Ogilvy names Emily Poon new President of Public Relations & Influence for Asia

Ogilvy has announced the appointment of Emily Poon as President of Public Relations & Influence in Asia. Poon, currently Managing Partner of Ogilvy PR & Influence in Singapore, succeeds Scott Kronick who is stepping down from his current leadership role and will become a senior adviser at the company.

This appointment, effective January 1, follows the recent announcement that Julianna Richter is joining Ogilvy in January as Global CEO of PR & Influence.

As part of Ogilvy’s Asia leadership team, Poon will be responsible for driving continued client-centric innovation, business growth and deepening capabilities for the PR&I business in the region. Poon will report to Asia Co-Chief Executives, Kent Wertime and Chris Reitermann in her new role, and will work closely with the PR&I global network of leaders and Richter to drive the continued success and growth of the PR&I business.

Wertime said: “Emily is the perfect leader for our next phase of growth at Ogilvy. She has demonstrated strong leadership in her role in Singapore, knows how to grow a public relations business independently and as part of an integrated client solution, and importantly, she has earned the respect of everyone across the Ogilvy network. Emily cares deeply about our culture and we are excited to have her in this role.” Wertime continued, “I also wish to thank Scott for his partnership, achievements and tireless leadership for the past 29 years in Asia, and we are pleased he will remain involved in the business.”

This past year Ogilvy was named Asia-Pacific PR Consultancy of the Decade at the 2020 Asia-Pacific SABRE Awards. Ogilvy’s PR operation in Asia remains a formidable network with the largest regional footprint across 26 offices in 15 countries. The team is well known for its leading creative campaigns, capturing industry awards across the board for Visit Britain’s Great Chinese Names for Great Britain, Chengdu’s Pambassadors, Where’s the DNA by GTH-GA, Chando’s Beautiful Surgery Lines, and KFC’s Michelin Impossible, to name a few.

Kronick added: “It is a great honour to be passing the baton to Emily who has built a stellar track record of delivering growth for clients and Ogilvy and for developing people. We have many internal candidates capable of leading the firm in Asia, however, Emily’s commitment to the people, our clients and her ability to work across the Ogilvy organization to bring modern public relations to Asia is unmatched. In working with her for these past 12 years, I’ve seen first-hand she is a values-driven leader who is well-positioned to lead Ogilvy and our clients into a new era of communications. I am excited about our next stage of growth with Emily and our strong PR&I leadership bench behind her, as she continues to champion our clients, work and people across Asia.”

Since joining Ogilvy more than 12 years ago, Poon worked her way up to be the youngest head of the Singapore PR&I business for Ogilvy, and has steered the Singapore operation to win clients including AIA, Changi Airport Group and OCBC, as well as global and regional assignments for Unilever, Gojek, GovTech and most recently, Google. With 17 years of experience in the industry, Poon will be Ogilvy’s first female leader of the Ogilvy, Public Relations & Influence business in Asia.

“It is a privilege to have worked closely with Scott. He is a leader who walks the talk, cares deeply for our team and I have learnt a great deal from him. I am grateful to him for his mentorship and also truly proud of our network, creative culture and strong leadership bench strength in Asia. Most of all, it gives me great pride to be working for, with and alongside people that I deeply admire and respect. At a time where we are seeing a rapid pace of change in media and technology platforms, we have great opportunities ahead to help clients build reputation and deepen their engagement with customers and stakeholders through earned creative and purposeful data-driven storytelling. The future is bright and this is an exciting time for all of us in communications,” said Poon.

Alongside her new position, Poon will continue her current role in managing the agency’s PR and Social business in Singapore.