabilities. She brings more than 17 years of experience in integrated communications, both in-house and agency, to drive growth through modern communication approaches.

Warr said he could not be more pleased to see Wei return to the fold. "Having achieved several years of fast growth and bold innovation, in spite of significant market headwinds, we now have a unique window of opportunity to evolve our culture, capabilities, and our services to clients – there’s nobody better than Wei to lead that charge," he added.

According to him, Wei is going to have three clear priorities. Firstly, maintaining the best agency culture in the market, secondly, getting A-list fame for the work Edelman does, and thirdly, creating new ways of working in the hybrid world.

Meanwhile, Wei said Edelman has always had a special place in her heart and the opportunity to return in a leadership role at a pivotal point of the agency was a no-brainer. "I’m looking forward to working with my new, and former, colleagues and collectively elevating our work, our skills and of course continuing on our business success," Wei added.

Alongside Wei's appointment, Edelman Singapore has also made a slew of senior promotions, one of them being Yeelim Lee who is now COO. He will partner with Wei to deliver on Edelman's ambitions. Having spent eight years with the firm, across Hong Kong and Singapore, he has held positions that built experience in regional client management, data and analytics, sector and practice leadership, and new business operations. He was previously new business operations director and client leader for APAC.

The new leadership team in Singapore includes Nisha Sivanandan who will lead on strategy and client leadership; Jonathan Ha who will oversee digital, creative and production; Amanda Lam who will oversee HR; and Xi Ling Lee who is finance director.

"Wei and Lee have very complimentary skillsets and experience –together, they will lead the team to new frontiers," Warr said. Warr was appointed to his role last year and former Edelman Singapore CEO, John Kerr, took on the role of APAC vice chair, technology.

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