Patricia Malay

About

I grew up in Manila and spent the first chapter of my career there — at Havas, Ogilvy, Grey, and FleishmanHillard, then running my own PR and activations firm, Pinwheel Philippines. I designed campaigns across healthcare, travel, consumer, and government. I won some awards. I learned, more than anything, that the work that lasts is the work built on honest thinking rather than impressive-sounding strategy.

I made the move to Singapore in late 2022 and joined Bud Communications in 2023, first as Client Services Director and now as General Manager. Bud is an independent PR and content agency operating across Asia and Australia. Growing it has been some of the most challenging and satisfying work of my career — building a team, expanding a footprint, and figuring out what an independent agency can do that the big networks can't.

Alongside that, I founded Candour Leads — a strategic thinking practice for founders and senior leaders who need a space to think through real complexity honestly. Not coaching, not consulting. A thinking partnership with one agenda: the clarity of the person in the room. It came out of two decades of watching capable, accomplished leaders stay stuck longer than they should because nobody around them was positioned to be honest. I built it to be that space.

The thread across all of it is mentorship. I've been fortunate to help guide the careers of a lot of young professionals across the Philippines, Australia, Singapore, and the United States, and it's the work I protect most fiercely when everything else gets busy. It's also what led me to write Candidly, my weekly Substack on leadership, clarity, and the gap between the problem you think you have and the one you actually have.

Earlier in my life I was a radio DJ, an event host, an art gallerist, and a features writer. I still do voice work. I care deeply about women's empowerment, girls' education, and mental health. I was diagnosed with cancer and came through it. These things are part of the picture too.

I'm based in Singapore. I work across APAC and beyond. If you're here because of Bud, I'd love to talk about what we can build. If you're here because of Candour Leads, the best next step is candourleads.com.