SINGAPORE—Edelman has hired Rupen Desai as executive vice chairman, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa. Desai, the former Asia Pacific regional president for Lowe + Partners, is charged with leading Edelman's efforts to deliver higher-end strategic and creative-led brand work across the region. Desai has worked across Mumbai, Dubai, Beirut, London, Bangkok and Singapore and led the global teams on Unilever’s "Dirt is good" detergent campaigns.

BEIJING—The International Communications Consultancy Organisation and the Chinese International Public Relations Association (CIPRA) have signed An agreement for cooperation in Shanghai. Maxim Behar, ICCO President and Zhao Dali, Secretary General of CIPRA signed the agreement the Shanghai International PR Summit. The agreement calls for an intensive exchange of information and training, regular meetings and the exchange of delegates in the Summits of both parties. There are also initial plans to organise an ICCO Summit in Beijing in 2020.

SEOUL—Ihn Chee has joined Burson-Marsteller as managing director and market leader for South Korea. Chee will serve as a member of Burson-Marsteller's Asia-Pacific regional leadership team and will focus on growing new business and providing strategic counsel to key clients in the market. She comes to Burson-Marsteller from Weber Shandwick in Korea, where she was senior vice president and integrated marketing team Lead. Earlier, she worked at Edelman Korea and InComm Brodeur.

HONG KONG—Instinctif Partners has appointed Crystal Chan as partner and general manager in its Hong Kong office, following client wins in Greater China including Du Pont, World First, Jupiter Asset Management, Guangdong Radio and Television and Hong Kong Arts Development Council. Chan joins Instinctif from The Women’s Foundation where she was Communications directo. Prior to that, she was corporate affairs director at Alibaba Group.

SHANGHAI—RF Thunder, sister company of Ruder Finn, has promoted Jefferson Hou and Cathy Gu to new leadership positions. Hou, who has been the general manager of RF Thunder Shanghai since 2014, has been promoted to head RF Thunder Greater China. Gu, who moved from Ruder Finn Guangzhou to RF Thunder Shanghai in 2015 as senior director to head the lifestyle practice, has been promoted to general manager of RF Thunder Shanghai.

GURGAON—SpiceJet has appointed former journalist Tushar Srivastava as head corporate communications. Srivastava has spent eight years covering the aviation sector, and has worked for the Hindustan Times, the Indian Express, the India Today Group, The Asian Age and The Statesman.

SYDNEY—Australian corporate and financial communication advisory firm Citadel-Magnus has promoted senior consultants Michael Weir and Matthew Gregorowski to partner. Weir previously held senior in-house roles in the resources industry and as a senior business reporter at The West Australian. Gregorowski has held senior consulting and in-house roles in Australia, the UK and South Africa.