We. Communications strengthens APAC advisory team with senior appointments

We. Communications has appointed Arif Rajab (pictured left) as managing director of its corporate advisors team across Asia Pacific, while promoting Brian Keenan (pictured right) to managing director of its newly expanded AI and data advisors practice.

The appointments are aimed at strengthening the agency's advisory capabilities across corporate reputation, business transformation and artificial intelligence as it expands its consultancy offering in the region.

Rajab joins from Weber Shandwick, where he most recently served as general manager for Singapore. He spent a decade with the agency, leading integrated communications and corporate advisory programmes across Asia Pacific. Before joining Weber Shandwick in 2016, Arif held roles at AKA Asia, Cohn & Wolfe and Brand Incorporated.

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In his new role, Rajab will lead We. Communications' corporate advisors team across Singapore and the wider region, providing strategic counsel on corporate reputation, communications and brand strategy.

Meanwhile, Keenan has been promoted after five years with the agency, having most recently served as executive vice president and international head of insights and analytics.

He first joined We. Communications in 2020 as head of strategy, Australia, following a three-year stint at Weber Shandwick as SVP planning and head of business intelligence, Australia, and six years at Ketchum where he was senior insights, strategy and creative planner. 

At We. Communications, Keenan lead We. Communications' AI and data advisors team, which supports organisations in areas including data governance, AI workflow transformation, agentic commerce, and AI branding and content.

Both Rajab and Keenan will report to Nitin Mantri, president, APAC, We. Communications, and will join the agency's APAC leadership team and global advisory group.

According to Mantri, the appointments reflect growing demand from clients for integrated strategic counsel as organisations navigate increasingly complex communications and business challenges.

"Clients are facing increasingly complex corporate communications challenges that demand integrated strategic counsel. Arif and Keenan bring deep regional experience and trusted advisory expertise that will strengthen how we help organisations navigate reputation, stakeholder expectations and business transformation across Asia Pacific," Mantri said.

Commenting on his role, Arif said: "I am excited to be joining We. at a time when reputation has become one of the most important drivers of trust, resilience and growth. There is a clear need for corporate and brand advisory that is both anticipatory, integrated and commercially relevant." 

In tandem, Keenan said: "AI is the defining business question of this decade. For most organisations, the opportunity still outweighs the practical benefit. We created AI & Data Advisors to help leadership teams bridge that gap with pragmatic, business-focused advice that turns AI ambition into measurable impact." 

We. Communications' latest appointments reflect a wider shift across the communications industry, with agencies investing in specialist AI advisory capabilities alongside traditional corporate communications. Earlier this year, TEAM LEWIS named Fairil Yeo executive vice president, AI and growth in a newly created global role focused on scaling AI-enabled services and supporting clients' AI transformation efforts.

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