HONG KONG--Hill+Knowlton Strategies has named John Morgan as its new Asia-Pacific head, following the exit of James Heimowitz.

Heimowitz steps down to "pursue other opportunities", after eight years with the firm.  He will continue as a senior advisor to assist with the leadership transition to Morgan, who joined H+K as the firm's Asia-Pacific COO earlier in the year following a lengthy stint at GolinHarris.

Heimowitz rejoined H+K in 2004 to head North Asia in tandem with Asia-Pacific chief Vivian Lines. A restructure last year saw Heimowitz handed additional oversight for Southeast Asia. The Middle East and India are now headed by Sconaid McGeachin, following the passing of Dave Robinson, while Sue Cook heads Australia. 

Heimowitz told the Holmes Report that when he rejoined H+K, the firm was "struggling."

"Since then, H+K Asia has grown tremendously to become a vibrant, award-wining agency," he added. "It has expanded both its geographic footprint with multiple new offices, as well as adding cutting edge functional expertise across service offerings. I am delighted with all that has been accomplished during my time leading the region."

“John is a communications veteran with more than a decade of experience managing agencies across Asia Pacific,” said H+K chairman and CEO Jack Martin, to whom Morgan will report. “I am confident he will continue his track record of building award-winning, high-performance offices in Asia as we continue to elevate the sophistication of our counsel and services."

Prior to joining Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Morgan served as regional managing director for the Greater China region for GolinHarris. At H+K, he will oversee a region with nearly 500 people working in 14 offices across Asia. 

“I am looking forward to working closely with the region’s senior leadership team, staff and clients,” said Morgan. “Hill+Knowlton Strategies has a long and rich tradition in Asia. We opened our first office in the region in the 1950s, and we have been at the forefront of many of the region’s groundbreaking communications and public relations work. I’m looking forward to leading our firm towards a period of sustained growth in the years to come as well as further sophistication of our services.”