Communications Leadership Academy Brings New Perspective On Leadership & Communication Upskilling

Perspective Strategies, a leading strategic communications and issues management consultancy, announced the merger of its learning and development brand, Communications Leadership Academy (CLA) with Life Redesigned (LR), a training and organisational development company, as part of its overall strategy to grow its learning and development services into the areas of leadership, communications and organisational development. 

Established in 2006, Perspective Strategies is a full-fledged strategic communications and issue management firm with services in public affairs, brand communications and stakeholder engagement. The firm’s expertise is built on years of experience of working in a comprehensive range of industries and businesses. It is part of the Public Relations Global Network (PRGN), one of the world’s leading independent network of PR and Communications agencies. CLA was established in 2020 in response to the changing marketplace due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 “It was a difficult year all around in 2020 and many companies have had to pivot rapidly to survive. The shifting market landscape has led to skills gaps being exposed in many industries, including in the areas of internal and external communications, leadership, workplace culture and others. We see this disruption as an opportunity for our reinvention and growth,” said Andy See, Founder and Managing Director of Perspective Strategies Sdn Bhd. 

“CLA is in an advantageous position now as the brand is able to seamlessly integrate with Perspective Strategies’ base expertise of strategic communications into the organisational development space, with leadership, communication and digital skills development at the forefront. Moving forward, it will be especially important for brands to communicate a purpose-driven journey, especially on topics such as sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion. As such, CLA is expanding our capacity to meet these needs by bringing new experience and team members on board while expanding our suite of services,” he added.  

Life Redesigned is founded by Cheah Kar Fei, an in-demand corporate trainer, leadership coach and international speaker, having spoken at TEDx events and global conferences in more than 15 countries. In addition, he is also an official member of the Forbes Coaches Council, an invitation-only membership for global business coaches, as well as the Global Shapers Community by the World Economic Forum to contribute towards community development across the world. The merger with Life Redesigned will see Cheah assume the role of Managing Partner.  

 “Life Redesigned was founded to equip young people in the global workforce with new skills needed to thrive in the future of work. CLA and LR are a great fit as we share many common values, particularly our vision to empower people and companies with the leadership, communications, and core skills needed to thrive in a highly challenging market. We foresee that this need will only increase moving forward and implicate other areas such as organisational culture, employee engagement and organisational well-being, leadership development and more. Our goal is to enable companies to thrive internally and externally so that they can build a strong and resilient organisation,” said Cheah.

To strengthen the team further, CLA has brought Lai Chee Seng on board as a partner. Chee Seng has over 20 years’ experience in the field of communications, which includes PR, digital, and advertising & marketing. Throughout his career, he has helped MNCs, C-Suites and senior government leaders develop thought leadership content for local and international contexts. His own thought leadership articles have been published in various publications. He has also been invited to share his expertise at Monash University, INTI University College and Nagaoka University Review, Japan. 

“I am confident that CLA will make a significant splash in the learning and development space for corporates. The rapid shift to digital and the entry of Gen Z and Gen Alpha into the marketplace has created great challenges in communication and engagement. This is a blue ocean opportunity as the pandemic has disrupted the business landscape and many people, brands and companies are finding their feet. CLA is in a great position to fill the growing need for strong people-centred leadership and communications, both internally as well as in market-facing contexts,” said Lai.