SEOUL — Weber Shandwick has elevated Tyler Kim to regional vice chair, the latest in a series of senior staff moves at the Interpublic PR firm.

Kim joins Darren Burns, who was also named Asia-Pacific vice chair in 2018. Kim will retain his current roles of North Asia MD (excluding China) and regional crisis head, while expanding oversight of the firm’s outbound business strategy for Asia-based clients. 

Burns, who is based in Singapore, will now focus more on developing client-led opportunities in the region’s emerging markets. Both Kim and Burns continue to report to Asia-Pacific CEO Baxter Jolly.

Kim's elevation comes after several staff moves since Gail Heimann was named global CEO of Weber Shandwick last year. Weber Shandwick’s European and Asia-Pacific leadership, in the shape of Tim Sutton and Jolly, respectively, now report to chief growth officer Susan Howe, for example.

“Tyler has been a key driver of Weber Shandwick’s Asia business success this past decade," said Jolly. "He has built our Korean business – now one of our most successful markets – from the ground up. He’s bolstered our Japan business on the back of his North Asia appointment, and has partnered with some of the world’s most recognised Korea- and Japan-based brands on their global expansion."
 
Kim joined Weber Shandwick in 2009, after previously leading Edelman Korea.