Bastion Amplify NZ adds four new hires

Bastion Amplify has continued to expand in 2024 with four new hires joining the PR and social media team.

After experiencing significant growth in 2023 across its corporate, B2B, consumer and social media offerings, Bastion Amplify welcomes a new social media director, PR senior business director, PR business director and PR business executive.

Social media director, Hamish Russell joins Bastion Amplify after a decade of navigating some of New Zealand’s most-loved brands through the ever-changing world of social media. Russell’s experience spans digital and social media strategy and content creation for brands such as Mitre 10, Four Square, Re:News and Les Mills New Zealand.

Alex Hema joins as PR senior business director. Hema’s extensive experience spans communications strategy, strategic communications counsel, media relations, issues management, event management, publicity, internal communications, advocacy and stakeholder engagement. She brings wide sector knowledge from health, to travel and technology.

Says Joanna James, general manager, Bastion Amplify: “We’re beyond thrilled to have built a team with such diverse experience since launching late last year. Working closely with the wider Bastion Shine Creative, Make, Digital and Transform teams has enabled us to address our clients’ business challenges with communications solutions that are agnostic of a particular discipline and results-focused.”

Carrie-Ann Carrasco and Annālida Jaegar join the team as PR business director and business executive respectively.

Carrasco brings a wealth of government relations experience to Bastion Amplify, after more than six years in communications roles for NZ Parliament, the Ministry of Education and most recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

Jaegar joins Bastion Amplify as a bachelor of communications graduate, most recently working in communications for Universities New Zealand.

Says Simon Curran, CEO, Bastion Shine: “The Amplify offering and the team Jo has built has quickly demonstrated the ability to tightly link our strategic and creative work through owned and earned channels, proving a powerful combination. It’s an area of the business we’ll continue to grow, as our clients are already seeing results.”

Bastion Amplify is the PR and social media arm of Bastion Shine. The team works with many of Australasia’s most loved brands to develop communications, social media and content, and influencer strategies, as well as narratives that drive impact.

(Pictured top row: Carrie-Anne Carrasco (PR business director), Joanna James (general manager Bastion Amplify), Ophelia Buckleton (PR business director). Bottom row: Mac Mayerhofler (social media manager), Annālida Jaeger (PR and social business executive), Alex Hema (PR senior business director), Hamish Russell (social media director), Grace MacCormick (PR business manager)