LONDON--GolinHarris international president Jon Hughes is relocating to Hong Kong to drive the firm's Asian expansion.

Hughes, who was appointed as one of GolinHarris’ three new presidents last year, alongside Matt Neale and Gary Rudnick, will shift by the start of 2013. He will continue to report to GolinHarris CEO Fred Cook.

GolinHarris' Asian presence currently includes offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia.

“We have a strong network in Asia with a dynamic leadership team,” said Hughes. “My job is to grow our presence by bringing our clients deeper insights, bigger ideas and broader engagement.”

Hughes will look for acquisition opportunities for the firm in Asia, after helping orchestrate three European deals in the last 12 months -  digital agency Fuse, consumer lifestyle marketing firm Nicole Weber Communications and healthcare specialist Virgo Health.

He will also be responsible for bringing Golin's G4 model to life for clients and for expanding its network of real-time engagement centers, known as The Bridge, across the region.

“Jon’s list of accomplishments is long and impressive,” said Fred Cook, CEO of GolinHarris. “Together with Matt Neale, he has led our global expansion across Europe, while transforming our London office into one of the hottest brands in the market, which resulted in being named PRWeek’s 2012 International Consultancy of the Year. I have no doubt that he will do the same for our offices in Asia Pacific.”

Hughes joined GolinHarris in 2005 as joint MD with Neale, the duo arriving from sister firm Weber Shandwick. Before his four-year stint at Weber, Hughes spent three years at Ketchum.