Tag: Appointment

Australia – Digital creative agency Orchard has announced the appointment of Bridget Ash to the newly created role of content and activations director to bolster the agency’s content creation and engagement capabilities and end-to-end customer experience offering.  

Ash brings with her extensive experience and visionary leadership in content development and activations needed to spearhead Orchard’s next phase of growth.

After her departure from Orchard in 2014, Ash went on to hold positions in social and content in the UK at Digitas Health LifeBrands, OLIVER, Real Chemistry, and more. 

And now, she returns to Orchard after a six-year stint working with global consumer and healthcare brands across the UK, including AstraZeneca, Sanofi, Unilever, Novartis, and Janseen to name a few. 

Throughout her established career, Ash has worked with brands to deliver strategies that resonate with audiences from a diverse range of backgrounds, geographical locations, and interests. 

One notable part of Ash’s career is when she played a pivotal role as the activation lead on a global patient initiative for AstraZeneca aimed at revolutionising asthma care. This initiative, launched in over 18 countries, received numerous industry accolades and helped reach patients with an important message.

Speaking on her appointment, Ash said, “I am delighted to be returning to the Orchard team. It’s an agency with a fantastic culture, who is creating some exciting and innovative work for their clients. The team has great momentum behind them, and I’m thrilled to be part of their ongoing growth trajectory.” 

Meanwhile, Mikaela Crimmins, chief strategy officer at Orchard, shared, “We are thrilled to welcome Bridget back to Orchard. Our clients are increasingly looking for ways to connect with their customers and patients with content at scale – and Bridget has the knack for knowing exactly what will positively persuade an audience in channels or formats that provide value to an audience, it doesn’t hurt either that she makes everything seem super simple. That gets a chef’s kiss from me!’

Cambodia – Global communications group Havas has announced the appointment of seasoned media and marketing specialist Rastislav Kanuch as the CEO of Havas Cambodia. 

Kanuch will lead Havas Cambodia through a journey of transformation and exponential growth. He will report directly to Alberto Canteli, CEO and chairman of Havas, Nordics, CEE and Middle East, SEA, Korea, and Japan. 

His responsibilities will encompass collaboration and partnerships, driving new business momentum, and nurturing and leading future-ready teams. 

Kanuch brings with him over 15 years of executive experience. Prior to his appointment, he served as a board member and CEO at UNIMEDIA, one of Slovakia’s largest national media agencies. With a significant emphasis on client service, empathetic leadership, and consistently exceeding customer goals, he had been credited with the agency’s increase in revenue and profitability. 

Commenting on the appointment, Alberto Canteli said, “Rastislav is a crucial addition to our team, integral to our ambition for this market as we strengthen our client-centered collaborative model. His extensive experience in leading agencies to success makes him the ideal candidate, and his expertise will build upon our achievements in Cambodia, propelling Havas Cambodia into its next phase of growth and expansion.”

Meanwhile, speaking about his new role, Kanuch said, “I am thrilled to be part of Havas. The group presents a distinctive integrated offering, supported by a wealth of resources across its global network. With a structure poised to deliver truly innovative solutions that today’s clients demand, I am eagerly looking forward to embracing this new challenge. My aim is to strengthen our commitment to creative excellence and intelligent media accountability, forging new opportunities that will accelerate our growth and momentum in the market.”

Manila, Philippines – Fintech and e-commerce ecosystem Society Pass Incorporated (SoPA) announced the official launch of its digital advertising platform Thoughtful Media Group Inc. (TMG) in the Philippines market and the upcoming appointment of Billy Soo as country head of TMG Philippines. 

Soo will be responsible for driving sales and onboarding Philippine clients onto TMG’s regional digital advertising platform. 

TMG’s entry into the Philippines market offers a significant value proposition to advertisers, merchants, and influencers in Southeast Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

TMG collaborates with social media platforms, advertisers, and influencers to develop the entire creator economy in the Philippines and benefit from the country’s forecasted soar in digital advertising revenues over the next decade as more consumers make direct purchases on social media platforms. 

SoPa acquired TMG in 2022, and it has grown from operating exclusively in its headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, to expanding to Vietnam in 4Q 2022, to Indonesia in 1Q 2023, and now to the Philippines in 3Q 2023. 

Dennis Nguyen, SoPa founder/chairman/CEO and TMG chairman, stated, “We are very pleased to bring the Philippines market into the TMG ecosystem. TMG’s disruptive advertising platform, combining over 10,000 talented creators, market-leading design/branding capabilities, influencer advertising-focused social commerce services, will generate massive storytelling capabilities and revenue generation opportunities for local, regional and international advertisers seeking to market in the Philippines.” 

He added, “By leveraging our local knowledge of market trends from other offices in Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia, TMG provides international quality advertising products and services for our brand partners as well as significant revenue generating opportunities for Philippines creators”.

“I am very excited to hire Billy Soo to head our TMG Philippines operations. Billy brings a wealth of experience in gaming and advertising from his time at Gushcloud International, Nixgen Entertainment, and Powerplay Inc. I look forward to seeing Billy and his team create the most unique and powerful advertising platform here in the Philippines,” Nguyen continued.

On his upcoming appointment, Soo commented, “Bonding through the power of influence, we want to create a genuine connection for brands and content creators, tapping into TMG’s broad advertising network and extensive ecosystem to open new doors towards more business opportunities, capitalising on digital-first and fully integrated advertising networks.”

He added, “Nguyen hired me to turbocharge TMG’s expansion here in the land of the Kabayan. In just five weeks’ time, we have already built a staff of 10+ Manila-based advertising professionals. TMG Philippines will offer premium branded campaigns, MCN, sports marketing and e-sports verticals and we look forward to serving the creator and advertiser communities.”

Singapore – In a slew of recent senior appointments in Asia, global brand and customer experience agency VMLY&R has appointed Saw Gin Toh as its new head of strategy for Singapore.

In her new role, Toh joins VMLY&R Singapore’s management team to lead and plan the development and growth of the strategy team, helping to grow business and building trusted connections with key clients and partners. 

Toh brings a mix of strategy and insights development across multiple categories and consumer segments, garnered from more than 20 years of experience with major networks and clients. She started out in strategic planning and insights for creative agencies before moving into communications, channel planning and insights on the media side. Most recently she was head of strategy consulting at Dentsu Consulting.

Commenting on her own appointment,Toh said, “I am constantly on the lookout for new opportunities to apply my knowledge, skill sets, experiences, and exposure in new areas of application. And VMLY&R, a leader in brand experience, customer experience and commerce, provides the perfect opportunity for me to do just that. As the lines between creative and media blur, there is an opportunity for us to offer integrated solutions to clients’ needs by focusing on commerce as the intersection point between business experience and customer experience.”

Meanwhile, Rhys Taylor, managing director of VMLY&R Singapore, said, “Strategy has always been at the heart of what we do at VMLY&R, so Saw Gin’s extensive experience makes her the ideal fit to head up strategy for Singapore, our regional hub.”

 “She has a strong track record in delivering growth for clients by helping them navigate ever more complex marketplaces, as well as having been recognised at regional and global awards as a game-changer, and for insights and research methodologies. She joins an already strong team of capability leads across our broader services — all with the focus of building connected brands for our growing client portfolio,” he added.

Her appointment is a part of VMLY&R’s ongoing strategy to fortify its regional hub in Singapore, as she joins a growing team of capability leads, built to ensure that services are optimized to best suit client needs through creativity, technology, data and culture.

Sydney, Australia – Hotwire, the global technology communications and marketing consultancy, announced the appointment of Melissa Cullen to the new role of managing director of communications for the Asia-Pacific region. 

In her new position, Cullen will be responsible for Hotwire’s business in Australia and will expand its reputation and relationship services footprint across APAC. 

Cullen will work alongside Anol Bhattacharya, managing director of marketing in APAC, to deepen the consultancy’s offerings in communications strategy, public relations, media relations, digital marketing, crisis and issue management, content production, executive thought leadership services, account-based marketing, corporate narrative platforms, and influencer management. 

Heather Kernahan, global chief executive officer of Hotwire, said, “We were looking for an experienced tech communications leader with the drive and ambition to expand our communications and public relations services in both capabilities and reach as we build with clients across Asia Pacific.”

“Mel’s experience in running her own agency for more than a decade, her work as a senior communications strategist with global tech brands and her leadership role in the PR industry are a fantastic combination that bring value and expertise to Hotwire clients and our team,” Kernahan continues. 

Prior to her appointment, Cullen worked in senior roles at Icon Agency, Finchco and Ogilvy, leading on major clients including Salesforce, Westpac and Microsoft. She was also the co-founder and managing director of Res Publica, where she spent fifteen years designing and delivering successful communications programs for some of Australia and the world’s best-known brands and businesses, including Lion, Unilever, Westpac, Jurlique, Priceline and Gatorade.  

Throughout her career, Cullen also held several leadership roles within the Australian public relations industry, including Chair of the Public Relations Council and Board Member of The Communications Council.

On her recent appointment, Cullen shares, “I am thrilled to be joining Hotwire to lead our communications services across APAC into an exciting new growth chapter.  Hotwire is a truly global agency with deep expertise in technology communications and marketing and I am really looking forward to partnering with our clients to share their stories of success and deliver real commercial impact.” 

Singapore – Wunderman Thompson, a WPP agency, announced the appointment of Audrey Kuah as its new chief executive officer of Asia-Pacific. 

In her new role, Kuah will oversee the creative and strategic growth of the business across the APAC region. She will be based in Singapore and will report to Wunderman’s global CEO, Mel Edwards. 

Kuah’s expertise in marketing and advertising has been deployed across industries and geographies for more than two decades. 

Kuah joins Wunderman Thompson from OCBC Bank, where she formerly served as head, group marketing, global consumer and financial services, responsible for driving business and growth-focused marketing initiatives. During her time at OCBC, she delivered creatively driven, integrated campaigns that were inspired by consumer insights with personalisation at the core. 

She also partnered with OCBC’s group brand and communications team to design the consumer arm’s experience in Decentraland, OCBCx65Chulia. Kuah also spent eight years prior at Dentsu, where she was recognised as one of The Drum’s Top 100 Digital Marketers in the World (2019). 

Mel Edwards, global CEO of Wunderman Thompson, says, “Having worked both client and agency side, Audrey understands and appreciates the dynamics of working with leading global brands. We’ll have the best of both worlds for our people and our clients in APAC with Audrey at the helm, and I have no doubt she will bring her joy for creative problem solving to combine our creative offering and capabilities to drive growth in the region.” 

Meanwhile, Kuah also commented on her appointment, saying, “My journey in marketing and advertising jump started at J. Walter Thompson Singapore, I’m delighted to come full circle and lead the network’s operations across Asia Pacific. It’s not often this kind of opportunity presents itself, let alone for a network as progressive as Wunderman Thompson. The depth and breadth of the capabilities Wunderman Thompson has to offer is unmatched, and I look forward to working with both teams and clients to deliver their vision in one of the most dynamic and fast growing regions in the world.” 

Kuah will start her role at Wunderman Thompson at the beginning of September. She will be taking over from global president and EMEA CEO Ewen Sturgeon, who was acting as interim APAC CEO.

She is currently on the board of the Singapore Tourism Board and was most recently on the board of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore International. 

Philippines – Katrina Gonzalez has announced that she has been appointed by digital finance service Coins.ph as its new global marketing director. In an exclusive interview with MARKETECH APAC, Gonzalez said that for her new role, she would be generating awareness for Coins.ph on its operations and future expansions to provide more people with easy access to digital assets and innovations in the Web3 space.

Specifically, she will be prioritizing on educating users on how they can participate in the web3 ecosystem and the opportunities it creates, in a safe and secure manner. 

“For web3 and crypto natives, we’ve got a lot of product launches in store to serve their rapidly evolving needs and cater to the various segments of the market spanning crypto traders, Web3 gamers, businesses, institutions, NFT collectors and more. So we want to do these justice by spreading awareness and making these accessible through education, promotions and community engagement,” Gonzalez told MARKETECH APAC. 

Prior to her appointment, Gonzalez held key roles in indie Web3 game studios as the chief operating officer of Serriva Labs and the former head of operations of YGG Pilipinas for more than a year.

“With YGG, I was constantly exposed to the community of web3 gamers we served. Web3 gaming made a substantial impact on people’s lives in terms of access to earning opportunities, and their trust in YGG to help navigate this new world and provide education on cryptocurrency and financial management was top of mind. Hearing their experiences, successes, and passion to give back to help others too was an inspiration. I believe I learned more from them than they learned from me and I’m truly grateful for that,” stated Gonzalez when asked about her prior experience in the Web3 industry. 

She also possesses a wide array of marketing leadership experience in banking and fintech firms, being the former chief marketing officer as well as the marketing and communications head of UnionDigital Bank and UnionBank respectively.  

“At UnionBank, heading the marketing and communications team of the fintech group, this is where I saw a traditional bank evolve into one that was not only willing to innovate but also keen to work with what was then considered competitors – the fintechs. By enabling fintechs and collaborating with them to create solutions for customers, we were able to do more, for more people. At UnionDigital, I was part of the founding team that started the digital bank and learned how to build from scratch with the customer in mind – the underbanked and underserved,” she mentioned when asked about her previous roles in the field of banking.   

Speaking on her own appointment, Gonzalez said, “Through all these roles, I’ve been lucky to work in organizations that pushed the boundaries of innovation to provide people with opportunities to uplift their lives –  from web3 gaming to financial services. This is why I decided to join Coins.ph as we want to do the same thing in the digital asset space. I’ve learned through my prior roles, that it’s by keeping this mission in mind, day in and day out, that allows us to go beyond to serve the customer.”

When asked about the challenges and opportunities that the fintech industry will face for this year, she pointed out the emergence of fintech alternatives as something that could both be a challenge and an opportunity.

“For quite some time now, fintechs have been challengers to traditional financial services offered by banks and institutions. What we’re seeing emerge is that there are alternatives to fintechs coming from the web3 and digital asset space – from lending, savings and ways to earn – it will be interesting to see how fintechs either compete or collaborate with builders in web3. This is both a challenge and opportunity for fintechs,” she answered. 

Gonzalez joins Coins.ph following its cryptocurrency partnerships with UnionBank, Globe, and the Philippine BasketBall Association. 

Philippines – Dentsu Philippines has been selected as the integrated media agency of record for Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) to grow the company’s brand awareness and market share.

Jollibee Foods Corporation is the parent company of the Filipino fast-food restaurant chain, Jollibee. The company was founded in 1975 and has now established 18 brands and over 6,300 stores across 34 countries. 

David Cruse Beal, global chief marketing officer of JFC, said, “We are energized by the ‘one dentsu’ proposition presented by dentsu Philippines and the digital expertise and talent presented by Merkle Singapore. We look forward to working with the Dentsu team and leveraging shared media tools and systems to accelerate our customer journeys.”

Mako Chaves, managing director,media, for dentsu Philippines, shared that it is a privilege for them to work with JFC and that they are confident of what they can do for the company. 

“It is a privilege to work with JFC’s home-grown brands, including Jollibee, Mang Inasal, Chowking, and Red Ribbon and to help them with their very ambitious growth plans. With our expertise in digital marketing and transformation, access to human insight and point of purchase motivation as well as long-term planning and buying acumen. I am confident we will help them grow brand awareness and market share,” said Chaves. 

JC Catibog, CEO of dentsu Philippines, further commented, “This monumental win is testament to the dentsu value of radical collaboration, where we employ a borderless team based on where the specialization of the practice pillars relevant to JFC reside.”

“Our promise is to deliver agility and efficiency with this operating model that consistently brings the best of the dentsu network to all of the JFC brands. The media business further strengthens the JFC-dentsu relationship, adding to its current creative remit for Chowking, Mang Inasal, and Milksha, as well as global technology solutions assignments with Merkle Singapore,” he added. 

Singapore – Following a slew of recent senior appointments, Bondee has just announced the appointment of Lionel Sim as head of commercial.

In this role, Sim will be managing all corporate partnerships and commercial initiatives, backing Bondee’s efforts to further drive engagement with users and brands across the region.

With a career spanning more than 15 years in digital media and advertising, Lionel has held key roles in global tech firms, including Apple, Tencent, and TikTok, that operate in a variety of markets such as Singapore, Japan, China, the United States, and Australia. His proficiency in English, Mandarin, and Bahasa Indonesia reflects also his cross-cultural competence, which has been instrumental in fostering collaboration with international teams.

Speaking on his new position, Sim said, “I’m really excited and grateful to be taking on this role at Bondee, which lines up perfectly with what I’m passionate about. I love building businesses and bringing communities together, and I’m looking forward to forging win-win partnerships that will add value and deliver joy to Bondee users. We are actively listening to customer feedback and embracing the opportunity to work hand in hand with partners to shape innovative commercial models together.”

Meanwhile, Fei Yu, the newly appointed CEO of Bondee, commented, “Lionel brings years of experience in establishing partnerships that drive growth for all partners, aligning perfectly with Bondee’s strategic goals. Bondee is super focused on hiring talented individuals who share our vision,  and we believe Lionel will effectively leverage his extensive global background to build highly-valuable collaborations with businesses to drive monetization at Bondee.” 

Singapore – Universal Music Singapore, a record label under the Universal Music Group (UMG), appoints music industry veteran Alice Kent as the new general manager to bolster the company’s presence in Singapore and across the region. 

In her newly appointed role, Kent will supervise all aspects of the company’s operations, including the company’s artist and repertoire (A&R) projects, marketing strategies, partnership ventures, and business expansion efforts. 

Alice Kent previously served as the marketing, partnerships, and business development director for Live Nation Entertainment Singapore. She also worked for Warner Music Group Singapore as their business development, sync, and partnerships director and for Sony Music Entertainment Asia as the regional marketing director. 

Calvin Wong, CEO of Southeast Asia and SVP Asia for Universal Music Group, commented on the appointment, saying,”We welcome Alice’s enthusiasm and industry savvy to Universal Music Singapore as General Manager.” 

“She brings with her a pioneering spirit and a wealth of experience from her decades of working in the music and entertainment industry, covering many aspects of the business from brand partnerships, label marketing, and artist management to sync deals, non-traditional sales, live shows, and concerts. All of which, combined with her passion for music, will help Universal Music Singapore drive continued growth,” he continued. 

Kent carries with her an expanded portfolio, which includes collaborations with Billie Eilish and the Singapore Tourism Board, partnerships with Singtel and PayPal, and even securing sponsorship agreements for K-Pop group BlackPink. 

“I am honoured and excited to be part of the dynamic and multi-faceted Universal Music team. I look forward to making a positive impact and bringing my industry expertise and creativity to the strong body of work and artist roster that Universal Music has,” Kent said. 

She further added, “Singapore is such a diverse and dynamic market, and this is where I will be focusing on the growth potential for all creative partnerships and brand deals. In addition, I intend to take a keen eye on domestic and regional artists’ prospects while strengthening our repertoire and artist development efforts, building upon Universal Music’s leading position.”