Koto appoints Mark Teal as APAC director to anchor SEA push with Singapore expansion

Singapore – Veteran agency executive Mark Teal is returning to the centre of Singapore’s advertising circuit, this time to steer Southeast Asia growth for global creative studio Koto as the firm opens its first office in the city-state.

Teal, whose career spans Ogilvy & Mather, DigitasLBi, Wunderman Thompson, and most recently VCCP Singapore, joins Koto as Growth Director for APAC at a time when international agencies are racing to secure a foothold in Southeast Asia’s swelling digital economy.

The appointment places a seasoned regional operator at the centre of Koto’s expansion plans. 

Teal has worked across branding, communications, marketing technology, and customer experience for some of Asia-Pacific’s largest companies, including Singtel, Standard Chartered, and Prudential.

“With over 4000 regional headquarters and over 30 unicorns, a digital economy worth $128 billion, Singapore isn’t just a market; it’s where the most ambitious companies make their brand decisions for Southeast Asia,” said Teal. 

He added, “These companies need a partner that can handle the full picture – brand, digital experience and campaigns – not just one piece of it. That’s exactly where we sit, and it’s a space very few studios here can confidently claim.”

Koto’s Singapore office becomes the company’s seventh globally and second in Asia-Pacific after Sydney, which launched in 2023. 

The firm said the new base would anchor its Southeast Asian operations following earlier work in the region with clients including Singapore-based fintech company Coda and Riot Games’ League of Legends franchise.

“Singapore is the natural next step,” said Damian Borchok, Managing Director APAC at Koto. “When we opened Sydney in 2023, Singapore was always part of the plan as it’s one of the most connected cities in ASEAN and the base from which regional ambitions are built. The brands here are increasingly thinking globally, and they need partners who can match that ambition.”

Founded in London in 2015 by James Greenfield, Caroline Matthews, and Jowey Roden, Koto has grown into a global network of more than 160 staff across Berlin, London, Los Angeles, New York, Sydney, and Singapore. 

Its client roster includes Amazon, Google, JP Morgan, Lyft, Meta, Mars, Microsoft, Netflix, Tripadvisor, and WhatsApp.

“Koto has always wanted to work with the world’s best brands in the world’s best cities,” said Greenfield, the company’s chief executive. “Singapore has long been one of those cities for us, so opening here is a big moment. Working with brands like Coda and Riot Games showed us there’s a real energy and ambition here that feels very aligned with Koto. Bringing Mark on board is an important step in building Koto’s long-term presence in the region.”