Huntsworth to appoint Bob Pickard as Asia-Pacific chief executive

Based in Singapore, Pickard will establish a new regional headquarters for Hunstworth and take responsibility for growing the group's global brands in the region, which include Grayling, Huntsworth Health and Citigate. He will also play a central role in the strategic alliance with BlueFocus, which is making a US$56 million investment in Huntsworth, according to the company. The investment was announced in April and is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.

Pickard will report to Huntsworth Group CEO Peter Chadlington. 

Pickard has more than 23 years of public-relations experience, including as North Asia President of Edelman prior to his Burson-Marsteller role, which he departed in October last year.

The move is "the first tangible step" in positioning Huntsworth for the opportunities its alliance with BlueFocus will bring, Chadlington said. He explained that it was important to address an imbalance in the company's business distribution: around 70 per cent is in the UK and Europe.

"Those markets are still depressed, and there are signs that they're going to get worse," Chadlington said. To balance matters, Huntsworth is concentrating on building its presence in North America and selected Asian markets. Chadlington said a regional office in Asia was essential for success.

Chadlington identified three main areas for growth in the region. The first, he said, would be Chinese companies wishing to expand into Europe and the UK, and European companies targeting China. He also pointed to a major opportunity in the healthcare sector: Huntsworth Health has a strong presence in Western markets. "Particularly in digital communications, [we believe] we are a long way ahead," he said.

He noted that Huntsworth was likely to open offices in other Asian markets once it had identified its priorities and where the fastest growth was likely to come from.

Pickard has experience serving clients in sectors including automotive, energy, financial, healthcare, resources, technology, and transportation. He also has a long history in sustainability issues and significant expertise in social-media communications.

"One of Bob's greatest strengths is that he has maintained an entrepreneurial view of life despite spending most of his career in a corporate environment," Chadlington said. "Having good regional leadership will help reduce the amount of time I have to spend in the air."

Editor's note: This story was updated to include comments from Peter Chadlington on 27 June.