"The relocation reflects the growing importance of Asia-Pacific to our company — I am confident it will receive more, not less, attention as a strategic element of our global business," Harris said.
Harris joined Ruder Finn's Hong Kong office in 1999, when it was still called Ruder Finn Abbott, as a result of Ruder Finn's acquisition of a local agency. Later that year, she shifted the regional office of Ruder Finn Asia to Singapore, and subsequently oversaw the opening of five more offices in the region: Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Sydney.
Harris joined Ruder Finn's Hong Kong office in 1999, when it was still called Ruder Finn Abbott, as a result of Ruder Finn's acquisition of a local agency. Later that year, she shifted the regional office of Ruder Finn Asia to Singapore, and subsequently oversaw the opening of five more offices in the region: Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Sydney.
Following the announcement of Harris' relocation, the agency has named Jean- Michel Dumont to executive vice-president and managing director of North Asia. Dumont has been with Ruder Finn since 2001, and based in China for 15 years. He will head three offices in China and oversee the North Asian markets.
The PR agency has also appointed new managing directors for two of its Asian offices: Kirstin Austin and Prasanna Nair will manage the Australia and Singapore offices, respectively.Austin was formerly Sydney GM, while Nair joins from Fleishman-Hillard Singapore.
Meanwhile, the Singapore office has also been awarded a brief from the National Arts Council (NAC). Ruder Finn Singapore has been tasked with PR duties for the NAC's upcoming Singapore Biennale 2006.
