Asia-Pacific Power List 2025: Edward Bell, Cathay Pacific

Edward Bell

General manager, brand, insights and marketing communications
Cathay Pacific
Hong Kong
Returning member since 2023 

Under Bell’s leadership, Cathay Pacific has not only strengthened its premium travel experience and cargo branding, but also deepened customer engagement, social impact and brand reputation.

The past year’s standout achievement was the launch of Aria Suite, the airline’s redefined business class experience. The campaign ‘Where Artistry Takes Flight’ aimed to promote the suite’s sleek design, enhanced privacy, and state-of-the-art amenities. The campaign delivered significant lift in brand perceptions of comfort, innovation, and cabin quality. 

On the Cathay Cargo side, Bell and his team were able to solidify brand trust, expertise, and operational excellence through its ‘We Know How’ campaign, which led to a 13% uplift. Meanwhile, the Cathay Expert and Cathay Pharma campaigns drove strong engagement across SAMEA and SEA, particularly on social media, boosting brand consideration from 36% to 43%. Cathay’s sustainability initiatives and strategic partnerships further enhanced its global reputation, driving 5% increase in brand consideration and a 23% growth in trust. 

Plus, the brand’s ‘Every Move Counts’ campaign featuring Olympic swimmer Siobhán Haughey shined. The collaboration captured the hearts of Hongkongers and strengthened brand association by 13%, ultimately helping to secure Cathay’s entry into RepTrak’s Top 100 brands.

Recognising the power of strategic partnerships, Bell and his team also elevated Cathay Shop’s brand position, crafting a seamless online and offline retail experience. Through celebrity endorsements and engaging daily shopping content on its new Instagram platform, the brand showcased exclusive merchandise.

Blending creative storytelling and the Hong Kong spirit, the team recreated the airline’s inflight safety video which delivered a 4.2% combined engagement rate, well above the industry average, and 175,000 views on YouTube.

This same out-of-the-box thinking has also led to other industry firsts, such as Cathay’s first-ever sonic branding, ‘Song of Cathay’, a musical composition by the Asian Youth Orchestra that embodies the romance and excitement of travel. Integrated across lounges, aircraft, marketing assets, app notifications, and more, the campaign earned 21,000 views on Cathay.com with 13% higher engagement than the average article.

In the past year, Bell has shared his insights at various industry venues and events including the Milken Institute in Singapore and the Hong Kong IAB marketing conference. He also mentored others as part of the Swire Women’s Network.