Tag: Appointment

Singapore – Telecommunications company Ericsson has announced the appointment of Daniel Ode as head of Ericsson for Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines and head of global customer unit for Singtel Group in Southeast Asia, Oceania & India.

In his new role, Ode will be responsible for driving Ericsson’s business and overseeing the company’s operations in these markets, and will be a member of the regional executive leadership team of Ericsson Southeast Asia, Oceania and India.

Prior to this appointment, Ode has been with Ericsson for more than 17 years and was serving as the acting head of customer unit for Northern and Central Europe, and head of GCU Telia Company. 

In these roles, Ode was leading Ericsson’s business with Telia Company in the Nordics and Baltics. He was driving the company’s business and operations towards Telia Company while managing this strategic partnership for the company.

With a wealth of experience in the telecommunications industry, Ode brings his knowledge and expertise to the new role with a diverse background that includes both international experience and a history of entrepreneurship, as he had once run his own entrepreneurial venture prior to his career in Ericsson. 

Commenting on his appointment, Ode said, “I am delighted to take on the role of leading our talented teams in Singapore, Brunei and Philippines and working with our customers in these markets to ensure that they stay at the forefront of 5G developments. We will leverage Ericsson’s technology leadership to contribute to the technological advancement and economic growth of these markets.”

Meanwhile, Nunzio Mirtillo, head of Ericsson Southeast Asia, Oceania and India, commented, “With his extensive experience of working in the telecom industry with Ericsson, I am confident that Daniel, together with his team, will continue to deliver on our commitment to support the Singtel Group and partner with service providers in Singapore, Brunei and Philippines towards delivering the full benefits of connectivity to customers and enterprises.”

Singapore – PubMatic has announced the appointment of Genelle Hung as its new country manager for Southeast Asia. In her new role, she will be in charge of directing strategy, sales, and operations across the region’s digital advertising supply chain.

Hung will be based in Singapore and will report directly to Jason Barnes, the Asia-Pacific region’s chief revenue officer.

Hung will be in charge of the strategic leadership of the Southeast Asian market at PubMatic. She will work directly with local go-to-market teams as well as global leadership, and she will be essential to continuing relationships with important CTV/OTT and in-app publishers in the area. She will also collaborate with agency holdcos to carry out supply path optimization transactions.

Hung most recently moved to PubMatic from AppLovin, where she spent two years as the head of demand APAC. She was in charge of growing AppLovin’s demand business in Asia through DSPs, programmatic agencies, and brands during her time there. She also led the expansion of AppDiscovery’s operations to meet the demands of non-gaming advertisers.

Speaking about the appointment, Hung expressed, “I’m excited to be joining the PubMatic APAC team at such a pivotal moment for CTV, changing consumer habits, and dynamic new inventory. I’m looking forward to building on the strong relationships I’ve already created across the region, offering high-quality products that meet and exceed clients’ business needs, and ensuring that PubMatic remains a top monetisation and technology partner.” 

Meanwhile, Barnes said, “We’re thrilled to have Genelle joining our APAC team – her previous experience, coupled with PubMatic’s premium products, will ensure we deliver great results for local businesses while serving the needs of stakeholders. Genelle will play a critical role in maintaining our client portfolio, onboarding new business, and helping drive PubMatics’s continued global expansion.”

Singapore – TBWA\Media Arts Lab, the bespoke global creative agency dedicated to Apple, has announced the appointment of Terence Leong as its new executive creative director for the Southeast Asia region.

Leong brings with him 21 years of experience in innovation and a continuous pursuit for excellence. His unique mantra, ‘Let’s Make Epic Shxt’, embodies his commitment to transformative and pioneering work.

Prior to joining TBWA\Media Arts Lab, he has worked with several agencies, including Wieden + Kennedy Shanghai, JWT, R/GA, and AKQA Tokyo, and has collaborated with clients such as Nike, Google, and Sony.

In this newly created role, Leong will report to Brent Anderson, global chief creative officer at TBWA\Media Arts Lab, and will work in partnership with Michaela Futcher, managing director and head of strategy at TBWA\Media Arts Lab Asia Pacific.

Leong’s appointment underscores the creative agency’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of innovative storytelling and creativity.

Speaking on the appointment, Anderson said, “Terence’s creative vision resonates with our obsessive commitment to creativity. He is known for his determination to redefine what is possible and defy what’s expected. His leadership in Singapore and Southeast Asia will help establish our creative presence in the region.”

Also commenting on his new role, Leong shared, “I’m excited to be surrounded by really smart and passionate people who want to do the best work of their careers. I feel right at home. We’re ready to switch to the more dangerous gear and make work that people can’t ignore.”

Singapore – BlackLine, Inc. announced today the appointment of Emily Campbell, as chief marketing officer, effective January 2nd. She will be directly reporting to co-CEO Owen Ryan. 

Campbell is in charge of leading BlackLine’s worldwide marketing strategy in her capacity as CMO. In this role, her primary goal is to capitalise on the company’s leadership in digital finance transformation to fulfil the growing demand for solutions from across the globe that improve automation, efficiency, risk management, and financial control for the office of the CFO.

Campbell joins BlackLine with over 25 years of experience leading marketing teams. Most recently, Campbell held the position of chief marketing officer at Infinite Electronics. She oversaw communications, inside sales, e-commerce, customer experience, worldwide brand marketing strategy, and technical support in her capacity there. 

Before that, she was Arrow Electronics’ head of global marketing and digital innovation, where she oversaw demand generation initiatives through a variety of channels and helped build the company’s e-commerce sales channel. In addition to her vast experience, Campbell worked at Dell Technologies for 14 years in senior marketing and product management positions. 

Speaking about the appointment, Ryan said, “Emily has a strong track record building and growing technology brands globally, with a particular focus on demand generation for enterprise sales. The diversity and success of her past experiences speak to her ability to drive effective results across all facets of marketing.” 

He added, “Emily will be a critical part of our strategy as the premier accounting and finance platform for the Office of the CFO.”

Meanwhile, Campbell said, “BlackLine represents a perfect blend of innovation and impact. I’m excited to help elevate awareness of the company’s value proposition within the Office of the CFO, increase customer engagement, support growth initiatives, and strengthen our platform offering.” 

“It’s not just about marketing a product or solution; it’s about being a mission-critical part of our customers’ digital finance transformation journeys and changing how their businesses operate and thrive in the modern world,” Campbell stated. 

Hong Kong – The South China Morning Post (SCMP) announced the hiring of two senior executives for its advertising division. This decision is based on significant, double-digit year-over-year growth in advertising income, allowing companies to engage with the publication’s 35 million global audience. 

Lee Williamson will be based in Hong Kong as the Post’s executive director of Specialist Publications (SP). In this role, he will direct the Post’s Lifestyle Content Division and oversee the expansion of publications such as Style, 100 Top Tables, and XXIV.

He has experience in media executive and content strategist, Lee Williamson recently joined the Post after leaving Tatler Asia. Williamson offers his expertise from his position as founding editor and regional head of Tatler Gen.T, a community-focused content platform for young leaders in Asia.

Celine Asril has been appointed as the strategy director of Morning Studio (MS) at the SCMP, which is another significant appointment. In order to showcase MS’ creative marketing solutions, she works with the business team and leads the ideation hub. 

Asril has returned to the Post after working at FINN Partners in Singapore. She formerly worked as a content strategist at Morning Studio and TBWA. Asril will keep her headquarters in Singapore.

Speaking about his appointment, Williamson said, “I am thrilled to be joining the SCMP to lead its Lifestyle Content Division. My first priority is to build community and deeper engagement with the Post’s global audience around our lifestyle content. I see a lot of opportunities to elevate our portfolio of offerings and curate content informed by our audience’s preferences and needs.” 

Meanwhile, Kevin Huang, chief operating officer at the SCMP, said, “With Lee’s strong track record in journalism and community building and Celine’s deep expertise in content development and execution, I am confident they will bring fresh, innovative approaches to meet our affluent audience’s evolving needs and maximise ROI for our partners and brands.”

Speaking on her return, Asril expressed, “I cannot be more excited to return to the SCMP. I hope to leverage my broad experience working with multi-sector brands to help raise the bar for Morning Studio through data-driven, multi-platform strategies, building on the Post’s 120 years of brand equity.” 

France – Untie Nots, a leading Software as a Service (SaaS) company and a member of the Eagle Eye Group, has recently appointed Jean-Matthieu Schertzer as its inaugural chief AI officer. This appointment follows the company’s commitment to integrating AI solutions and its rapid adoption across the retail sector.

Schertzer, who has an extensive background in applied mathematics, is poised to lead the team in advancing the next wave of AI-powered customer marketing solutions.

He is set to work with Eagle Eye Group’s leadership team and, together, bring a heightened level of support for the design, development, and implementation of AI technologies, catering to retailers and brands on a global scale.

In this new role, he will also bolster customer connections and introduce widespread, multidimensional personalisation on a global scale. This initiative will empower retailers and brands to craft hyper-personalised omnichannel experiences and establish direct, one-to-one connections with their customer base.

Speaking about the appointment, Tim Mason, CEO at Eagle Eye Group, stressed, “Our decision to appoint a Chief AI Officer comes against a backdrop of retailers struggling to provide the personalised customer experiences that today’s consumers demand.”

“We are using AI to augment the Eagle Eye nervous system, which enables the real-time matching and delivery of offers and communications to individual customers, with a ‘brain’ that can create personalised offers dynamically, on the fly. Even if you have 10 million customers, no two will receive the same offer or be engaged in the same way. Jean-Mattieu will help us bring this vision to life,” Mason added.

Zyed Jamoussi, co-founder and president of Untie Nots, also shared, “AI is already used within retail, but its true potential has yet to be harnessed.”

“We see a future where predictive AI not only identifies opportunities and anticipates customer behaviours but also provides real-time insight, enabling brands to give customers the recommendations and promotions they need when they need them. Jean-Matthieu is helping our company—and our industry—realise that future,” he ended.

Talking about AI-powered personalisation, on the other hand, Schertzer said, “We stand on the cusp of a generational opportunity with AI and its applications in retail, among other sectors.”

“I firmly believe that the brands that can implement AI-powered personalisation will dominate the future. Still, they need partners like Untie Nots and Eagle Eye that are committed to innovation and have the infrastructure and industry-specific background to execute it,” he explained.

As the company positions itself into the next platform designed specifically to maximise the potential of their customer data and execute personalised promotions and marketing, Mason concludes, “We are working to place Eagle Eye as the go-to SaaS platform for retail brands worldwide looking to take their personalisation capabilities and loyalty scheme ROIs to the next level in the months and years to come.”

Sydney, Australia – Creative agency Accenture Song has recently announced the appointment of Tara Ford as the chief creative officer for growth markets at Accenture Song, effective immediately. 

Retaining her position as chief creative officer of The Monkeys Sydney, Ford is now also responsible for overseeing all creative output from the Asia Pacific and Latin America regions. 

The regional role will see Ford work closely with Neil Heymann, global chief creative officer of Accenture Song.

Throughout her career, Ford’s work has been consistently recognised at the highest level of every major international award show across an expansive range of clients and disciplines. This includes most recently the coveted Dan Wieden Titanium Grand Prix at Cannes with the ‘The First Digital Nation’ for the Government of Tuvalu.

Under Ford’s creative stewardship, The Monkeys has won Campaign Brief Agency of the Year 2021, Mumbrella Creative Agency of the Year 2022, and AWARD Creative Agency of the Year 2022. In 2023, the agency was crowned Spikes Australian Agency of the Year, Cannes, D&AD and One Show Agency of the Year Australia, along with Effies Effective Agency of the Year, Australia.

Ford also serves as a board member of the Advertising Council of Australia and the D&AD Advisory Board, where she was named ‘Creative Captain 2022’ in the Women Leading Change Awards by Campaign Asia Pacific. She was also named ‘Global Creative Leader of the Year 2021’ by Creativepool and ‘Creative Person of the Year’ for ANZ by Campaign Asia.

Speaking on her appointment, Ford said, “I am thrilled to be working with Neil, heading up the creative offering of Song’s formidable regional team. Leading our diverse creative talent across Song in Growth Markets is going to be super interesting. I look forward to helping our people and clients shine through the combination of creativity, innovation and technology.”

Commenting on Ford’s appointment as well, Heymann mentioned, “Tara is the kind of creative leader shaping the direction of our industry. She’s a champion of creativity and creative people and has proven herself consistently on the global stage. As importantly, she’s ambitious, business-minded and tech-fluent in a way that positions her perfectly to drive work that is unique to Song’s capabilities. Tara having more widespread influence, especially across some of our most exciting markets, is great news for all of us.”

Meanwhile, Mark Green, president of Accenture Song ANZ and co-founder and chief executive officer of The Monkeys, added, “Tara is a world class talent, and it is with great pleasure we get to see her ply her talents on a bigger stage. We are in a fortunate position to have three incredible leaders in Tara, Ant and Damon in ANZ and the wider opportunities will come thick and fast.”

Seoul, South Korea – Advertising agency BBDO in South Korea has recently announced the appointment of Junhwa Jung as its newest executive creative director. This strategic move aims to elevate the agency’s presence in the dynamic creative landscape, focusing on infusing his expertise into the industry.

Jung boasts a rich portfolio as a creative director, leaving an indelible mark on global and domestic brands. With over two decades of experience, he has even cultivated collaborations with Korean artists and forged diverse partnerships.

Previously recognised as one of the country’s top creative directors, his influential role in crafting advertising narratives extends to renowned brands such as Samsung, Nike, Levi’s, Amore Pacific, SK Telecom, Yuhan-Kimberly, and Outback Steakhouse.

Apart from this advertising prowess, he has also ventured into the tech realm, establishing a tech agency committed to projects involving augmented reality platform development and digital human initiatives using real-time 3D technology.

Following the said appointment, Jang-Yong Kim, CEO at BBDO Korea, shared his enthusiasm, saying, “We are delighted to welcome Junhwa Jung as our new ECD. With his exceptional talents and passion for unconventional creativity, we are confident that he will lead BBDO Korea to new creative heights.”

In his newfound role, Jung is poised to imbue a novel approach into the company’s advertising initiatives, showcasing his remarkable copywriting skills and innate capacity for unconventional thinking.

Singapore – Freshworks, a cloud-based customer service software company, has formally appointed Mika Yamamoto as its newest chief customer and marketing officer. This appointment comes after her outstanding performance in spearheading the go-to-market strategy for the company’s comprehensive global business software portfolio.

For this new role, Mika envisions introducing the end-to-end customer experience with Freshworks by working with the marketing and customer success departments.

In particular, she believes that doing so would accelerate the company’s growth while also giving their clients the best solutions.

Following this appointment, Mika shared her enthusiasm, stating, “I am excited to join Freshworks to be a part of its journey to become a multi-billion-dollar software company and to focus on a segment of companies and people I have a great passion to serve.”

“My whole career has been spent on transforming go-to-market approaches and customer experiences within global companies to steepen the growth curve. I truly believe that bringing the end-to-end customer experience with marketing and customer success teams together at Freshworks will help accelerate growth while keeping our customers at the heart of all we do,” she added.

Meanwhile, Dennis Woodside, president at Freshworks, said, “Mika’s combined CMO and CXO roles have given her a unique perspective that has ultimately led to innovative, measurable changes for employees, customers, and prospects.”

“She has a long-standing track record of leading global and diverse customer experience teams and delivering exceptional go-to-market results at large public technology companies with multi-domain businesses serving customers big and small. Her know-how and desire to build and scale a large, enduring company make her a great addition to our Freshworks leadership team,” he added.

In her previous role, Mika served as the global vice president and the chief marketing and customer engagement officer and led the company’s data, marketing, digital transformation, and customer experience efforts.

Prior to joining F5, she also formerly worked for SAP as the chief digital marketing officer and CMO of SMB. She has held top positions at Amazon Books, Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Stores, Gartner, and Accenture. At the same time, she also became the SVP and general manager of Marketo at Adobe after it was acquired.

Sydney, Australia – Market research firm Kantar Australia has recently announced the promotion of Mark Kennedy and Colin MacArthur into the joint role of managing partner, consulting, at Kantar Australia. They will be replacing Dennis Wong who is leaving Kantar after 15 years to pursue his own professional interests.

In their new roles, Kennedy and MacArthur will be leading Kantar’s consulting department together, leveraging the unique set of skills housed within Kantar’s consulting team across its Australia business and clients. 

Prior to his appointment, Kennedy spent his 10 years at Kantar, where he led an extensive portfolio of blue-chip clients in Europe, Asia and the USA, and is respected by his peers and clients for delivering ‘marketing inspiration’ that is simple and actionable, all solidifying his reputation as a strategic leader.

Overall, he possesses 30 years of experience in the design, marketing, and strategy sectors in both client and agency worlds, including global leadership positions at Landor Associates and Blue Marlin Brand Design as well as leadership roles at South African Breweries International and Design Works.

On the other hand, MacArthur has been working in the insight and consulting space of Kantar for over 20 years. Prior to joining Kantar eight years ago, he built his career at Jigsaw Strategic Research and The Leading Edge in Australia, and at Hall & Partners and KPMG Nunwood in the UK. 

MacArthur is also a passionate member of Kantar’s Inclusion, Diversity and Wellbeing Committee and supports not-for-profit organisations on campaigns focused on greater inclusion and diversity and health outcomes for the LGBTGQI+ community. 

Speaking on his appointment, Kennedy said, “I am thrilled and honoured to take on the role of joint Managing Partner for Kantar’s Consulting practice in Australia. The client and consulting landscapes are evolving rapidly, and, alongside Colin, I look forward to bridging these worlds together to drive growth, build connections and shape the future.”

Also commenting on his own appointment, MacArthur added, “In this ongoing period of flux and change in the domestic and global markets that we work in, my excitement of taking on this role with Mark stems from the prospect of bringing my strategic vision, operational expertise, and client-focused approach to drive growth and success for both Kantar and our clients.”

Meanwhile, Jon Foged, managing director for Kantar Australia, mentioned, “I am excited about this partnership as Mark and Colin already have a close and trusted relationship with each other and the wider Kantar team, they have complementary strengths they can amplify together in this role, they are experts that our clients respect, and they are passionate and enthusiastic leaders”.