Manila, Philippines – Globe Telecom-owned digital marketing agency AdSpark has announced a new CEO and president, business leader and marketing veteran Gretchen Largoza.
Largoza brings with her over 20 years of digital marketing expertise and diverse experiences from being ingrained in agency leadership roles across Southeast Asia. Largoza has helped grow leading agencies like OgilvyOne, GroupM, Netbooster, and ARC Worldwide, leaving her footprint in offices based in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
AdSpark is a full-service digital agency part of 917Ventures, a corporate incubator in the Philippines, wholly owned by Globe Telecom Inc. Largoza’s predecessor Onat Roldan has exited to take a break from the advertising media industry and pursue other, more personal creative opportunities.
“For now, I’m looking forward to refocusing my priorities and rediscovering inspiration by working on passion projects,” commented Roldan.
“I was hired to turn AdSpark around and drive growth, and in the last two and a half years we did just that. I’m proud of where AdSpark is today,” added Roldan.
Over the last two years, AdSpark has received industry recognition with a haul of 11 local and international awards.
Largoza will be moving the agency forward, bringing with her lessons and experiences from her leadership roles, which began with her role as an account director of Ogilvy One PH back in 2005. She then continued assuming managerial and directorial roles in marketing agencies Arc Worldwide and GroupM. In 2014, she became the managing director of OgilvyOne Indonesia. Successfully, her regional stint led to her third Ogilvy country as the managing director in Vietnam, as well as a regional business director for a top-tier client in Ogilvy Asia from 2017 to 2019.
As Largoza returns to the Philippines, she said, “It’s been a while since I worked here in the Philippines, and the move is really about coming home of sorts. Coming home to a company who wants to become a significant player in the industry, in the region, and hopefully the world.”
“What led me to this leadership role at AdSpark is the challenge that it presented and the fact that data is deeply entrenched within the company’s core services. Coming from a mixed background of creative and media agencies and a start-up, I like that AdSpark is evolving and innovating from building Filipino talent and attracting the right talent,” said Largoza.
Vince Yamat, 917Ventures’ managing director, said that Largoza’s appointment is a pivotal role in driving the incubator’s ad tech play.
“Gretchen is exceptionally focused on the customer; her ability to foster a client-centric culture, develop and retain like-minded teams, and build lasting relationships with clients has time and time again spurred business growth at inspiring speed. She’s entrepreneurial, an agile and capable leader who is not afraid to take calculated risks,” said Yamat.
