Tag: Appointments

Mumbai, India – BBH India, an advertising agency under Publicis Groupe, has elevated Priya Gurnani and Arvind Menon to become the new executive creative directors. Both Gurnani and Menon were previously senior creative directors, and will continue to report to BBH India’s CCO and CEO, Russell Barrett.

With over 15 years of experience, Gurnani specialises in building creative communication that is at the intersection of brands, culture, and consumer behaviour. In the past, she has worked with Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, McCann Worldwide, and has created culture-defining work for brands like Stayfree, Yatra.com, Heineken, Kingfisher Ultra, Amstel, and Zee5. Most recently, she conceptualised and wrote the lyrics to a rap song for the entertainment channel – Zing’s Apni Vibe Apni Tribe campaign.

Meanwhile, armed with 13 years of experience, including a stint at a media agency, Menon specialises in building medium-agnostic integrated campaigns. In the past, he has worked on brands like Mercedes, Frooti, Axe, Burger King, Aditya Birla Capital, Heinz, TRESemmé, Surf, and Taj Mahal Tea. Arvind’s work has been awarded locally and internationally at forums.

Commenting on the elevation, Gurnani said, “I am looking forward to embodying and enjoying this new role. BBH has always been a place where ‘Outstanding is the norm’, and that applies to the work we do and the culture we have. As I continue my journey at BBH, I hope to zag for years to come.”

Meanwhile, Menon also commented, “I’m equal parts honoured, excited and terrified. BBH has an undeniably rich culture of creative excellence. And I know it’s only work that can help climb up to those rarefied heights. So I’m just going to focus on that.”

Barrett shared that it’s always great to welcome brilliant talent to key leadership positions, but it’s even better when that talent is promoted from within.

“Priya is a highly talented creative leader with a sharp and curious mind, great maturity and a clear vision for the kind of work both she and BBH want to produce. She has already proved an invaluable contributor by leading the PWW Bangalore creative team in the past. Arvind is an amazing new-age creative thinker who led the creative mandate on Emil before joining the BBH team. He comes with rich knowledge of the digital and creative tech landscape and is the perfect fit for BBH’s Modern India’s Fame Factory philosophy,” he said.

Just recently, BBH India has also promoted Radhika Burman, former vice president of strategy at BBH India, to be its new VP, head of Delhi, where she will be responsible for current clients, people, and new business performance in Delhi, along with driving strategic thinking across clients.

Singapore – Global public relations and marketing consultancy firm Edelman has announced several strategic leadership appointments in health across APAC, which include the appointment of Will Collie as vice chair of Health in APAC, Brian Wang as head of Health for China, and Jenny Jackson as head of Health in Hong Kong. These senior appointments serve to further Edelman’s growth in APAC, with Health as a strategic priority.

As vice chair of Health in APAC, Collie will be overseeing Edelman’s Health teams in India, China, Singapore, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Thailand, as well as Taiwan, and Australia. Collie, who now resides in Australia, was previously based in the United States in both Los Angeles and Chicago, where he was head of Edelman’s Southern California business and prior to that Chicago Health business. He also served as Edelman’s Health lead in Sydney, where he joined the firm in 2012. Before joining Edelman, Collie served as senior manager of external affairs for the global pharmaceutical company Sanofi.

Meanwhile, Wang will be overseeing the Health teams in Beijing and Shanghai. Prior to Edelman, his career spans almost 20 years across the health, wellness and retail sectors in Taipei, Beijing, and Shanghai. This includes 12 years at GSK Consumer Healthcare, where he led brand teams across integrated marketing, channel planning, in-market portfolio positioning and communications across the Greater China Area.

And lastly, Jackson will be bringing more than 12 years of health communications expertise. She has led multi-channel communications and market research campaigns for global pharmaceutical and medical device companies across APAC, the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. Jackson brings to Edelman a strong understanding of multiple healthcare, regulatory, and compliance environments across a wide range of disease areas.

Commenting on the appointment, Collie said they’re building teams with no boundaries, bringing the best minds to their clients regardless of where they’re based. 

“Our integrated approach, coupling data, insights and health expertise to deliver high-impact creative engagement, sets us apart. The addition of these deep-rooted Health experts, with their knowledge of the region and insights at the local level, strengthens our capabilities both across APAC as a region as well as in local markets where clients are operating on the ground,” Collie added.

Meanwhile, Kirsty Graham, global president of practice and sectors at Edelman, said health remains a key driver of business for Edelman globally, and the opportunity to partner with clients in this industry across APAC is enormous.

“These senior appointments strengthen our specialised approach – we have the expertise, the depth of knowledge and the nuanced insights to drive truly impactful client programs. Under Will Collie’s leadership in APAC, we continue to expand our specialisation of Edelman Health’s teams and offers,” said Graham.

Just recently, Edelman Indonesia appointed Melvin Goo as its new chief operating officer. Through the new appointment, Goo will drive the next chapter of the firm’s growth in Indonesia, and realise Edelman’s ambitions of delivering integrated marketing communications solutions for local, regional and global clients serving the market.

Singapore – Bonsey Jaden, a digital marketing and advertising agency backed by digital technology group CUE, has appointed Marvin Duval, former strategy partner at Digital APAC, to be its new head of strategy.

In his new role, Duval will be helping ready the smaller teams at Bonsey Jaden for new competition, while restructuring for smoother, more efficient collaboration internally.

Duval assumes the role with well-rounded experience beginning in the mid-2000s, with the initial goal of leaning towards the more creative aspects of advertising. Having handled communications, media, and consultancy throughout his career, Duval recalls a distinct lack of precision and insight in the industry at large; as the decade closed, he saw greater promise in the world of digital media. His overall interest in history, geopolitics, and current events keeps him flexible in his current role.

Moreover, Duval’s career has taken him back and forth between Europe and Asia, and touched on several points of the overall campaign process. He has worked with brands from a wide spectrum of industries, including projects with Tommy Hilfiger, Nestle, and FrieslandCampina. Over the years, he has learned the value of making brands and his own team as close to future-proof as possible, always keeping an eye out for the changes in tech in relation to the work, and tailoring strategy accordingly.

Commenting on his appointment, Duval said, “I have found that [Bonsey Jaden’s] culture demonstrates the antithesis of that. Here, we seem to understand fully that while skills are assets, we can’t always depend on our strengths—understanding and acknowledging weaknesses in one another can spell the difference between a campaign that works and a campaign that changes minds.”

Meanwhile, Daniel Posavac, co-founder and group CEO at Bonsey Jaden, shared that bringing Duval into the team is a huge step forward for them, and he truly believes that the future of their company and the branding landscape as a whole lies with those who know the rules well enough to be able to bend them and break them.

“Head of Strategy is a pivotal role for us because it sits at the intersection of data, technology, and creativity – and with his life and business experience, Marvin is perfect for the role,” said Posavac.

Most recently, Bonsey Jaden has appointed Sherwin Kukreja, former head of social media at digital telco Yoodo, to be its new head of social media. This new role is Kukreja’s re-entry into the agency end of the digital marketing and branding world.

Seoul, South Korea – EssenceMediacom, GroupM’s newest media agency that combines Essence and MediaCom, has appointed Jin Choi as its new CEO for South Korea. Choi, who has been heading MediaCom as managing director in South Korea for over three years, will be leading the merged agency, which launches in January 2023.

Reporting to both Michael Beecroft, GroupM’s CEO for Northeast Asia, and Rupert McPetrie, EssenceMediacom’s CEO for APAC, Choi’s appointment will be effective from January 2023. Meanwhile, Jay Lee, who has been heading Essence as managing director in South Korea for over four years, will take up leadership of GroupM Nexus in the market.

The EssenceMediacom merger, which was announced in April 2022, will blend the digital strategy, data, analytics and creative technology DNA of Essence with MediaCom’s scaled multichannel audience planning and strategic media expertise, to create an advantage for clients. The ambition is a technology-driven, scaled agency with a performance mindset designed to excel at what a future-facing agency should do.

Commenting on his appointment, Choi said, “I am thrilled to take on the leadership of our new combined agency, and evolve our innovative thinking and best-in-class solutions, in line with consumers’ lifecycles today and in the future. I look forward to leading our phenomenal team in South Korea, and continuing to partner with our diverse and ambitious clients in delivering excellent work, with an agile and proactive approach.” 

Meanwhile, Beecroft said, “Jin is a modern agency leader, with a great balance of deep technical experience, and a proven track record of building and leading high-performance teams. Since he joined the agency in 2019, MediaCom has grown by over 40% through bringing new clients into the agency as well as expanding scope with existing partners, including an e-commerce assignment with P&G.”

“Jay has done an incredible job working with GroupM agencies across markets for more than 16 years, and whilst leading Essence South Korea, has spearheaded the group’s performance marketing, analytics and consulting capabilities. I am excited to continue working with him in his new role,” he added. 

McPetrie said, “Over the last years leading MediaCom, he has put people at the heart of the operation, built strong and sustainable partnerships with our clients, as well as developed new capabilities and products to help solve clients’ business challenges. With Jin leading our merged business, I am confident that our progress will further accelerate.”

Singapore – Programmatic media partner MiQ has appointed James Parker, former vice president of platform and agency growth at Amobee Singapore, to be its new head of revenue and growth for Southeast Asia. 

In his new role, Parker will be responsible for leading MiQ’s sales and commercial approach in the region to expand and accelerate the company’s growth. 

Originally from London, Parker has spent the last 10 years in Singapore and moved there to lead the newly created Annalect team for OMG, focused on delivering marketing intelligence solutions to regional brands. He then joined Xaxis to spearhead the roll-out of the agency’s proprietary DMP. In the UK, he worked with OMG and Mediaedge:cia.

MiQ said that Parker’s appointment comes as former managing director for Southeast Asia, Marcus D’Souza, transitions back to London later this summer in a new global commercial role. With this, all MiQ’s Southeast Asian sales leads will be reporting to Parker.

Commenting on his new role, Parker said, “What impressed me the most about MiQ during the interview process was their platform agnostic approach to driving outcomes and the automation initiatives across the programmatic campaign lifecycle; from campaign setup, creating custom performance algorithms, to analytics and reporting. I am thrilled to be joining a fantastic team and leading MiQ into the next stage of growth in Southeast Asia.” 

Meanwhile, Jason Scott, MiQ’s CEO for APAC, shared that Parker is well credentialed to ignite their commercial approach in the region, given his decade of living and working in Southeast Asia on both the agency and platform side.

“He has an established and comprehensive set of commercial relationships, alongside vast and relevant product experience. I’m delighted to work with James and the sales team as we enter an exciting stage of growth and see how his leadership can help accelerate our fastest-growing region,” Scott said.

In June 2022, MiQ elevated Scott to the new role of CEO for APAC, adding SEA to his leadership remit. In his upgraded role, Scott will be responsible for driving business growth and expansion throughout SEA.

Hong Kong – Insurance company Manulife in Hong Kong has elevated HyounJoo Choe, former regional head of customer experience and design at Manulife Asia, to be its new chief customer officer for Hong Kong and Macau. 

As a member of the senior management team, Choe will now be leading all customer experience and strategic marketing functions including marketing, customer relationship management, advanced analytics, insights, and corporate communications. She will also play a pivotal role in driving Manulife Hong Kong’s branding and corporate social responsibility efforts.

In her previous role at Manulife Asia, Choe oversaw the CX transformation agenda, driving strong customer engagement and delivering strong results in the relationship and transactional CX scores. She also succeeded in leveraging human-centred design principles to drive CX excellence across various digital platforms.

Choe has more than 25 years of professional experience in the financial industry. Prior to joining Manulife, she was the head of digital at MetLife Korea, where she was instrumental in driving digital transformation and developing enterprise digital strategies. Before that, she also held various leadership roles at AIA Korea, including as head of strategy, head of direct marketing, and head of operations and technology. 

Pankaj Banerjee, the interim CEO for Manulife Hong Kong and Macau, commented that they are thrilled with the appointment of Choe as their chief customer officer, as she has played a leading role in driving forward their customer experience agenda in Asia since joining Manulife in 2021. 

“An outstanding and highly experienced leader in the industry, HyounJoo brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our franchise expansion in Hong Kong and Macau. Her proven track record and leadership credentials will add tremendous value to our winning team as we continue our journey to help make customers’ lives better and decisions easier,” said Banerjee.

Manulife Hong Kong said that the appointment of Choe highlights its ongoing commitment to promoting talent who can leverage customer-centric and market-leading strategies to benefit the people of Hong Kong and Macau.

Just recently, Manulife Hong Kong launched a multichannel marketing campaign to highlight how to increase the chances of survival against critical illness. This aims to promote Manulife’s two new critical illness plans, namely ManuPrimo Care and ManuPrimo Care.

Sydney, Australia – The Works, an agency part of the Capgemini group, has appointed Julie Dormand, former managing partner on a contract at The Works, to be its new managing director and will stay at the agency permanently. Dormand is The Works’ first-ever managing director and will assume the role immediately. 

In her new role at The Works, Dormand will be overseeing the agency’s key business planning initiatives, commercials, people & culture, growth, and general management.

Commenting on her appointment, Dormand said that she is beyond excited to be staying on at The Works; since day one she knew this was a very special and unique place. 

“The agency is an entirely people-first organisation and it has been amazing to see first-hand how the impact of the agency’s wellness initiatives for our people actually result in first-class work and results for our clients. The business continues to have many new ways to grow and being part of Capgemini helps enormously,” she said.

Meanwhile, Damian Pincus, The Works’ founder and creative partner, shared that since Dormand joined them back in November, not only has she significantly deepened and grown relationships with new and current clients, she’s managed to do so whilst simultaneously being a mentor and an inspiration to their people helping them fulfil their true potential and career goals.

Pincus continues, “From the first day, I met Jules I knew we could learn a lot from her experience, her genuine love for the people and the work is inspirational to be around. Some decisions make themselves and offering Jules the role of managing director was certainly one of them and I (and the entire Works family) are pumped she’s decided to stick around.”

In May 2022, The Works also announced the appointment of Daniel Pankraz as its new strategy partner, where he will drive The Works’ strategy capabilities, bringing him a diverse skill set across brand, CX, communications, innovation, and technology.

Mumbai, India – BBH India, an advertising agency under Publicis Groupe, has promoted Radhika Burman, former vice president of strategy at BBH India, to be its new VP, head of Delhi.

As part of her new role, Burman will be responsible for current clients, people, and new business performance in Delhi, along with driving strategic thinking across clients.

With over 12 years of experience, Burman brings a sharp understanding of consumers, culture, and new media. In the past year, Burman has been an essential part of the BBH Delhi team, spearheading the strategic thinking on existing clients like Beam Suntory and Nestle, along with successful new business wins like Hitachi and Godrej ProClean, amongst others.

Commenting on his appointment, Burman said, “I am excited to take on this new role at BBH Delhi. With growth as the key focus for this office, I hope to energise the teams towards building truly integrated solutions for our clients and leveraging our areas of expertise in strategy, data and creative thinking to deliver experiences and brand narratives that are differentiated and help solve real business challenges.”

Meanwhile, Dheeraj Sinha, Leo Burnett’s CEO for South Asia and BBH India’s chairman, noted that at BBH India, they want to empower their people to grow from within. 

“In Radhika, we have found someone who is not only a fantastic strategy professional but someone [who] is also passionate about building value-creating client relationships, fostering talent and creating culturally relevant work. I am excited to see her shine,” said Sinha.

In July 2022, BBH India appointed George Sebastian, former senior creative director at DDB Mudra, as its newest executive creative director. He will report to BBH India’s chief creative officer & CEO Russell Barrett and lead a talented team of copy, art and design professionals.

Singapore – Global digital ad verification company Integral Ad Science (IAS) has elevated Megan Reichelt, former head of programmatic for APAC at IAS, to be its new country manager for SEA.

In her new role, Reichelt will be actively working with brands, agencies, publishers, and technology partners to increase digital media quality and programmatic growth across SEA. She will also be developing sales strategies to best support current clients while building new partnerships with key stakeholders to help them go beyond verification and make every ad impression count. 

Reichelt joined IAS in June 2021 as strategic partnerships manager, and within a short span was promoted to APAC head of programmatic business. With programmatic sales and marketing experience across Australia and Singapore, she brings strong expertise in business development, sales strategy, and scaling local market programs. Before joining IAS, she was the marketing lead for Accor hotels, working on digital advertising and content strategies.

Commenting on her appointment, Reichelt said, “Southeast Asia’s digital media market is evolving quickly, and I look forward to working with marketers and publishers to tap into IAS’ solutions that can help drive efficiency and return on their investments in new ways.”

Meanwhile, Laura Quigley, SVP for APAC at IAS, noted that with their continued investment and growth plans in Southeast Asia, they have rapidly expanded their team across multiple functions in Singapore, and she is thrilled to have Reichelt provide operational excellence, team management, and sales leadership in the region.

“She has already been very successful in her programmatic lead role with strong track records of building strategic partnerships across these markets and growing business within the ad tech space. I am confident she will successfully guide the teams and help clients improve their digital spending outcomes,” said Quigley.

In July 2022, IAS and Anzu have recently announced a partnership to enable global brands and agencies to effectively monitor the quality of their in-game media investments in mobile gaming environments.

Melbourne, Australia – Brand experience and innovation company Akcelo has appointed Simon McCrudden, former chief strategy officer at HERO/McCann, to be its new partner, group brand strategy. This move aims to deepen the company’s brand capability across local and international markets. 

In his new role, McCrudden will be based in the Melbourne office, working alongside Akcelo’s chief strategy officer and partner, Dave Di Veroli, and Jon Kenyon, Melbourne’s managing partner. He will also be overseeing brand strategy, research, and effectiveness for Akcelo’s portfolio of Australian and global clients across its network of offices in Sydney, Melbourne, and North America.

Aside from his previous stint at HERO/McCann, McCrudden has also served as executive planning director and chief strategy officer at BMF, McCann Worldgroup, and JWT. Prior to moving to Australia, he held a senior strategy position at Wieden + Kennedy London.

Commenting on his appointment, McCrudden said, “Having the chance to join Aden, Dave, Jon and the rest of the team was too good to pass up. Of every agency out there at the moment, I feel that Akcelo offers something truly unique, and an environment where I can continue to learn and grow. The scope and quality of their offer are second to none, and I look forward to helping them continue to redefine what marketers can expect their agency partners to deliver for them.”

Meanwhile, Di Veroli said, “Having Simon join the team helps round out Akcelo’s strategic firepower across CX, communications and brand planning. Blending his deep brand smarts with Akcelo’s innovative model, whilst also focusing on research and effectiveness, will only boost our team’s ability to deliver powerful brand experiences for our clients.”

Aden Hepburn, CEO at Akcelo, shared that brands have so many opportunities to build deep connections with consumers, but it has never been harder to create a memorable, lasting impact with them. 

“Akcelo creates distinctive and holistic experiences that deliver outsized growth and impact and Simon’s extensive global and local experience at leading agencies, together with his creative drive, further boosts our ability to advance great outcomes for our clients,” said Hepburn.

In April 2022, Akcelo has been appointed by NASDAQ-listed online broker Tiger Brokers to be its new agency partner, as it launches the proprietary one-stop global investing platform Tiger Trade in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ).