Manila, Philippines – Business development veteran Joven Barceñas has recently joined international-wide UX and digital development agency Adaptis as its head of growth.
Prior to Adaptis, Barceñas was most notably the regional head of advertising and sponsorship sales at Lighthouse Independent Media in 2018, the publisher of Singapore-based Marketing Magazine.
For his new role at Adaptis, Barceñas will be responsible for the firm’s business growth through business development and marketing, and also to improve processes within the function. Adaptis is a collective of digital development studios strategically located in Europe and Southeast Asia, providing experience-led technical capabilities to global clients.
On his appointment, Barceñas said, “With almost a decade of exposure to media, marketing, and technology, I always wanted to discover what I can do and learn more in the tech space. I am very excited to be a frontrunner in humanizing technology through the apps and websites we create.”
Barceñas also shared to MARKETECH APAC that while the role charges him to focus on the company’s Australia, Singapore, and Thailand markets, his role “has no boundaries,” and that whenever opportunities strike within Adaptis’ other markets, he is more than ready to grab them.
Since its inception, Adaptis has grown through word of mouth – a testament to excellent client satisfaction. [My] priorities [for the role] are looking into the process and communications improvements from every aspect of client journeys with us – from prospecting to onboarding to project deployment. Part of the role is to create marketing initiatives to boost brand awareness for Adaptis. While I am doing these, business development activities are in place concurrently
Joven Barceñas, Head of Growth, Adaptis
Meanwhile, on his personal insights on the changes in the business development landscape amid the pandemic, Barceñas commented, “The most positive thing with virtual selling is that you can do 2 to 3 business meetings in 2 hours as it saves you time to travel from one place to another.”
He continued, “This means the business developers should have been more productive during these times. I think the main challenge is to effectively use the first meeting as an opportunity to build a better foundation of trust and relationship with new clients.”
Adam Eastburn, CEO, and founder of Adaptis, shared that prior to Barceñas’ appointment, the role was open to reach out to more companies to partner with them and to guide firms through their adaptation to changing human behavior and technology trends.
While the company has been successfully acquiring new businesses since its inception in 2013, it believes that it could contribute more to the industry by educating new clients on user experience and providing excellent work that users would love.
“The direction is always finding opportunities wherever and whenever. With Joven’s extensive regional business development experience, I trust that he will contribute to Adaptis’ growth, either opening up new markets or growing existing ones for us,” he said.
Adaptis has a presence in Europe and the Asia Pacific. They have offices in Switzerland, Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Their global clients include Kempinski Hotels, Toyota, Johnnie Walker, and more.
