Shawn Balakrishnan leads Hume Brophy in Southeast Asia

Communications consultancy Hume Brophy has poached Shawn Balakrishnan from a rival firm, appointing him as Director for its Southeast Asia operations. 

Shawn Balakrishnan brings over two decades of experience in the communications landscape to the firm, including over a decade in leadership roles at major industry peers. Prior to joining Hume Brophy, he was the market leader for Singapore and Southeast Asia at Burson Cohn & Wolfe. 

Previously, he was the general manager of The Hoffman Agency’s Singapore office, where he led the local team from strategy through to execution, and supported clients with end-to-end integrated communication strategies, branded content, social media engagement and crisis/issues management. He also was instrumental in rolling out innovative digital media campaigns across the region on behalf of the agency’s stable of clients. 

Now at Hume Brophy, a consultancy specialised in public affairs, relations and communications specialist with offices in Brussels, Dublin, London, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Frankfurt and Paris, Balakrishnan has been tasked with leading its growth ambition across Southeast Asia. 

Conall McDevitt, Hume Brophy’s CEO said: “Equipped with integrated communications skillsets and employee-first cultural leadership, Shawn represents the kind of change-maker we embrace at Hume Brophy to help us drive our forward-thinking regional growth strategy. He brings wide ranging expertise and experience to our growing team in Southeast Asia and will also play a critical role as a member of our global leadership team.”

Balakrishnan steps into the shoes of the former Carolyn Camoens, who departed the firm to pursue other interests after managing Hume Brophy’s regional presence since 2018.

Commenting on his new challenge, Balakrishnan said: “In our industry, we understand how organisations communicate can create impact and catalyse positive change, and Hume Brophy remains well-positioned to navigate our clients towards sustainable long-term success.” 

Hume Brophy was founded over ten years ago by John Hume and Eoin Brophy. Today, the professional services firm has over 100 employees.