Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam – Publicis Groupe Vietnam has announced key changes its senior leadership which will aim at boosting the agency’s strategic, creative and growth offerings in the local market. They include Pepper Feraren as its chief strategy officer, elevations of Paolo Garcia as chief creative officer and Julian Brzoska as chief growth officer; and Chandu Rajapreyar as executive creative director.
Feraren joins Publicis Groupe Vietnam to raise the rigour and progressiveness of its strategic planning product and build a strong culture of effectiveness. He comes with two decades of experience that covers multiple planning disciplines from brand to transformational channel strategy.
He has spent most of his career at BBDO Guerrero Manila with a stint at BBH Singapore, a Publicis Groupe agency. He has led campaigns that have won a variety of strategic and creative awards.
“Vietnam is an extremely dynamic and fast-growing market making it a hotbed for creativity. I’m excited to join Publicis Groupe, which is at the forefront of this with a talented and decorated planning team. Together we will continue to provide human understanding of a rapidly changing consumer and direct this energy into creative business solutions for our clients and their brands,” he said.
Meanwhile, Garcia brings with him 24 years of creative experience and a portfolio of work that has been awarded across international creative festivals. Paolo has also served on the jury at the world’s biggest award shows including Cannes Lions. He has become an influential creative force in the market and continues to be instrumental in placing Vietnam on the global radar for work and talent.
Prior to his elevation, Paolo was the creative leader for Leo Burnett for over a decade. In his Groupe role, Paolo will continue to raise the creative bar while cultivating the diversity of over 100 creative talents at Publicis Groupe Vietnam.
He reports directly to Ajay Thrivikraman, chief creative officer for Southeast Asia at Publicis Groupe.
“Paolo stepping up as CCO for the Groupe in Vietnam feels like the most natural thing in the world. It’s a role that he has made his own through over a decade of sleeves-rolled-up commitment not just to the creative product, but to helping build an agency, expanding its capabilities and skillsets, nurturing, and growing talent and consistently delivering fresh and innovative work on our biggest clients, all in one of the fastest-evolving environments in the region,” Thrivikraman said.
Chandu is a multi-awarded creative bringing home wins for Leo Burnett’s key clients Heineken and Samsung. His passionate and perseverant outlook towards life has led him to take up new challenges at Leo Burnett Vietnam over the past five years since joining as creative director.
Lastly, Brzoska started in the digital and innovations unit of Leo Burnett in 2012 and helped establish the Groupe’s bespoke operations for Samsung before setting up Digitas Vietnam in 2019. In his new role, he will continue architecting synergies between the Groupe’s data, tech and commerce solutions to power up creative, media and digital operations and spearhead go-to-market plans that deliver sustainable success and fulfil Publicis Groupe’s promise to help clients thrive in the platform world.
Kate Bayona-Garcia, CEO of Publicis Groupe Vietnam, said, “After our winning streak last year, we need to set the next benchmark. Publicis Groupe has been the vanguard of the industry’s digitalization and transformation in Vietnam and it’s even becoming more crucial to lead its evolution by weaponizing data, commerce and technology fused with human centric experiences that build brands in this modern era.”
She added, “Paolo and Julian have been phenomenal partners over the last decade pioneering groundbreaking first-in-market work in the country. The pivotal addition of Pepper to power up strategic thinking is imperative for unlocking the immense opportunities and overcoming the pressing challenges that our clients face today.”
