Asia-Pacific Association of Communication Directors (APACD) & Edelman

Sharon Simmons didn't come to the Oval Office to talk geopolitics. She came to talk tips. And when pressed on transgender rights, on whether she voted for Trump, she did something most communications professionals struggle to do under pressure: she stayed on message.

"I'm here about no tax on tips."

That story opened APAC Advisors CEO Steven Okun's fireside chat with the Asia-Pacific Association of Communication Directors (APACD) — a network of Corporate Affairs and Communications professionals now integrated with PRCA — on how the geopolitical environment is reshaping expectations for the corporate affairs function. The session was moderated by Arun Sudhaman and hosted by Edelman colleagues Wai Leong Tang and Kenn Yee.

The through-line of the conversation: the best corporate affairs functions are ones where PR and Government Relations operate as one. Not briefing each other after the fact — building strategy together from the start. In a world where geopolitical risk surfaces faster than most organisations can respond, that integration is no longer a nice-to-have. It is the opportunity.

APAC Advisors' Noemie Viterale developed the content and presented the AI Trilemma — a framework every company deploying AI needs to be working through right now.