Speakers

Marion Ang

Co-Founder, TriOn & Co

Madan Bahal

Co-Founder and Managing Director, Adfactors PR

Madan Bahal is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Adfactors PR, India's largest and most recognised public relations firm. Founded in 1997, Adfactors PR is also the youngest and the only independent firm in its peer group in India.

Over the last 25 years, Mr Bahal has had the privilege to serve as a lead communication counsel in many of the milestone events of Corporate India, including fundraises, M&As, disputes, litigations, issues, and crises. The firm currently serves over 700 retained clients, including many of India’s leading conglomerates, corporations, unicorns, financial institutions, and NGOs.

In September 2022, the Arthur W. Page Society inducted Mr Bahal into its Hall of Fame. Some of the prominent recognitions that he has received so far include: International Communications Consultancy Organization’s (ICCO) Hall Of Fame (November 2017), PRovoke’s Individual outstanding achievement in Asia-Pac (September 2013), Communicator of the Decade by the Public Relations Council of India (PRCI), and the Life Time Achievement Award by the Public Relations Society of India (PRSI).

In October 2020, PRovoke recognised his firm as one of the seven global agencies of the decade.

A vocal advocate of continuous learning and development for PR practitioners, Mr Bahal is regarded for providing leadership to the Indian PR industry during major adverse events such as the global financial meltdown during 2008, and the two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Bahal is also a member of the governing council of The Yoga Institute, Mumbai – the world's oldest body of organised yoga teaching. He lives in Mumbai with his wife, Dolly, and sons, Neil and Gautam.

Camillia Dass

APAC Editor, PRovoke Media

Celia Harding

Founder, LEOPRD

Adam Harper

Founder & Managing Partner, Ashbury Communications

Adam is the Founder and Managing Partner of Ashbury, which he launched in Hong Kong in 2020 with the mission of helping clients build intelligent reputations.

The firm now employs 25 people in four locations, serves clients with over $4 trillion of assets and is recognised as one of the 20 Best PR Agencies in the World by PRovoke Media.

He was previously a senior communications executive at HSBC in Hong Kong between 2012 and 2020, starting as Regional Head of Communications for Global Banking and Markets for Asia Pacific before becoming Head of Communications for Hong Kong and finally Head of Communications for Greater China.

Before HSBC, Adam was a Vice President in Credit Suisse’s Asia Pacific corporate communications team from 2008 to 2012. He began his career in London with Euromoney Institutional Investor in 2002 and moved to Hong Kong in 2004 as EuroWeek’s Asia Editor. He has lived and worked in Asia since then.

Adam lives in Singapore with his wife and three children. He is a graduate of the University of Cambridge. 

Paul Holmes

Founder & CEO, PRovoke Media

Paul Holmes, founder and chair of PRovoke Media, has been writing about public relations for more than 25 years. Paul began his career in local newspapers in the north of England and also worked for a newspaper group in South London before joining PR Week as news editor in 1985.

In 1987 he moved to New York to launch the short-lived US edition of that publication, and after that project came to an inglorious end worked with Adweek and Adweek’s Marketing Week for a year.

In 1989, he launched his own company, initially publishing Inside PR, and later Reputation Management magazine, both focused on providing analysis of critical trends and issues in the public relations industry. He created the annual Public Relations Agency Report Card, which included profiles of the leading PR firms in the US, and the Creativity in Public Relations Awards, which grew to become the largest in North America.

Early in 2000, Holmes launched The Holmes Group, which provides knowledge and insight to public relations professionals across a variety of platforms, including a website, an e-newsletter, events, printed reports, research and consulting assignments, and the SABRE Awards competition. The group’s flagship title, PRovoke Media (p/k/a The Holmes Report), covers the public relations business in the Americas, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) and the Asia-Pacific region. In 2011, Paul was inducted into the ICCO Hall of Fame.

Kelly Johnston

Chief Operating Officer, Sandpiper

Kelly is the global Chief Operating Officer for Sandpiper – Asia Pacific’s largest independent reputation and policy management consultancy. In her role she oversees operations based across 15 markets. An experienced consultant, Kelly specialises in advising clients in complex and highly regulated industries globally on strategic communications and policy challenges and issues, across a range of industries – from energy to financial services and enterprise technology. A shareholder and member of the firm’s Executive Leadership Team, she spearheads the innovation of Sandpiper's capabilities, as well as the firm’s AI transformation programme. Kelly has a special interest in ESG and sustainability strategy and communications. Her 20-year career spans consultancy and inhouse corporate affairs roles covering Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East. In 2020 she was named one of Campaign Asia’s Top 40 Under 40 for communicators in the region, in 2023 she was included in PRovoke Media’s Innovator 25 list, and in 2025 she was named as a Woman to Watch in the marketing and communications industry by Campaign Asia.

Amanda Koh

Head of Client Growth, APAC, Edelman

Lin Kuek

Managing Director at Vero, Head of Sustainability Communications, ASEAN

Kelly Kwon

General Manager, The Hoffman Agency

Dr. Kelly Kwon is General Manager of The Hoffman Agency Korea, with more than 25 years of experience in corporate communications, reputation management and technology storytelling. Her areas of expertise include data-driven insights, PR measurement, messaging strategy, ESG communications, and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), an emerging area she is actively advising companies on as AI reshapes brand visibility and reputation.

Prior to Hoffman, Kelly served as Vice President at Allison+Partners Korea and held a senior director role at Dunnhumby, the global data science company, where she developed deep experience in translating data and insights into business and communications strategies. She has also taught advertising and public relations as an adjunct professor at Hanyang University.

Beyond her corporate roles, Kelly has served as a board member and PR Director of Women in Innovation, advocating for greater diversity in corporate leadership. She was named to PRovoke Media’s Innovator 25 Asia-Pacific in 2026 and holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration.

Jie Qi Lee

Senior Vice President, Edelman Intelligence

Lauren Myers-Cavanagh

Head of Communications, Asia, Microsoft

Diane Rozario

Client Services, CARMA

Diane Rozario is a Regional Client Services Manager at CARMA, a global technology and consulting organisation helping clients monitor and analyse communications, reputation and the media landscape. Based in CARMA's Singapore office, she oversees service delivery and client satisfaction across the region, working closely with clients to turn media and public opinion data into practical communications strategy. She holds a major in Communications from Nanyang Technological University and is AMEC certified.

Jess Tang

Founder, mavic.ai

Kelly Weber

Head of Communications, Aquila Clean Energy

Kelly is Head of Communications at Aquila Clean Energy APAC, a renewable energy developer and independent power producer, where she leads internal and external communications. She is also leading the implementation of a generative AI tool across the business and leads Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), planning engagement activities in Singapore and collaborating with colleagues across the region.

Prior to Aquila, she founded and ran Refiine, a branding and communications consultancy, delivering end-to-end communications and brand work for clients across technology, education, energy and start-ups. Her earlier career includes regional sales management roles in retail across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Asia.

Kelly holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Toronto and is a certified Strategic Communication Management Professional (SCMP®). She is also a member of the Sustainability Working Group at PRCA APAC and hosts Dinealogue, a dinner series connecting communications and marketing professionals through food and storytelling.