Edelman appoints Aaron Phua as ECD and Remona Duquesne as CSO in Singapore

Edelman has made two major appointments in its creative strategy and planning expertise to enhance its overall Integrated Brand, Reputation and Digital businesses for clients. Aaron Phua and Remona Duquesne join the Singapore business in newly created roles of Executive Creative Director and Chief Strategy Officer, respectively.

“Both Aaron and Remona have proven that they are a cut above the rest in their respective disciplines. More importantly, they are real change agents, producing impactful and award-winning work over the last 20 years. As we work towards our Singapore vision to be a powerhouse of regional earned-centric communications marketing ideation, their incredible value and expertise in data, creative content creation, sound strategic planning and storytelling will only serve as a catalyst,” said Amanda Goh, Chief Executive Officer, Edelman Singapore.

Phua (pictured above) and Duquesne report to Goh, and will work closely with Rupen Desai, Vice Chairman, Brand for Edelman Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APACMEA) and Ranjit Jathanna, Chief Strategy Officer, APACMEA, respectively, to enhance Singapore’s regional creative and planning hub role.

“As consumer trust declines and indifference towards brands grows, marketers need to make a choice,” said Desai. “We have seen an increase in clients making a move from the traditional, top down, advertising developed first approach to creating fame and generating headlines, winning trust and attention. Aaron and Remona joining our growing bench strength across the region will help us partner clients as lead agency.”

A Singapore native, Phua’s appointment to Edelman Singapore’s most senior creative strategy role marks a return to his homeland. Phua has spent the past decade in three of the world’s largest economies: China, United States and most recently Japan. Phua brings nearly 20 years of advertising and creative experience with tenures at Ogilvy, Fallon, Wieden+Kennedy, Johannes Leonardo, McCann, Crispin Porter + Bogusky and TBWA. He has developed multifaceted work for some of the world’s largest brands including Nike, Under Armour, Converse, Burberry, Bacardi, Coca-Cola, Heineken, Volkswagen, United Airlines and IBM.

A recipient of multiple creative awards, Phua has participated on juries for The One Show in New York and several others including the One Screen Film Festival, mentored at the Miami Ad School, spoke at the Michigan State University and the One Show Festival of Creativity in Beijing and served as a global advisor for the Ad Stars Festival in Busan.

“Creativity with PR at the heart of it, when done right, is extremely potent in today’s communications and marketing landscape,” said Phua. “It enables us to get to the core of a big idea more effectively across multiple earned-centric channels. I’m excited to evolve this further with Edelman in Singapore.”

Named Edelman Singapore’s first Chief Strategy Officer, Duquesne’s 20-year career has spanned journalism, advertising and brand consulting across continents and cultures, providing her with insight-driven hands-on expertise to truly build brands from brand creation to implementation. A Journalism and Political Science graduate of New York University, Duquesne (pictured left) began her professional life producing news and lifestyle segments at broadcast television network NBC in New York City before making the move into the world of communications and branding. Since moving back to Asia in 2004, she has held strategy leadership roles at Ogilvy, FutureBrand and MullenLowe working on brands like CIMB, Nestle and Omo; and led several corporate brand consulting projects with the Singapore Government and Malaysian government-linked companies. Most recently, she was Executive Director of Strategy & Innovation at Dragon Rouge, a branding and design consultancy.

“Edelman is exceptionally well-positioned to take advantage of the change happening in our industry, and it is serious about its transformation. It has data and analytics firepower, strong upstream and downstream client relationships, creative prowess and, more recently, expertise across the communications disciplines needed to succeed in this mad, ever-changing landscape. I am excited to be a part of the journey at such a pivotal point, and a part of the team that takes ‘earned-centric’ brand solutions to the next level,” said Duquesne.