HONG KONG—Newgate Communications has hired Kim Spear as a director, responsible for building the firm’s corporate, digital and business development functions. Her previous roles include Head of Corporate at Ketchum in Beijing and work with clients including Bank of America, Western Union, Bangkok Bank, Nokia Siemens Networks and McDonald's Corp.  Erin Tan joins as senior consultant to focus on deals and transactions, corporate and internal communications. She previously worked at Telstra.

CANBERRA—Vincent Sheehy has been appointed director, government relations, for Australian public affairs agency Parker & Partners. He will head Parker's Canberra operations. Sheehy brings a wealth of experience advising in government and opposition, including providing Ministerial advice in the areas of small business, deregulation, competition policy, consumer affairs, sustainable cities, defence, veterans' affairs, immigration and foreign affairs.

BEIJING—Burson-Marsteller has launched StepUp China, a new initiative led out of Beijing in conjunction with Chinese agency Flyfinger, designed to provide integrated communications solutions for Chinese start-ups. StepUp, first launched in India by Genesis Burson-Marsteller in 2014, provides two service models to help young companies: Custom Packages target innovative start-ups needing a more mature branding and integrated marketing communications infrastructure; Partnering for Growth Service targets companies with a relatively mature infrastructure and long-term service needs.

SYDNEY—Influencer marketing start-up Visual Amplifiers (VAMP) has appointed former George Patterson Y&R general manager Amy Luca as marketing director. During her stint at George Patterson Y&R, Luca served as business director for just over a year and GM for two years. Her previous roles include business director at Y&R in Shanghai and Y&R’s Shanghai agency Agenda, where she was digital strategy director. 

BENGALURU—Torque Communications has been awarded the public relations mandate for BlueStone, an online jewellery ecommerce firm. Torque will draw on its experience in building conversations and brand stature.