Bryan Matthews

Bryan has spent nearly 30 years in Asia, first as a journalist and then in public relations. He trained in journalism in England, worked on newspapers and magazines in the Middle East, and then was a correspondent in Asia covering regional issues. He prides himself on being one of the first reporters to enter Imelda Marcos’s bedroom and count her shoes. In 1987, he moved to Korea to manage international media relations for Seoul’s hosting of the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He later became a founding partner in the establishment of Korea’s first foreign-owned public relations consultancy which, after becoming the leading PR agency in the country, was acquired by Burson-Marsteller. Bryan was Market Leader of the agency and later held regional responsibilities until leaving B-M in 2009. He has led the development and implementation of national and regional programs for western multinationals targeting Asian markets and Asian firms expanding their global presence. He has worked with sponsors and organising committees for three Asian Games, on Olympic sponsorship programmes, and managed media relations for Korea’s successful bid to host the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He accompanied three Korean government delegations in support of presidential summits held in the United States. Bryan specialises in programme development, speechwriting and media relations strategies.

Bryan’s sporting passion is football (he says he played professional football; it was for San Miguel in the Philippines and he was actually mainly paid in beer but he thinks it still counts). Sadly for him, he supports Southend United. Google them and laugh.

To contact Bryan, please email Bryan.Matthews@watatawa.asia. You can also join him on Linked In or follow him on Twitter at @BryanJMatthews.