JEAN-MICHEL DUMONT
Chairman, Ruder Finn Asia

In 2009, Jean-Michel Dumont will mark his 23rd year in Asia, mainly in Greater China. His expertise has helped Ruder Finn to become one of the top 5 international PR agencies in the Mainland China market and a recognized leader in several areas, including automotive, healthcare and corporate programs. He was promoted to Chairman of Ruder Finn Asia at the end of 2008. In his new role, he is responsible for the growth and development of Ruder Finn Asia, devising Asia-wide strategic direction for Ruder Finn and setting the tone on how Ruder Finn Asia business is managed.

To provide counsel on Asia strategies, Mr. Dumont draws on his knowledge and experience from many different types of campaigns for a broad spectrum of clients. In the arena of corporate communication and public affairs, he led accounts that included the Finnish Foreign Trade Association and was involved with the Beijing 2000 Olympic Bid Committee as well as the Beijing government communication support during the SARS period. He has also been involved in positioning and product launches for global clients, including Mars Inc., Danone and Procter & Gamble, and was involved in issues management ranging from labor dispute to market withdrawal and product tampering in a range of industries. His lengthy experience in Asia gives Mr. Dumont a thorough understanding of how to create and implement image-building programs throughout the region.

Mr. Dumont joined Ruder Finn after more than 12 years with Edelman China. A native of France, he is fluent in French, English, Spanish and Portuguese and has a working knowledge of Mandarin, Italian and Indonesian.

Ng Chip Keng
Managing Director, Hong Kong & Singapore

Chip manages the Hong Kong and Singapore operations, and is responsible for driving Ruder Finn Asia’s growth as well as overseeing major client relationships in these countries.

Chip joined Ruder Finn Asia in June 2010, bringing more than sixteen years of strong track record as an in-house and agency communications professional with a broad range of communications experience encompassing the corporate, financial, issues management, investor relations as well as litigation support segments of the public relations industry.

Prior to Ruder Finn, Chip was a Senior Vice President and Head of Weber Shandwick’s Financial Practice in Singapore.  With nearly ten years at Weber Shandwick, Chip has worked with market leaders from a variety of industries such as industrial, manufacturing, property, food and beverage, hospitality, legal, telecommunications, education, logistics, retail, utilities, as well as professional and financial services.   Clients included Asia Pacific Breweries, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, Chemoil Energy, Emaar Properties, Forbes, Singapore Exchange, Singapore Post, Pacific Andes, UBS AG, LaSalle Investment Management, The Royal Bank of Scotland, AXA Private Equity, GE Money and Prudential Financial.  

Chip led several local and regional award-winning PR campaigns at Weber Shandwick, including successful public and investor relations campaigns for Singapore Post’s and STX Pan Ocean’s Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) as well as Robinson & Co’s investor relations campaign.

Before Weber Shandwick, Chip spent six years working in-house at a SembCorp Industries subsidiary, where he was responsible for developing and implementing public and investor relations programmes for the Group’s industrial parks in China, Indonesia and Vietnam. 

Chip holds an M.B.A. in International Business and a B.Bus. in Communications and Marketing from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia. He is also an accredited member of the Institute of Public Relations in Singapore (IPRS).  Chip is fluent in English, Mandarin, several Chinese dialects and a working knowledge of Bahasa Indonesia.

GAO MING
General Manager, Ruder Finn Shanghai

Gao Ming has over ten years experience in Communications in China, ranging from Corporate and Marketing Communications to Event Management, from Crisis and Issue Management to Media and Crisis Training, as well as Interactive Marketing and ePR.

Gao Ming provides strategic consultation and manages communications programs for a wide variety of sectors such as premium consumer, manufacturing, finance, healthcare, travel and tourism, and government. His main clients include Bayer, Bang & Olufsen, Calyon, Credit Agricole, Carrier, Canali, Cartier, Citi, DBS, Harley-Davidson, Emirates Airline, Hermes, Montblanc, Warner Bros, Moet Hennessy Diageo, Singapore EDB, SG Private Banking and Wyeth.

With a strong background in technology and his expertise in Interactive Marketing and ePR, Gao Ming provides clients with online communication strategies and programs to reach their target audience. He is Internet savvy and had started blogging in 2004.

As an experienced crisis and issue management specialist, Gao Ming has successfully managed numerous crisis and issue communications projects, ranging from downsizing to market pull-out, product recall to scandal containment, and trademark dispute to litigation support.

Gao Ming first joined Ruder Finn Shanghai in 2005 as Senior Consultant to lead the Premium Consumer team and then as Account Director to head the Corporate Team. In March 2008, he was promoted to General Manager of Ruder Finn Shanghai.

Prior to Ruder Finn, Gao Ming founded and managed West Village Agency, a boutique Public Relations firm based in Shanghai. His major clients included Tissot, Nike, Vichy, Maybelline and Kerastase.

Before moving into Public Relations, Gao Ming was involved in the media industry covering print media, television and the Internet.

Gao Ming graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree.

SHARON LIAO
General Manager, Ruder Finn Guangzhou

Sharon joined Ruder Finn Shanghai on June, 2002 and currently leads Ruder Finn’s Guangzhou operation which is one of the largest international firms in South China.

Sharon’s profound knowledge of and experience in devising micro media strategies have helped countless clients navigate real and potential crisis scenarios that can emerge in a highly competitive marketplace. She hasbeen instrumentally managed a portfolio of blue chip accounts of Ruder Finn China including Hennessy (Prestige and X.O. brands), Michelin, International Copper Association, Glenfiddich Single Malt Whisky and Canadian Tourism Commission, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.) among others. Communications for these clients, covering a wide spectrum of Public Relations services, conducted at both the local and national levels with media, trade and celebrity involvement have polished her reputation in the industry.

In addition, she’s also an experienced trainer of media handling and crisis management by managing over 20 training sessions for CEOs and senior management teams of multinational corporations. Her recent clients include Amoy Ajinomoto and Merrill Lynch’s Arm of Investment Banking who invited her to be the trainer and consultant to train the executives or its clients to get momentum to deal with media or present before investors.

Prior joining Ruder Finn, Sharon spent two years with Edelman PR and drove several key accounts in South China, such as Ericsson, UPS, P&G Rejoice, Wrigley Chewing Gum Company mainly in corporate communications fields.

Before that, Sharon worked in the Humanities Division of the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology as a Teaching Assistant while she completed her Master of Philosophy degree in Cultural Studies. She’s one of the three under-graduates in Guangdong Province selected to be granted studentships in Hong Kong by the State Ministry of Education & HKSAR. Sharon got her Bachelor’s degree from Zhongshan University in Chinese Language and Literature and minored in Economics with First Honoured. Before that, Sharon was a freelance journalist with the Economic Desk in Yang Cheng Evening News and New Express, where she developed her comprehensive media relations and editorial skills.

Leon Liu
General Manager, Ruder Finn Beijing

After three years on the corporate side, Leon rejoined Ruder Finn in 2010 as General Manager of Beijing. Leon has over 15 years experience in both PR communications and media. From 2001 to 2007, Leon worked for Ruder Finn as an Account Director in charge of the company’s corporate practice covering such industries as manufacturing, energy, automobile, and finance. During that period, he developed an array of PR and communications expertise and skills such as strategic planning, media relations, issues /crisis handling and event management.

In 2008, Leon joined Vestas China, the world’s leading wind power solution provider, as Senior PR Manager and in 2009, was appointed as interim Head of Communications. At Vestas, Leon was in charge of the company’s China media communications strategy and program planning. He served as its Chinese language spokesperson in the local market.

Prior to joining Vestas China, Leon worked with Accor Group, the European hospitality industry leader, as the PR & Communications Director in its Greater China headquarters in Shanghai. At Accor he was responsible for both corporate reputation management and marketing communications for its six brands from luxury Sofitel to economy Ibis in the China market. Leon was also the communications manager in Accor Group’s risk management team during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Before first joining Ruder Finn, Leon worked for Kimberly-Clark China as a PR specialist and Beijing Radio Station as a reporter and moderator.