Edelman HK CEO Adrian Warr takes Southeast Asia CEO role

Edelman Hong Kong CEO Adrian Warr will leave the position to take on the new role of CEO of Southeast Asia.  Warr has been with Edelman Hong Kong since September 2013, overseeing the Taiwan and Thailand markets. In his new role, he will be based in Singapore and will focus on driving cross-border collaboration in Southeast Asian markets. He will continue to lead Edelman's regional employee experience offering. Prior to his position at Edelman Hong Kong, Warr worked for Portland as partner for more than two years and Freud Communications as associate board director for over three years from 2008 to 2011. He also worked for Hill+Knowlton Strategies as associate director from 2001 to 2008. All of these positions were based in the UK. 

He wrote on his LinkedIn account, "After eight fantastic years here in Hong Kong, it's time for the next adventure. I'm excited to be taking on a new role as CEO of Southeast Asia and moving to Singapore in January."

Meanwhile, Edelman Singapore CEO John Kerr has been appointed as vice chair of the firm's technology practice. Both Warr and Kerr's replacement are yet to be announced. Kerr join Edelman Singapore in September 2018, driving transformation and modernisation for the agency over the years. He was also vice chair - digital and performance, overseeing Edelman's digital and performance teams across APAC, Middle East and Africa.  Before that, he worked for Zeno for more than five years with his last position being global chief digital officer. He was not new to Edelman before joining it in 2018 as Kerr was also managing director  Asia, Edelman Digital from 2006 to 2012. 

Stephen Kehoe, Edelman’s President and CEO for Asia Pacific, said: “As we continue to advance our plans towards our desired future, we are making important changes to our APAC leadership team today, in order to accelerate the growth of our people and our work, while creating a simpler structure that’s designed around the needs of our clients. Both Kerr and Warr are renowned leaders with proven track records for developing talent and driving business growth.”

Both appointments are effective October 1, with the incumbents ensuring business continuity across their existing markets until their successors have been named.

Earlier in August, Edelman's Asia Pacific chief client and operations officer, Bob Grove, is leaving the agency at the end of September after 16 years. He is taking a break before deciding what to do next. Grove has held various leadership roles across the region including MD, Southeast Asia and CEO of North Asia. According to the agency, he has driven many solutions across the firm, specifically in the areas of data, insights and client quality and service.

In the same month, the agency launched a new firm named Edelman Global Advisory, commiting an initial investment of US$10 million towards key new hires and expansion of EGA into new markets. The firm will provide tailored business and government advisory services to institutions and will be formed through Edelman’s acquisition of Basilinna, a long-time Edelman partner which specialises in US-China relations. According to a spokesperson from Edelman, in Asia, the initial markets the office will have a presence in are Beijing and Tokyo.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Warr and Kerr for more details. 

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