Zymix hires Alibaba executive as corporate affairs chief. Hotwire has also won the media relations brief for the Gen Z-focused social platform's launch across UK universities this autumn. LONDON - Social technology start-up Zymix has appointed former Alibaba Group executive Nikita Sun as chief strategy and corporate affairs officer ahead of a wider rollout across UK universities this autumn. Sun (pictured) will lead strategy and growth for Zymix, working across product, marketing and corporate affairs to shape the company's UK market strategy, consumer proposition and positioning. Zymix has also appointed Hotwire to handle media relations around the launch, adding the start-up to the technology agency's UK client roster. The company is developing what it describes as an all-in-one social "super-app" for Gen Z consumers aged over 18, bringing together messaging, communities, events, short-form video, payments, content creation and mini apps on one platform. The app is currently available in beta ahead of the university rollout. Zymix is positioning the platform as an alternative to the increasingly fragmented digital experience of moving between multiple apps to communicate, discover content, organise events and make payments. Its initial target audience includes university students and young professionals. Unusually for a social media platform, Zymix says its aim is to help its Gen Z users spend less time online, rather than encouraging them to remain on the app. By bringing messaging, payments, events and other services together, it hopes to reduce the time young people spend switching between different platforms. Sun has 14 years of experience across technology, AI, cloud and digital innovation, with a particular focus on consumer behaviour, communications and culture. At Alibaba Group, she was director of brand marketing and government affairs, leading brand strategy, integrated campaigns and technology product launches across international markets. She has also worked on initiatives intended to increase the technology group's market visibility, customer engagement and commercial growth. Sun said Zymix was responding to "a fundamental shift in the way people experience technology". "Digital services have become increasingly fragmented, with consumers moving between a growing number of platforms to manage different aspects of their social lives," she said. "We have an opportunity to rethink that experience. Zymix is building a single ecosystem that brings communication, communities and everyday experiences together, while putting greater emphasis on simplicity and meaningful connection." Sun's appointment comes as established social platforms face increasing scrutiny over their impact on users and their reliance on business models designed to maximise attention and time spent on screen. Article tags News direct to your inbox The agency playbook. The PR industry's most comprehensive listing of firms from every region and specialty.

Migrant Leaders partners with Hotwire to inspire future Careers in PR and communications. news May 26, 2026 Migrant Leaders is delighted to announce a new collaboration between Migrant Leaders and Hotwire, one of the world's leading technology communications agencies, to provide its students with valuable career insight, professional exposure, and practical learning opportunities. On Wednesday 1 July 2026, Hotwire will host a Careers in PR Workshop at its London headquarters, giving Migrant Leaders students a unique opportunity to explore the dynamic worlds of public relations, communications, and marketing. What students will experience. This interactive, in-person workshop has been designed to help students better understand the profession and gain first-hand insight from experienced practitioners. Participants will have the opportunity to: * Hear directly from PR and communications professionals about their career journeys * Learn about careers in public relations, marketing, and communications * Understand the many pathways into the profession, including non-linear routes * Take part in an interactive group exercise based on a real entry-level PR task * Meet client-facing professionals, ask questions, and build confidence in a professional environment Learning from industry Leaders. For more than 25 years, Hotwire has been helping some of the world's most innovative technology brands build their reputation, engage audiences, and drive impact. As a global technology PR and marketing consultancy, Hotwire brings deep sector expertise and a wealth of industry experience. This workshop will provide students with valuable exposure to a leading international agency and offer a practical understanding of how communications professionals help shape the stories behind some of the world's most transformative technologies. Opening doors to future careers. At Migrant Leaders, Migrant Leaders know that early access to career insight, professional networks, and real workplace experiences can be transformative. This workshop will help students explore whether careers in PR, communications, and marketing align with their strengths, interests, and future ambitions, while also building the confidence needed to pursue opportunities in competitive industries. Migrant Leaders is incredibly grateful to Charlotte Harvey, Managing Director at Hotwire, for partnering with Migrant Leaders and investing in the next generation of diverse talent. Migrant Leaders look forward to working together to inspire, inform, and empower its students as they take the next steps in their career journeys. #MigrantLeaders #Hotwire #PRCareers #Communications #Marketing Stay connected with news and updates!

Hotwire Global and Lilypath announce strategic partnership to evolve executive visibility for the AI era. Hotwire Global, the global communications and marketing consultancy including Hotwire and ROI·DNA, announced a strategic partnership with Lilypath, the Authority Intelligence(TM) platform. The partnership gives Hotwire Global clients early access to Lilypath's newest products and an enhanced layer of data and analysis. This includes signals into how LinkedIn's AI evaluates executive authority that aren't available in the consumer product-turning what has been a black box for most leaders into measurable reputation that can be optimized. What does the Hotwire Global-Lilypath partnership deliver for executive visibility? This partnership integrates Lilypath's AI-driven authority insights into Hotwire Global executive programs so leaders can optimize how they are categorized, ranked, and surfaced by AI systems. Lilypath's unique insights and recommendations will embed into Hotwire Global clients' executive programs. The goal is to optimize social profiles and content for how AI systems categorize, rank, and surface executives across LinkedIn, AI search and more. At a time when news cycles are increasingly chaotic and attention is fragmented, AI search and LinkedIn are often the gateway for reputation. The partnership deepens Hotwire Global's approach by providing clients with sharper AI-powered insights and recommendations. Lilypath's understanding of how LinkedIn's 360Brew evaluates profile authority helps ensure executives working with Hotwire Global show up with the right content, credibly and consistently, in the places that matter most. Why does executive reputation now need to be optimized for machines as well as humans? Executives increasingly need to manage visibility for both human audiences and AI systems because AI now influences who is discovered first in professional and reputational contexts. "Executives are navigating unprecedented noise, scrutiny, and speed, having to optimize what they say and how they show up not just for human audiences but for machines. This partnership with Lilypath gives us an even more powerful intelligence foundation to help clients earn attention, shape conversations, and protect reputation. AI is not an add-on to how Hotwire works, it is core to how we drive outcomes." - Grant Toups, Hotwire Global CEO AI at the Core of Modern Thought Leadership: What changes with the Hotwire Global-Lilypath approach? The partnership integrates exclusive data and analysis from Lilypath's Authority Intelligence(TM) platform into Hotwire Global's strategic thought leadership methodology from the start. Effective thought leadership has always required the right message at the right moment. What's changed is who and what determines whether that message lands.This partnership gives clients a roadmap to close the gap between perceived and actual authority. What's included in executive thought leadership programs under this partnership? Executive thought leadership programs now include: * Audit into how AI systems currently categorize and rank executives across LinkedIn and AI-powered search * Identify gaps between an executive's real expertise and how machines are interpreting their authority * Build programs calibrated to perform for both human audiences and AI systems simultaneously "Most executives still think about thought leadership as a human problem - the right message, the right outlet, the right moment. But AI systems are now the first audience. They categorize your leaders, rank their credibility, and decide who gets surfaced before any journalist, recruiter, or decision-maker sees a word. By infusing AI into its executive communications programs, Hotwire Global is making sure that machine interpretation reflects the real authority executives own, and optimize it for the future." - Erin Lanuti, Lilypath Co-Founder and CEO.