Glodow Nead Communications Names Hwee Peng Yeo to Head New International Office

Former Starwood Executive to Lead Asian Market Development

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. January 06, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO, CA / SINGAPORE (January 5, 2010) - Glodow Nead Communications, LLC (GNC) (www.glodownead.com), a leading U.S. public relations agency headquartered in San Francisco, announced the appointment of Hwee Peng Yeo to the new position of director of Asian markets. The former director of corporate communications for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific, Yeo will head Glodow Nead's first international office in Asia. Yeo will divide her time between the agency's San Francisco and Singapore offices.

Glodow Nead Asia's focus is three-fold: to assist U.S. clients to establish a presence in Asia; to assist Asian clients to establish a presence in North America; and to assist Asia-based clients, including Asian divisions of U.S.-based companies, to establish and bolster their presence within Asia.

“Hwee Peng has established an exemplary reputation over the past 12 years as one of the top PR professionals in the Asia Pacific region,” said John Glodow, agency principal. “She is revered among her peers, treasured by her clients, and highly respected by her wide network of contacts in the media. We are extremely fortunate to have secured her services as we expand our client base and outreach throughout Asia.”

Glodow Nead will provide the same scope of results-oriented services in Asia as in the U.S., from brand audits and development of key messages to preparation of professional press materials to aggressive media outreach, message saturated placements, and building strategic relationships. With one-stop shopping at Glodow Nead, clients can reach Asian markets with the confidence of dealing with one of the leading lifestyle PR companies in the U.S., benefiting from cutting-edge strategies, proven effectiveness, personalized service and documented accountability, while avoiding difficulties such as currency fluctuation, inconvenient time differences, or the uncertain selection of a PR company in an unfamiliar market.

“As home to the fastest growing markets in the world, it is clear that Asia is the place to be right now,” noted Jeff Nead, agency principal. “The challenge is bridging the cultural gap and being assured that your efforts are well directed. We now offer that capability as a one-stop service, both to U.S.-based clients wishing to penetrate Asian markets and to Asia-based clients seeking to establish awareness in North America.”

During her 10-year tenure with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Yeo consistently engineered highly successful, strategically targeted media campaigns throughout the Asia Pacific region, including China, India, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and South Korea. She directed communications strategies -- including media relations, internal and investor communications, and crisis management -- for all of the Starwood Asia Pacific properties, including the St. Regis, Le Meridien, Sheraton, Westin, Luxury Collection, Four Points by Sheraton, W and aloft brands.

Prior to Starwood Asia Pacific's corporate role, Yeo served as head of public relations for The Westin Banyan Tree Bangkok and St. Regis Shanghai, each voted one of the world's top hotels by Conde Nast Traveler, Institutional Investor, Travel + Leisure, and others. Yeo's expertise played a significant role in establishing the St. Regis brand when the luxury hotelier first entered China and Shanghai. A Singapore native, Hwee Peng is fluent in English, Mandarin, Thai and a variety of Chinese dialects.

“While a key component of my new duties is to manage PR in Asia for our U.S. clients, I am also very excited about exposing Asia-based companies to Western markets,” said Yeo. “As Asian companies are getting support from their local governments to expand and grow their businesses overseas, the U.S. and Canada are prime targets for expansion. Glodow Nead Asia can play an important role in guiding Asian brands to effectively establishing themselves in North America.”

A leading U.S. communications agency, Glodow Nead's new Asia office will provide not only the strategic PR expertise to market services and products, but the thorough understanding of diverse Asian cultures and markets that are essential to achieve effective media relations and call-to-action consumer and business-to-business communications. Current clients of Glodow Nead Asia include Hong Kong-based toy and model manufacturer Kader Holding Companies Limited; real estate consultancy Sanuk Mak; W Retreat Koh Samui and The Residences at W Retreat Koh Samui; Savills Asia Pacific; Millennium Partners, a leading U.S. developer of five-star hotels and luxury condominiums, including Millennium Tower in San Francisco; and ChinaBio, producer of the largest biotech partnering event in North America.

In the course of a 30-year history publicizing an unusually wide array of consumer products and services, Glodow Nead transformed itself from one of the West Coast's foremost music and entertainment industry agencies into one of the premier lifestyle agencies in the U.S., representing an unusually diverse roster of clients spanning hotels and resorts, destination restaurants, premium wineries, high-end real estate, games and children's apparel, green investment and technology, high-profile individuals, cultural events and institutions, artisanal foods, and high-impact events such as Sir Richard Branson and Steve Fossett's record-breaking aviation exploits, the world-wide launch of the Pokemon trading card phenomenon, and eco-adventurer David de Rothschilds' upcoming Plastiki voyage.

Today Glodow Nead represents a diverse roster of recognized leaders, up-and-coming innovators, and progressive entrepreneurs in the areas of green technologies, environmental solutions, hospitality, entertainment, restaurants, wineries, specialty foods, travel destinations, retail, resorts, real estate, financial services, health care, and legal services.