Chapter co-leads
Asiya Bakht
CEO & Founder, Beets Public Relations
Umesh Nair
Communications and CSR Director, East Asia & Singapore Malaysia, Alstom
To get involved in our Singapore activities, please email us
APACD Board
Keith Morrison is Director of Marketing and Communications for Black & Veatch, based in Singapore. He has served on the Asia-Pacific Association of Communication Directors Board since 2017, becoming treasurer in 2020. Keith supports the growth and transformation of Black & Veatch, an employee-owned engineering and construction company with a 100-year legacy of innovations in sustainable infrastructure. His role includes both Asia Pacific as well as strategic content and brand communications initiatives globally. He has broad experience across both B2B marketing and communications having served for two years establishing and leading the company's global marketing strategy function which reintroduced the company's brand to new client segments and across a broader range of services. In-house at Black & Veatch for more than 10 years, he started as the communications lead in the region. Keith has more than 20 years' experience. His career has focused primarily on integrated communications and marketing roles, working in Ireland, the UK, China, Korea and Singapore. From his time as a PR consultant, he is proud of helping Ireland achieve its EU packaging recycling targets ahead of schedule and defending the reputation of a major Irish teaching hospital, shaping Kia Motors and Hankook Tire as global brands, and representing Microsoft in Dublin, Seoul and Singapore. He also has experience as a radio broadcaster.
PresidentKeith Morrison
Director, Regional MarketingBlack & Veatch
Shruti Bose is the Head of Communications & Public Affairs for the Asia Pacific region at Roche Diagnostics. In this role, she is responsible for leading the regional corporate communications function, spanning public affairs, digital communications and employee ambassadorship. A trusted partner to the business, Shruti advises senior leaders on executive communication and external engagement activities. A firm believer in the power of integrated communications, Shruti oversees programs that help to shape the company’s reputation and thought leadership. Many of these have won industry recognition and awards including for Best PR Campaign of the Year. Before Roche Diagnostics, Shruti spent 10 years at leading global communications agencies, including Edelman and Weber Shandwick.
Vice PresidentShruti Bose
Head of Communications & Public AffairsRoche Diagnostics
Rachana is a passionate leader who believes that communications is a core leadership & strategic function in any progressive organization and has a record of outstanding success in high growth companies across global environments. She is a selected mentor at the Government of India’s Atal innovation program to build a culture of innovation the country and a founding board member of GWPR India (Global Woman in PR). She was also a recipient of the Individual Achievement SABRE award, Asia-Pacific in 2019.
Board MemberRachana Panda
VP & Country Group Head Comms, PA & Sustainability (South Asia)Bayer
Azmar is based in Singapore and is the head of communications and society, Asia-Pacific for Diageo, providing strategic counsel and support to Diageo's Asia-Pacific business. Azmar was previously Asia-Pacific director of strategic communications and marketing for The Nature Conservancy. Prior to the Nature Conservancy, where she spent almost seven years, Azmar headed the Asia-Pacific communications function for the Financial Times, after holding senior comms roles at Time and Fortune magazines, and with Microsoft's MSN division. Azmar is also a founding board member and current President of the Asia-Pacific Association of Communication Directors.
Board MemberAzmar Sukandar
Head of Communications & Society, Asia-PacificDiageo
Michael Chapnick is the APEC Secretariat's Communications and Public Affairs Director and is based in Singapore. He is the principal communications advisor providing strategic counsel to the executive director, host governments and 21 member economies that account for 59% of global GDP, 48% of international trade and 39% of the world's population. Michael is responsible for communicating APEC's key messages, engaging stakeholders and supporting member economies to build awareness and understanding of policies and outcomes. This includes oversight of communications, public affairs, media, outreach, publications, corporate affairs and digital activities. Michael holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy and BA in International Relations from Beloit College.
Board MemberMichael Chapnick
Director of Communications & Public AffairsAPEC Secretariat
Rimmi is a passionate communicator with diversified international experience of 21 years across corporate reputation management, brand communications, crisis management, corporate social responsibility and public relations; committed to ED&I and empathetic servant leadership; dedicated to develop the next-gen; serving as a board member, Asia Pacific Association of Communications Directors (APACD) and other industry associations as a mentor to young professionals; recognized as one of the 20 Global Indians in Communications by Reputation Today magazine in 2020.
Board MemberRimmi Harindran
Senior Director - Corporate Affairs, Asia Middle East & AfricaKellanova
Sylvia is currently the Global Head of Communications for Vistra – a leading fund administrator and corporate services provider. She manages all of Vistra’s internal and external communications globally. Sylvia started her career in government affairs and has over 20 years of experience in strategic communications, issues management, brand and public policy across public and private sector industries, most recently having held senior roles at Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Cigna. Sylvia holds a Master of Public Policy Administration (MPA) from University of Southern California, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from University of California, Irvine – The Paul Merage School of Business, and a Bachelor of Arts (BA), Political Science from University of California, Irvine. She is also currently the Chair of the APACD Hong Kong Chapter.
Board MemberSylvia Choe Evans
Global Head of CommunicationsVistra Group
Linda Lee is senior director, communications and society, travel retail with Shiseido. Based in Singapore, Linda brings almost two decades of experience in communications and marketing leading teams across Asia-Pacific. Prior to Shiseido, she held positions at Docquity and LinkedIn. She started her career with communications consultancies including Weber Shandwick and MSL Group where she worked in Shanghai, New York City, as well as Singapore. Linda has led award-winning campaigns and teams across the APAC region and in 2019, Linda was nominated and named as one of the top 25 innovators in Marketing and Communications in APAC by PRovoke. Linda holds an Executive MBA from Brown University and IE Business School and a Bachelor's degree in Communications and Information from Wee Kim Wee School of Communications and Information, Nanyang Technological University. Outside of work, she loves building Lego, reading, and running.
Board MemberLinda Lee
Senior Director, Communications and Society, Travel RetailShiseido