Julia Wei returns to Edelman as CEO

Julia Wei will be the next chief executive officer of Edelman Singapore, Campaign Asia-Pacific understands from a source, a week after leaving AKA Asia where she was the managing partner. In her new role, Wei will spearhead growth for the Singapore office and build on the agency’s innovation in earned-centric, integrated campaigns.

Wei spent more than nine years at Edelman between 2005 and 2015 before leaving for stints at The Secret Little Agency, Lazada and AKA Asia. Altogether, she brings over 17 years in experience in integrated communications—both in-house and agency.

Adrian Warr is currently the CEO of Southeast Asia, a role he has held for less than a year. Wei will report to him.

Plus, Yeelim Lee has been promoted to COO for Singapore, and will partner with Wei. Having spent eight years with the firm across Hong Kong and Singapore, he has held positions that built experience in regional client management, data and analytics, sector and practice leadership, and new business operations.  

The new leadership team in Singapore also sees Nisha Sivanandan as head of strategy and integrated client leadership; Jonathan Ha as head of digital and integrated solutions; Amanda Lam as director of human resources; and Xi Ling Lee as finance director.

Warr said in a statement, “Julia’s going to have three clear priorities. Firstly, maintaining the best agency culture in the market, secondly getting A-list fame for the amazing work we do with our clients, and thirdly, creating new ways of working in this fascinating hybrid world. Julia and Yeelim have very complimentary skillsets and experience. Together, they will lead the team to new frontiers.”

Editor’s note: This story was edited on September 5 to reflect the confirmation of Wei's appointment and other leadership appointments.