SINGAPORE — Fon Mathuros Chantanayingyong has joined Edelman APAC as the firm’s chief media officer after 20 years with the World Economic Forum, most recently serving as head of media.

In the newly created role, Chantanayingyong is responsible for developing Edelman’s APAC strategic media offering, which will focus on counseling senior executives on media relations and training CEOs. She reports to APAC COO Bob Grove.

She is also charged with leading senior executive positioning and thought leadership for Edelman’s Asia-based clients, as well as for executives from other regions visiting Asia.

“Fon is a respected communications professional and understands the challenges CEOs contend with daily,” global CEO Richard Edelman said. “She will play a vital role in accelerating our strategic media relations offer in the region.”

Chantanayingyong brings expertise to the job garnered during her two-decade career at WEF, during which she trained top executives and managed the reputation of the WEF. She led a team of more than 650 staff in five cities around the world and was responsible for driving the WEF’s public engagement strategy.

In recent years, she has focused much of her attention on developing public engagement programmes with international organizations including the United Nations, the IMF, the World Bank and government bodies.