About us

Managing Director

Dominique Backhouse

Dominique is the Managing Director of COMPANION, which offers bespoke advisory to the global hospitality sector to tackle their biggest challenges across communication strategies, reputation management and brand building in Asia, and beyond.

COMPANION has deep roots in Asia with two offices in Hong Kong and Singapore as well as a partnered office in the GCC. We've worked with some of the leading brands in hospitality, including Accor, Hyatt Group, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Raffles Hotels & Resorts, Shangri-La Group as well as Black Sheep Restaurants, Maximal Concepts, Hongkong Land, S.Pellegrino and many more.

Prior to opening COMPANION, Dominique managed the Asia-Pacific and Greater China communication strategy for COMO Hotels and Resorts. Before her time inhouse, Dominique spent over a decade agency-side in Asia where she specialised in supporting international hospitality brands enterting the Greater China and Asian regions for the first time.

In 2023, Dominique was named 40 Under 40 by Campaign Asia-Pacific, an award that showcases innovation, grit and boundary-pushing brilliance in the region.

The team

DIRECTOR OF CONTENT & STRATEGY | 10+ YEARS EXPERIENCE

Gavin Yeung

Gavin is Director of Content & Strategy at COMPANION.

Based in Hong Kong, Gavin brings over a decade of experience in the realm of luxury lifestyle media to COMPANION, having held senior editorial positions at the likes of Vogue Hong Kong, Tatler Hong Kong, and most recently at the South China Morning Post.

Gavin is also the Creative Director of Kinsman, the award-winning cocktail bar he co-founded in Hong Kong, where he applies his brand-building expertise, depth of understanding in the F&B and hospitality sectors, and real-world operational expertise.

Gavin’s fiercely creative eye and multidisciplinary skillset supports COMPANION in crafting incisive brand stories that resonate widely with luxury consumers, while positioning the agency strategically at the leading edge of the fast-changing communications space.

Head Of Travel | 15+ YEARS EXPERIENCE

Sneha Rupani-Nagpal

Sneha is Director of Travel PR at COMPANION.

Based in Singapore, Sneha joined COMPANION in 2021, focusing primarily on travel and hospitality clients including Raffles Hotels & Resorts, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Teardrop Hotels in Sri Lanka, Genghis Khan Retreat in Mongolia, Island Shangri-La in Hong Kong and Andaz One Bangkok, amongst others.

In addition to travel, Sneha’s deep knowledge of Singapore and SE Asia, its media and its influencers, are pivotal for broader launches - including F&B clients such as S.Pellegrino, Coravin, Black Sheep Restaurants and many more.

Before COMPANION, Sneha worked in-house for Burnt Ends Hospitality Group. Prior to this, she worked at many lifestyle agencies, with a focus on travel and hospitality brands.

SENIOR ACCOUNT DIRECTOR | 13+ YEARS EXPERIENCE

Jacqueline Shutt

Jacqueline is a Senior Account Director at COMPANION.

With over 13 years of experience in the industry working across London and Hong Kong, Jacqueline has an extensive knowledge of the media landscape and expertise in how to effectively craft and deliver creative campaigns for brands.

Jacqueline joined COMPANION in 2024 with a focus on travel and dining out of the Hong Kong office. Her clients include the launch of Capella at Galaxy Macau and Andaz One Bangkok in 2026. She also manages the retainers for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Island Shangri-La, Black Sheep Restaurants, and many others.

Jacqueline’s past experience across corporate, consumer and health accounts has led to a broad depth of knowledge and experience across a range of brands from London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall to Canon Europe, Deloitte and Royal Caribbean.

Hong Kong Director | 15+ YEARS EXPERIENCE

June Heung

June Heung is the Hong Kong Director at COMPANION.

Focused on Traditional Chinese strategy, content and media relations, June has deep local knowledge of how Hong Kong ticks, as well as international insight from 15 years of working with global brands.

June joined COMPANION in 2020 to lead Traditional Chinese strategy, focusing on building strong relations with local Chinese media and influencers, as well as translation, branding and positioning into the local language.

June has played a key role in launching dining clients that include Black Sheep Restaurants, Maximal Concepts, Bar Leone, The Arcane Collective by Shane Osborn, JIJA by Vicky Lau and TATE by Vicky Lau. June also handles the TC for hotel clients including Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Island Shangri-La and Capella at Galaxy Macau, amongst many others.

SENIOR ACCOUNT DIRECTOR | 15+ YEARS EXPERIENCE

Laura Smith

Laura Smith is a Senior Account Director at COMPANION.

With 15 years experience supporting boutique brands to globally renowned household names across a wide variety of corporate and consumer sectors in both London and Hong Kong.

Laura joined COMPANION in 2026 to help lead the growing roster of travel and dining accounts in Hong Kong. She handles the management for Leading Nation restaurants as well the launch of Don Pedro and Vikasa Evolution Retreats.

During her seven years in Hong Kong, Laura spearheaded accounts spanning F&B, travel, art, beauty, design, retail and technology – including brands such as Fortnum and Mason, Affordable Art Fair, Landmark, Rituals Cosmetics, Swire and Normann Copenhagen. Laura also has experience managing regional scopes, supporting renowned designers like Tara Bernerd and Joyce Wang.

SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR | 12+ YEARS EXPERIENCE

Karen Chiang

Karen the Social Media Director at COMPANION.

Originally from Hong Kong, but with time spent in both the UK and Singapore, Karen brings both a local and a global dimension to lead COMPANION. Karen joined Companion in 2022 and has since supported many hospitality clients with incisive strategy and fun creative content - including Capella at Galaxy Macau, The Aubrey at MOHKG,, BaseHall 01&02, The Hari Hong Kong and many more.

Having worked in-house and in an agency setting, Karen is experienced with creating strategies that are realistic and impactful, especially in the lifestyle and hospitality space. Her experience in editorial also gives her an eye for detail and storytelling.

She firmly believes that social media should be a big part of every brand’s communication strategy, integrating with PR and offline marketing to maximize every dollar and click.

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COMPANION goes beyond classic PR & Communications to advise public and private sector leaders on tourism and hospitality development in Asia, and beyond. ‍