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Technology Featured Southeast Asia

InMobi taps Aditya Varadarajan as regional head of the newly expanded Microsoft business in SEA

Singapore – InMobi, a leading provider of content, marketing, and monetization technologies, has appointed Aditya Varadarajan as the regional head for its newly expanded partnership with Microsoft Advertising in Southeast Asia to strengthen the in-market presence and enhance relationships with strategic and enterprise clients. 

Varadarajan’s remit also includes helping brands and agencies maximise impact from the multitude of Microsoft advertising products and solutions.

He will be based in Singapore and expand the regional sales team across the key markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. His team will also be responsible for sales, account management, client servicing, and billing in the region.

Varadarajan brings with him an extensive background in handling account management, digital marketing, affiliate marketing, and data analysis. Before joining InMobi, he worked with brands including Google, WalkingTree, and Madhura Agro where he specialised in performance and brand marketing.

Rohit Dosi, vice president and general manager for Microsoft Advertising business at InMobi said that they are delighted to welcome Varadarajan as their regional head in the newly expanded business whilst looking forward to enabling the advertising ecosystem across Southeast Asia, one of the focus markets with growth potential for InMobi and Microsoft Advertising.

In 2022, it can be noted that InMobi and Microsoft have expanded their partnership in Southeast Asia to support enterprise and strategic advertisers in the region.

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Marketing Featured Global

Ex-McCann Emily Chang joins Wunderman Thompson as CEO of West Coast region

New York – To strengthen its status as one of the few significant agencies on the West Coast, marketing communications agency Wunderman Thompson has appointed Emily Chang as its chief executive officer for West Coast region to lead its offices in LA, Seattle, as well as the Swift boutique agency in Portland.

Chang’s remit also includes overseeing the region’s growing client portfolio including technology companies Microsoft, T-Mobile, Qualcomm, Venmo, Snap, and major automotive brands and DTC companies whilst leveraging Swift boutique agency’s creative and social media expertise.

Prior to joining Wunderman Thompson, Chang also held the CEO position at McCann Worldgroup in China where she restructured the leadership team and developed new strategic and digital capabilities to grow its revenue. 

On the brand side, Chang served as CMO at Starbucks China, chief commercial officer at InterContinental Hotels Group, and was the first executive in China for Apple Retail.

Audrey Melofchik, CEO at Wunderman Thompson North America describes Chang as a powerhouse leader who will bring people together to deliver inspiring brand stories along with her expertise across the marketing ecosystem.

Chang added, “I’ve watched Wunderman Thompson’s build its reputation as the authority on inspiration and look forward to tapping into this insight and adding inspiration of my own when it comes to our clients and culture.”

This month, Wunderman Thompson has also appointed Raji Ramaswamy as chief growth officer and Joy Chauhan as chief client officer for South Asia. 

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Marketing Featured South Asia

Wunderman Thompson appoints new chief growth officer, chief client officer for South Asia

India – With its commitment to maintaining growth and maximising business outcomes for clients, marketing communications agency Wunderman Thompson South Asia has promoted Raji Ramaswamy as its chief growth officer and Joy Chauhan as its chief client officer. They will report to Shams Jasani, chief executive officer at Wunderman Thompson South Asia. 

Ramaswamy will retain her CEO role at Contract India, Wunderman Thompson India’s group company and Chauhan will simultaneously work as a managing partner of Wunderman Thompson in Delhi.

In their new role, Ramaswamy and Chauhan will lead strategic growth for the group, focusing on new business and key clients across the region. They will also oversee client retention and business development, nurture teams of talent and drive strategic growth initiatives including the development of new client services and capabilities.

Ramaswamy brings with her over 25 years of experience in marketing and brand management. During her stint in Contract India, she maintained its vision to create the most integrated agency model for the future with a seamless multi-dimensional structure. 

Meanwhile, Chauhan brings with him experience in managing people across multiple business units. In his stint at Wunderman Thompson Delhi, he was responsible for driving the growth of the agency’s brands, people and business.

CEO Jasani said that Ramaswamy and Chauhan’s appointments come at a perfect timing when the agency can drive good impact for clients and business whilst delivering transformational work that builds Wunderman’s capabilities in creative, data, tech, and commerce.

“With India as one of our fastest growing markets and being uniquely poised to provide integrated solutions to our clients, we are on an ambitious growth trajectory with Raji and Joy as enablers to chart the best course for the next growth phase,” Jasani added.

This month, Wunderman Thompson also elevated Gavin Bain as its chief executive officer for Australia.

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Marketing Featured ANZ

UM Australia adds Andrew Copeland to Brisbane leadership team as GM

Brisbane, Australia Media agency UM Australia has announced the appointment of Andrew Copeland as its general manager for Brisbane to help in sustaining the long-term growth plans in Queensland’s expanding market. He will report directly to Anathea Ruys, chief executive officer at UM Australia.

Copeland brings with him extensive experience in creating business strategies and growing revenues whilst discovering how clients can benefit from the media’s ability to connect consumers with brands. In his last stint, he was with Cummins&Partners as chief customer officer where he worked on media strategy and marketing science.

CEO Ruys said that appointing a digital native like Copeland will make UM “something different” in the Brisbane market whilst supporting its fully-integrated model and futureproof strategy.

“UM has fully integrated media across traditional and all forms of digital, technology and data. As we strengthen our national Futureproof planning approach to media, we want to ensure Brisbane is a shining example of delivering strategic dividends for our clients, our staff and our partners. Having a strong leadership team is key to making this happen,” she added.

Meanwhile, Copeland describes UM as an agency that has a wide range of capabilities in addressing and delivering better solutions for the business challenges of clients.

“Queensland marketers are some of the most commercially and technically savvy in the country and deserve an agency that can identify and deliver real solutions to real problems. That’s what we’ve built at UM and I’m excited about the work we’ll do this year,” said Copeland.

In January, UM Australia was appointed as the media agency of record of the Government of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT Government).

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Marketing Featured APAC

Le Pub adds two new leadership hires for APAC

Singapore After inaugurating its APAC headquarters in Singapore last year, advertising agency Le Pub appointed Hanh Kanssen as its general manager and Cyril Louis as its executive creative director.

Kanssen brings with her experience in connecting brands and consumers. She has worked with brands from Asia, Europe, and North America where she helped in driving their significant growth. 

Meanwhile, Louis brings expertise in designing products, crafting brands and businesses, creating physical and digital experiences and developing humanitarian initiatives. In his last stint, he was with creative company Elephant as global group creative director.

Amrita Randhawa, chief executive officer at Publicis Groupe Singapore and Southeast Asia, said that with Kanssen’s expertise in several Asian markets and latest cultural trends, combined with Louis’ creative hybrid and passion for technology, they will bring something special to the agency.

Kanssen commented that joining Le Pub is extremely refreshing and exciting, given that the agency helps to build brands in culture.

“Personally, I feel very proud of the world-class creative talent we have on the team, all handpicked to focus on building the next generation of brands that have a strong presence at the table of culture,” she added.

Earlier this year, Le Pub crafted a campaign for beer brand Tiger Beer as part of the lunar new year celebration.

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Marketing Featured ANZ

Mediabrands Content Studio strengthens creative team with two new senior hires

Sydney, Australia Global content studio Mediabrands Content Studio (MBCS) has announced the appointment of Marshall Campbell as general manager of client service and Luke Simkins as group creative director. The new leadership is part of the agency’s efforts to strengthen the creative department.

For their new role, Campbell will focus on senior strategic advice and client service leadership whilst Simkins will be responsible for creative direction and leadership across the agency’s creative team. Both will report directly to Olivia Warren, managing director at MBCS.

Campbell brings with him a strong background in digital, video production, and business development. In his last stint, he was client director at global creative platform Genero. He also held senior roles at creative agencies Emotive and Clemenger BBDO, advertising agency TBWA\, and creative company DARE Digital in UK.

Meanwhile, Simkins brings with him experience in creative problem solving working across diverse business verticals. Some of his previous stints include the role of creative director at M&C Saatchi in Sydney and becoming part of the creative team at agency VMLY&R.

Warren said that Campbell and Simpkins are exactly what they look for in creative leaders due to their ability to make great work and achieve successful outcomes for clients.

Campbell commented, “Today’s consumer has the power to choose what they consume, so by utilising the networks media insights we’re able to enhance our creative output guaranteeing our work will reach the right audience at the right time with the right message.”

On the other hand, Simkins said that he’s honoured to lead MBCS’ creative offering at such an exciting phase of the agency’s evolution.

“By putting media insight and people at the centre of everything we do, we will drive even greater relevance for our clients,” he added.

Last year, Mediabrands Australia has also announced the appointment of Olivia Warren as managing director of MBCS.

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Marketing Featured APAC

Green Park Content promotes Fe Husaint as managing director for APAC

Singapore – Global, performance-driven content leader Green Park Content has announced the promotion of Fe Husaint as managing director for APAC to strengthen the agency’s operations, power up its growth, and accelerate its success across the region. Husaint previously held the creative and global brand head position at the agency.

Husaint brings with her strong experience in developing a creative and strategic approach to managing brands’ creative remits. She became an integral part of Greenpark’s growth in APAC whilst helping to grow the agency’s revenue with global and regional business.

Marcelo Bittencourt, departing managing director for APAC, said that Husaint deserves the promotion because she has been pivotal in growing the agency’s business and culture.

Meanwhile, Husaint commented, “I plan to inspire a strong, inclusive, and diverse culture—to do my part in powering business growth to the next level. I am also excited to usher in a new era of Greenpark—my vision is to have a holistic approach with creativity and innovation at the core.” 

“I envision a business model that’s driven by innovation such as Generative AI Creative Solutions. This is my future-forward vision to continue pushing the boundaries of creativity, while being able to offer cost-efficient solutions to our Client partners,” she added.

Greenpark has been growing its operations in seven APAC countries with over 130 digital experts within its team.

Earlier this year, Greenpark has also announced the promotion of Lesley Renton as its head of marketing and demand generation for APAC.

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Marketing Featured South Asia

TBWA\India appoints Ranjeev Vij as executive director for North operations

Mumbai, India – Advertising agency TBWA\ India appoints Ranjeev Vij as executive director for its North operations to further drive a growth strategy for the agency. Simultaneously, Vij was appointed as managing director of Nissan United 3.0, the dedicated marketing agency for the Nissan brand by TBWA\ to further elevate the impact of the team.

Vij brings with him a strong background in advertising, digital, data and PR working across the markets of United Kingdom and India. In his last stint, he was with Adfactors PR as digital evangelist where he led the digital-first integrated creative mandates and helped in scaling up its digital practice.

He has also worked with marketing and advertising agencies Ogilvy, McCann, BBDO and information technology consulting company Cognizant amongst others. 

Govind Pandey, chief executive officer at TBWA\India said that Ranjeev’s expertise will further accelerate the agency’s ambition to be the leader in total brand experience and disruptive thinking.

Meanwhile, Vij said that the success of brands will be achieved if there is an ability to harness various aspects such as creativity, data, design, technology, experience, commerce, and advertising. 

“I look forward to utilising my diverse experience and propelling our clients’ business forward,” he added.

Aside from Nissan, TBWA\’s global clients include adidas, Apple, Gatorade, Henkel, Hilton Hotels, McDonald’s and Singapore Airlines.

Last month, TBWA\ India has also appointed Russell Barrett as its chief creative experience officer.

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Marketing Featured Southeast Asia

PropertyGuru’s current CTO Manav Kamboj adds new role as MD of fintech business

Singapore – Property technology company PropertyGuru has announced the appointment of Manav Kamboj as the new managing director of its fintech business. Kamboj will retain his role as the chief technology officer of the company.

In his expanded role, Kamboj will lead the business, leveraging technology, data, and analytics to drive further digitisation of the home loan process and operational excellence. He has been working closely with the Fintech team since it was established which also helped him in gathering insights into his new role.

Kamboj has extensive experience in the consumer internet industry across eCommerce, mobile applications and technology consulting. Furthermore, he has led cross-functional teams in retail lending, product management and customer acquisition strategy.

Kamboj started to join the PropertyGuru group as chief technology officer in 2017, leading a distributed team of engineers, software developers and data scientists who deliver technology solutions to address the ever-changing needs of home seekers, real estate agents and property developers across the region. 

He also spearheaded the inauguration of PropertyGuru Group’s technology Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, India, which marks the Group’s sixth country office alongside offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. 

Before joining PropertyGuru, he was with e-commerce platform Snapdeal as vice president of technology where he shaped the product and technology roadmap for buyer platforms.

Hari V Krishnan, chief executive officer and managing director at PropertyGuru Group said that Kamboj’s strong skillset in technology and finance will help the company’s Fintech ambitions, including digitisation of home loan process in Singapore.

Kamboj expressed his excitement as he takes a new role in the company because of new opportunities to help the consumers.

“Our focus will be on developing products and solutions for the mortgage market that guide the home buyers’ financing needs and that are more often than not the biggest hurdle in their home ownership journey,” he added.

Last month, PropertyGuru also appointed Disha Goenka as its new chief marketing officer.

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Marketing Featured Southeast Asia

Shailesh Iyer joins Wunderman Thompson as chief strategy officer for Singapore

Singapore Wunderman Thompson has announced the appointment of Shailesh Iyer as its new chief strategy officer for Singapore where he will be working with the agency’s Unilever brands as well as the agency’s partnerships with brands HSBC and J&J, amongst others.

Iyer brings with him a strong leadership experience in integration-driven strategic approaches across a multitude of categories and clients. He was previously with public relations company Publicis Groupe Indonesia as chief strategy officer where he led the strategy practice across creative and digital, working across the three markets of Singapore, UAE and Indonesia.

Furthermore, Iyer has also worked on various global brands such as McDonald’s, Oreo, Cadbury, KraftHeinz, Samsung, Nestle, Coca-Cola, SK-II, Tide, IKEA, HSBC, Citibank and more.

Nimesh Desai, chief executive officer of Wunderman Thompson Singapore, said that they were thrilled to have Iyer in their team knowing of his proven expertise in strategies, bringing a creative and grounded human approach to the agency.

Meanwhile, Iyer commented, “I am super excited to be a part of the Wunderman Thompson family. The agency has everything it takes for the next phase of how the industry evolves. The right leadership, right skillsets and the right vision to help us create meaningful work that inspires growth for us and our ambitious clients.”

Earlier this month, Wunderman Thompson also announced other leadership appointments including KJ Lee as managing director for South Korea and Richa Dholi as VP for strategy planning for India.