Bastion Reputation Management, the corporate affairs and strategic communications firm within the Bastion Collective, has appointed Michele Fonseca to the role of head media trainer and Ibrahim Rasheed as senior media strategist.
As head media trainer, Michele Fonseca will take a leading role in Bastion Reputation Management’s growing media training and facilitation practice.
She will apply her extensive media training, executive coaching and strategic and change management skills to support senior executives in telling an authentic and compelling organisational story.
Prior to joining Bastion Reputation Management, Michele had extensive experience as a journalist working across some of the ABC’s flagship programs including ABC News, The 7.30 Report, AM and PM.
After a stint as a communications consultant, Michele returned to the ABC in senior management roles.
She worked as the head of strategy and staff development for ABC News where she focused on the ABC’s transformation to a 24/7 digital news service.
Later, she worked as the ABC’s head of community engagement, diversity & inclusion where she supported women and culturally diverse employees into senior leadership positions across the organisation.
Ibrahim Rasheed joins the agency after spending two years as head of corporate communications at Bank of Maldives, the island nation’s largest retail bank.
Ibrahim has also worked in various communications roles at the United Nations and spent three years as Under Secretary at the President’s Office in Maldives.
He will join the agency’s growing media & insights practice.
Brian Walsh, the MD at Bastion Reputation Management, said that both Fonseca and Rasheed would help complement the existing expertise within the business and continue to expand the support RM provides its clients across business, Government, sport and community.
Walsh said: “We are thrilled to have secured the services of both Michele and Ibrahim and both bring a wealth of knowledge and experience as well as unique skills that will help to round out our team at Bastion Reputation Management.
“It has been a busy few years for Bastion Reputation Management and our focus remains on providing clients with honest and strategic advice to help build their own internal capability to make the right decisions when dealing with complex issues.
He added: “There is a growing trend from board directors to drive their executive teams to focus on reputation as part of business as usual rather than what they have traditionally done, which is to focus on a tick-a-box risk compliance process that asks whether something is legal than if it is fair or the right thing to do.
“Good organisations are no longer prepared to wait for a crisis to emerge or a Royal Commission to be called before finding out if they have their house in order.
“What we are seeing now is a steady increase in the number of organisations approaching us to help them develop proactive reputation management processes and put in place crisis preparedness plans before something happens.”
