APRW appoints Puja Bharwani as associate director APRW has appointed Puja Bharwani as associate director, where she will focus on strategic advisory, positioning and communications for clients across AI enterprise technology, financial institutions, and consumer and luxury lifestyle brands. She joins APRW after co-founding AI platform Wizly and previously served as vice president, communications and marketing, Southeast Asia at Antler. She spent more than a decade in journalism, including as a producer and reporter at Reuters, where she won the Reuters Journalist of the Year award in 2007. Judy Crema joins Dentsu Judy Crema has joined Dentsu Creative as Agency Partner – PR after nearly eight years at CHEP/Clemenger BBDO, where she most recently led the PR function.  With experience spanning integrated campaigns and senior agency roles in Australia and New York, Crema brings significant PR expertise to Dentsu Creative’s Australian leadership team. She previousl

Mary C appointed head of talent at Hello Mary C. has announced that she has been appointed head of talent at Hello, taking on leadership of the agency’s influencer offering after five and a half years with the business. In a LinkedIn post, C. said Hello was scaling its influencer offering with proprietary technology and AI across research, vetting, tracking and reporting. She said the move would build on the agency’s existing influencer work while establishing an in-house technology offering, describing it as “new tech, same brilliant minds”.  C. joined Hello as a senior account manager in 2021 and most recently served as senior account director. Before Hello, she spent more than five years at Sony Music Entertainment across social media, content and digital marketing roles, and previously worked as an assistant publicist at The PR Files. Kerrie O. departs nbn Kerrie O. has left nbn after almost eight years with the company, marking the end of her

Thrive PR + Communications announces three senior leadership appointments Thrive PR + Communications has announced three senior leadership appointments across Australia and New Zealand, with Sophie (Ball) Maguire appointed business lead, Thrive Melbourne; Kyra Shakspeare promoted to business lead, Thrive Brisbane; and Lwindi Ellis appointed head of PR, Thrive Aotearoa New Zealand. Maguire will lead the Melbourne office, building on her long association with Thrive. She first joined the agency in 2008 and said the appointment marked a “full-circle moment” as she takes on the opportunity to shape the next chapter of the Melbourne team. Shakspeare has been promoted after a year growing Thrive’s Queensland team, while Ellis will lead the agency’s Auckland-based PR team and focus on expanding its New Zealand offering to Trans-Tasman brands and locally based organisations. Ellis said she was “delighted to be driving” Thrive’s business in Aotearo

PRINZ appoints Leigh Harris and Jill Dryden as committee members PRINZ has appointed Leigh Harris FPRINZ and Jill Dryden FPRINZ as co-opted Committee members, bringing seven decades of combined experience across strategic communications, reputation management, crisis communications and stakeholder engagement.  Dryden will also serve as Chair of the PRINZ College of Fellows, strengthening senior industry representation and governance within the institute. PRINZ Committee Chair Celia Crosbie welcomed the appointments, saying Harris and Dryden would bring extensive experience, sound judgement and a strong commitment to the profession to the institute's governance.  The appointments bolster senior industry expertise on the PRINZ Committee as it continues to support communications professionals across Aotearoa New Zealand. Jessica Glanz steps up at Google Jessica Glanz has taken up the role of public affairs manager at Google’s Government Affairs and Public Po

Amélie Mahieux joins Cymbal Agency Amélie Mahieux has started a new role as social media and content coordinator at Cymbal Agency. She worked across Joy in Movement and Pixelz360 previously. Jack Finucane joins We Communications Jack Finucane has joined We. Communications (Australia) as an account manager, making a move from London to Sydney.  He worked across MHP Group, Woodrow and Penta Group in London. Nina Funnell joins Adhesive Nina Funnell has started a new position as account director at Adhesive.  She worked across Eleven, The Academy and Clareville PR previously. Betsy Brandon joins Dentsu PR Betsy Brandon has joined the consumer PR team at Dentsu Creative PR. She worked across Burson, Elevate Communication and KDPR previously. Sophie Clarke moves to London Sophie Clarke has relocated to London after three and a half years with C7EVEN Communications and Talent Stable in regional Australia. She is now seeking opportunities across ma