H+K Singapore names Matthew Briant MD replacing Michelle Tham

Hill+Knowlton Strategies (H+K) Singapore has named Matthew Briant managing director. He takes over from former managing director of Singapore and Malaysia Michelle Tham.Briant will be part of H+K Asia’s senior management team, spearheading H+K Singapore as a leading agency in the market. He was most recently head of digital at The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific, where he redefined the marketing strategy and built the digital practice up from himself to a dedicated team of 30. He also transformed and maximised all Disney content assets to drive consumer demand, using deep-rooted data and insights.Prior to that, he was director of mobile at Dentsu Aegis Network Asia Pacific where he assisted both consumer and B2B brands in defining and implementing their social, media and commerce strategies. Before that he was commercial director of out there media at the agency. He spent the past 10 years based in Singapore working across the Asian markets.“Coming from a mixed and diverse background within media companies, agencies and brands, I know and have empathy for all parties, which gives me confidence in our ability to adapt strategies to each of our clients,” said Briant.He added that data and insights have played a key role in helping him to understand consumer behavior throughout his career, and will enable the team to create current newsworthy content that tells a story across all channels.“I believe in building teams that professionals want to be a part of and brands want to partner with. It’s important to me for people to feel energised by their co-workers so together they can achieve milestones with their clients worth celebrating, and I’m looking forward to doing exactly that at H+K Singapore,” Briant added.H+K Asia cluster lead HS Chung said Briant brings the perfect balance of agency and client experience. According to her, H+K Singapore is a strategic hub for multinational brands, and Briant is “a great asset” to lead its roster of clients and drive transformation, as well as provide communication solutions to our corporate and government sectors.[Marketing is proud to once again present PR Asia in Singapore this year. Join us for a series of exclusive case studies, interactive and thought-provoking discussions this 13-14 November in Singapore and discover the latest strategies, insights and groundbreaking ideas to elevate your PR practice. Register now!]Briant’s appointment comes after H+K merged with LUMOS PR in Malaysia to form Hill+Knowlton LUMOS, with the integrated entity being led by Justin Then, founder and managing director of LUMOS PR. He was previously the managing director of H+K Malaysia from 2013 to 2017. The merger is expected to strengthen H+K’s presence and capabilities in Malaysia, allowing the agency to better service the growing number of multinationals establishing ASEAN hub offices in the country.Chung told Marketing in an interview previously that she was “picky” when it came to hiring the new managing director as the individual will play an important role not just in Singapore, but also to the overall ASEAN growth. “There will be plenty of cross training in terms of skillsets and clients are also requiring more agile and mobile teams. This is where I feel Singapore can play a bigger role,” Chung said.The agency currently has offices in three ASEAN markets – Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand – and the agency plans to expand into Indonesia and the Philippines. “Going forward, I see Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia becoming the Golden Triangle. There is plenty of synergy in terms of mobility and talent sharing,” Chung added.