Former VC Iain Twine launches Harrup Advisory after departing Edelman

Iain Twine, Edelman Vice Chairman for the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, has departed the firm after 14 years to launch his own consultancy; Harrup Advisory.

Having joined in 2005, Singapore-based Edelman Vice Chairman for the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa – Iain Twine – has departed what is one of the world’s largest public relations firms to start his own agency, to be named Harrup Advisory after his two sons Harvey and Rupert. Twine has altogether more than twenty years of professional experience, having graduated the University of Queensland with a BA in Economics in 1999.

Upon graduation, Twine served local government agencies on economic development in both Australia and the UK, before landing an Associate Director role with Edelman’s office in London. From there, Twine soon found himself helping to establish the firm’s practice in the Middle East (which today boasts offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai with a headcount of 50-plus), named Edelman General Manager for the Middle East and Africa in 2008.

After nearly five years in the MENA region, Twine then returned to the Asia Pacific, establishing a base in Singapore to lead Edelman’s Southeast Asia and Australasia practice as regional CEO (which covered offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Australia, before taking on the Vice Chairman role for Edelman’s newly created reputation line in 2017 – responsible for leading 700 employees across 17 geographically dispersed offices.“In his 14 years with the firm, Iain helped to build a strong reputation practice spanning multiple geographies,” an Edelman spokesperson said. “He transferred from Edelman UK to be our first employee in the Middle East establishing Edelman’s presence in the region. In his time leading Southeast Asia and Australia and latterly overseeing the reputation business, Iain worked across a number of clients in the areas of corporate, crisis and issues management.”

Speaking with the Holmes Report, Twine revealed that he will continue on as a consultant to Edelman’s Middle East business and some clients in Asia. “I have truly loved this place,” he said. “I have been incredibly lucky to work for Richard Edelman and see how to get it done. I built a business for Edelman in the Middle East, and it was very rewarding. I want to hang up my own shingle and see how far we can go.”

“We are sorry to see Iain depart, but we’re pleased that we’ll continue working with him as a consultant, particularly on projects in the Middle East,” continued the Edelman spokesperson. “We would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge and thank him for the significant contributions he has made to our firm and wish him every success in this new chapter of his career.”

Twine follows in the footsteps of Edelman’s regional brand vice chair Rupen Desai – who departed the firm in January (but continues to serve as a board member for gender equality NGO Female Founders) – as well as two of his former leadership executives in the Middle East, Robin Gordon-Farleigh and Teri O'Donnell, who recently teamed up to launch their own local communications consultancy; Manara Global.

With its website already up and running, Twine’s new Singapore-based venture Harrup Advisory will offer services in corporate affairs advisory, litigation communications, executive training and global partnerships, with the site noting Twine’s background in having served over 1,500 clients in nearly 40 countries across the public and private divide, including those operating in the energy, technology, and healthcare sectors among others.