Ogilvy PR announces Q Akashah as Managing Director Public Relations for Singapore & Malaysia

Ogilvy Singapore have announced the appointment of Q Akashah as its new Managing Director Public Relations for Singapore and Malaysia with immediate effect. She retains her portfolio as Executive Director for Islamic Marketing, Southeast Asia.

As part of Ogilvy’s Singapore and Malaysia integrated leadership team, Q will oversee and manage the PR offices across both markets, pursuing innovations in areas such as AI, influencer engagement, creative and content creation, and employee engagement, amongst others.

“It is a privilege to be in the Company of Giants to bring forward our ambition of driving creative and impactful PR-led and social-first integrated work. The communications industry is changing rapidly, and my priority is to ensure Ogilvy PR remains at the forefront of propelling the success of our clients’ brands and businesses,” Q shared.

With more than 15 years of strategic communications experience and stints in Ogilvy Malaysia and Indonesia under her belt, Q joined Ogilvy PR in 2008, and has steadily climbed the ranks through the years.

She was recognised with the SEA Young Professional of the Year in 2014 and has worked on numerous award-winning campaigns locally and regionally.

Q will continue with her second portfolio of spearheading Islamic marketing and communications efforts across the region, working with international brands to engage with Muslim consumers as well as Muslim-centric industries to appeal to a larger non-Muslim audience.

Global Muslim spend is forecasted to record a four-year Cumulative Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.5 per cent to reach US$42.8 trillion by 2025.[1] Asia accounts for 65 per cent of the world’s Muslim population.[2]

This appointment is part of Ogilvy PR’s commitment to talent development and succession planning and follows Emily Poon taking on the regional leadership of Ogilvy PR since 2021.

In 2022, Ogilvy PR was recognised as the Singapore PR Agency of the Year (Gold) by Campaign Asia in 2022. The PR agency network was also awarded Southeast Asia PR Agency of the Year (Gold) by Campaign and at PR Awards Asia 2022, as well as Asia-Pacific PR Agency of the Year (Gold) by Campaign and Digital Consultancy of the Year at the SABRE Awards Asia-Pacific.

Ogilvy PR was recently re-appointed AIA Singapore’s PR agency of record, extending it to a 13-year partnership following a competitive pitch. The agency is also AIA Singapore’s social agency of record.

In her new role, Q will continue to report to Emily Poon, President, Ogilvy PR, Asia Pacific as well as Kunal Jeswani, Group CEO, Ogilvy Singapore and Malaysia, to build on Ogilvy PR’s continued success in Singapore and Malaysia, and further the growth of PR and Influence offerings as part of integrated client solutions.

“We are delighted to announce Q’s appointment,” said Emily Poon, President, Ogilvy PR Asia Pacific. “As a values-driven leader that always seeks to do right by our people, clients, and business, I cannot think of a better successor to take on the leadership of our Singapore and Malaysia PR offices.

At a time where we are seeing a rapid pace of change in AI, media and technology platforms, I am excited to work alongside Q and our network colleagues for our next phase of growth in Singapore, Malaysia, the region and beyond.

At Ogilvy PR, we believe it is vital to continually invest in the growth of our next generation leaders, cultivate a diverse leadership bench and nurture an inclusive workplace for our network’s continued success.”

[1] ‘Asia Majoring in the Robust Halal Industry’ (2022) Asia Halal Directory. Marshall Cavendish Business Information. Available at: https://www.asiahalaldirectory.com/articles/industry-articles/growing-the-muslim-economy-in-2021-and-beyond 

[2] ‘Islam in Southeast Asia (2022) Asia Society. Available at: https://asiasociety.org/education/islam-southeast-asia