Former U.S. Ambassador, Commerce Under Secretary Lavin, Joins Edelman
To Run Asia Pacific Public Affairs Practice
May 04, 2009, Hong Kong -- Edelman, the world’s largest independent public relations firm, today named Franklin (Frank) Lavin to the position of Chairman, Public Affairs Practice, Edelman Asia Pacific. In this new role, Lavin will provide strategic counsel to clients reflecting the changing nature of the relationship between business and government in the Asia Pacific region.
According to the 10th Annual Edelman Asia Pacific Trust Barometer, 65 percent of opinion leaders surveyed in Asia Pacific believe that businesses should partner with governments and other third parties to help drive decision-making and set strategy on major societal issues. Further, more than two-thirds of the opinion leaders surveyed globally are calling upon governments to put further regulations in place across all industries.
“Lavin’s appointment will complement Edelman’s robust offer in corporate communications by applying his extensive government experience to insights driving client strategies, programs and, ultimately, business outcomes,” said Alan VanderMolen, President of Edelman’s Asia Pacific Region. “Based upon our Trust Barometer, in the region and globally, building and enhancing the relationship between government and business has never been more important.”
“I have spent most of my professional life helping companies succeed in Asian markets. I have worked with over 600 companies as they developed their strategies for China, India, and Southeast Asia, and the most frequent error was ignoring the vital role of government decision-making in these markets. Companies need to ensure they have solid government relations in the countries in which they operate to ensure they have the flexibility to pursue their commercial goals,” said Lavin.
Lavin has spent most of his professional life in senior business and government positions, which have equipped him with a deep knowledge about -- and deep experience in -- Southeast Asia, India and China. From 2001-2005, he served as the U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, during which time he negotiated the Free Trade Agreement between the US and Singapore.
In his government capacity, Lavin served as Under Secretary for International Trade at the US Department of Commerce and as lead negotiator for both China and India. In addition, Lavin has in-depth business experience in Asia, having worked in Hong Kong and Singapore in senior banking and management positions at Citibank and Bank of America from 1996 to 2001. He is also the former Managing Director and COO of Cushman & Wakefield Investors Asia, responsible for the firm’s private equity business and investor relations.
Lavin is bi-lingual in Mandarin. He will be based in Hong Kong, where he currently resides.
About the Edelman Trust Barometer
The 2009 Edelman Trust Barometer is the firm’s 10th trust and credibility survey. The survey was produced by research firm StrategyOne and consisted of 30-minute telephone interviews conducted using the fielding services of World One from November 5 - December 14, 2008. The 2009 Edelman Trust Barometer survey sampled 4,475 informed publics in two age groups (25-34 and 35-64). All informed publics met the following criteria: college-educated; household income in the top quartile for their age in their country; read or watch business/news media at least several times a week; follow public policy issues in the news at least several times a week.
About Edelman
Edelman is the world’s largest independent public relations firm, with 3,200 employees in 53 offices worldwide. Edelman was named "Large Agency of the Year" in 2008 by PRWeek and a top-10 firm in the Advertising Age "2007 Agency A-List," the first and only PR firm to receive this recognition. CEO Richard Edelman was honored as "2007 Agency Executive of the Year by both Advertising Age and PRWeek. PRWeek also named Edelman "Large Agency of the Year" in 2006 and awarded the firm its’ "Editor’s Choice" distinction. For more information, visit http://www.edelman.com.
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Alan VanderMolen alan.vandermolen@edelman.com |