Hill+Knowlton Strategies appoints new director

Hill+Knowlton Strategies Singapore has appointed Julia Lai as director  responsible for new business growth focusing on the healthcare, government and lifestyle sectors.Lai (pictured) will report to Baey Yam Keng, managing director of H+K Strategies Singapore.  She brings to H+K Strategies more than 15 years of communications experience in both government and corporate sectors.She has led corporate, consumer and healthcare practices and run regional public relations campaigns for blue chip clients. She has also provided senior and strategic counsel to clients in stakeholder communications, risk management and crisis communications, corporate responsibility initiatives and media relations.Most recently she was was the deputy general manager at The BrandStory.Lai also held senior positions in a number of international public relations agencies including Waggener Edstrom, Baldwin Boyle Shand and Lewis PR.Her client experience include multinational companies such as eBay, HTC, Research in Motion, National Geographic Channel, Abbott Laboratories, GE Healthcare, Clinique, EMC, Amadeus, Abacus, Carl Zeiss Vision, Audi, Lamborghini and the Singapore Sports Council.This is the agency's first senior hire since it faced several departures including that of digital practice lead Adrian Heng and executive director Monica Alsagoff.