Tag: Appointment

Sydney, Australia – Media agency Initiative has announced the appointment of Danielle Galipienzo as head of Impact to lead its purpose-led consulting division. The appointment comes as the agency continuously develops the department, expanding from pro-bono partners to include paid services and impact consulting open to all clients.

She will be responsible for looking upon opportunities where Initiative can do its role of helping employees, clients, media partners, NFPs and other businesses to positively amplify the impactful work they’re doing. She will also create impact campaigns supported by a team across Initiative nationally. 

Galipienzo will retain her role as the agency’s client director. Working with Initiative, she has been a very intergral part in strategising the ad spaces and running campaigns of its clients.

Sam Geer, national managing director at Initiative, describes Galipienzo as a genuine market leader, and her experience and passion are evidences that she can lead Initiative’s impact division into its growth.

“We are in a unique position in our industry thanks to the resources, skills, and influence that we have. This new role will help me do my best work where I can effectively drive change in culture, for our clients and the industry,” Galipienzo expressed.

This year, Initiative has also appointed David Cook as its head of marketing and IQ. 

Singapore – InMobi, a leading provider of content, marketing, and monetization technologies, has announced the appointment of Susannah Llewellyn as its vice president of agency partnerships for Asia Pacific to drive its strategic growth with key media agency partners whilst holding companies in the region.

Llewellyn brings with her an experience working across media, technology and digital space. Before joining InMobi, she worked as business agency director at Google. She has also served as international and regional business director at media agency MEC.

Rishi Bedi, managing director for Asia Pacific at InMobi, said that Llewellyn is appropriate for the role due to her adtech and agency background, which is an advantage to drive their growth in APAC through localised go-to-market strategies across our global platforms.

“My depth of experience across the various facets of the media industry including AdTech, agency, and digital marketing will bring valuable insight to my new role at InMobi,” Llewellyn added.

Last month, InMobi also named Aditya Varadarajan as its regional head of the newly expanded Microsoft business in Southeast Asia.

Singapore – Creative agency BLKJ Havas has announced the promotion of Guilherme Machado as its executive creative director to strengthen the agency’s creative offering whilst pursuing more clients and campaigns on a pan-regional level.

In his new role, Machado will work closely with the leadership team to further drive the creative work by combining advertising with authentic storytelling and unique perspectives.

In 2021, Machado joined BLKJ Havas as an associate creative director where he was able to deliver critically acclaimed works for the agency. Before joining BLKJ Havas, he also worked as an associate creative director at agency McCann Australia.

Rowena Bhagchandani, CEO and co-founder at BLKJ Havas said that as the agency expands its regional remit with clients, it will continue to strengthen its position as the APAC Havas creative flagship of the region.

Meanwhile, Machado added, “Creating work that doesn’t look like traditional advertisements has been a key motivator since I started my career, and I can’t think of a better place to continue pushing myself creatively and nurture a team with shared ideals.”

BLKJ Havas is a creative agency that works with brands in culture, entertainment, and media.

Singapore – To strengthen its operation in Asia, global brand and customer experience agency VMLY&R has announced the appointment of Raymond Chin as its chief creative officer for the region. He will report to VMLY&R Asia CEO Yi-Chung Tay.

In his new role, Chin will enhance and develop the agency’s creative capabilities and service offerings across Asia whilst leading its teams in delivering world-class solutions for clients.

His appointment is also a part of agency’s strategy to attract the best industry talent and fulfill its mission of building connected brands.

Chin brings with him an experience in delivering high-impact creative, digital innovation and experience solutions for both agencies and tech consultancies. He has worked for brands including Ikea, Unilever, Nike, LVMH, Shiseido, Starbucks, Huawei, VW, and Ferrari, amongst others.

Before joining VMLY&R, Chin also worked as a chief creative officer at Wunderman Thompson based in Shanghai, China.

CEO Yi-Chung Tay said that Chin is one of the creative leaders who truly understands the importance of creativity for all dimensions of the brand experience, which is also needed in every touch point of customer journey. 

“The freedom to think bigger than many agencies are able, excites me greatly, and I look forward to adding my own blend of magic into the mix,” Chin added.

This month, VMLY&R has promoted Paul Nagy as its chief creative officer for Asia-Pacific region. 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Global media and marketing solutions group IPG Mediabrands has announced the promotion of Cindy Eliza Vaz as its chief digital officer for Malaysia. Vaz has previously worked as the head of digital for Universal McCann in the country.

In her new role, she will be responsible for expanding the digitisation of the group in Malaysia whilst leading the digital transformation to provide a comprehensive suite of qualitative programmatic, performance, and tech solutions. 

Moreover, the group has also promoted Debica Sigamani as its chief technology officer to work closely with the executive leadership team in driving business growth and success.

Bala Pomaleh, chief executive officer at Mediabrands Malaysia, shared that Vaz has played an important role in driving business and digital efforts during her stint at UM.

“Her strengths in digital innovation, strategy, data, and tech capabilities will help us continue to drive digital excellence to meet our clients’ business needs, whilst focusing on transparency, accountability, and brand safety,” Pomaleh added.

Meanwhile, Vaz herself expressed, “I look forward to raising the digital profile of Mediabrands, collaborating closely with UM and Initiative on our digital strategy and empowering clients to be more digitally savvy, while continuing to cultivate an ecosystem that nurtures more mentorship and coaching of young digital talents.” 

Last month, global content studio Mediabrands Content Studio has also appointed Marshall Campbell as its general manager of client service and Luke Simkins as its group creative director.

Australia – Red Havas, the global consumer and creative communications arm of Havas, has announced the appointment of Shane Russell as its chief executive officer for Australia. Russell will be growing its client roster and driving the business’ overall aggressive growth ambition.

Russell brings with him an experience in consumer and corporate communications with a focus on technology. Before joining Red Havas, he served as the executive vice president of New York-based 5W Public Relations where he helped in driving its rapid expansion to become one of USA’s top 10 independent PR agencies by size.

James Wright, global CEO at Red Havas and Havas Creative Group Australia, said that he is looking forward to Russell’s skills and attitude that he maximised in the US market and apply it to the agency’s growth plans in Australia.

Meanwhile, Russell expressed his excitement in further building the agency’s reputation for leading-edge creativity alongside a phenomenal roster of consumer and corporate brands.

“With my strong professional background in all areas of technology, I’m also excited by the significant investments Red is making to increase our presence as a leading agency in the tech sector,” Russell added.

Red Havas is the global consumer and creative communications arm of Havas which was launched in 2019. It currently operates in 14 markets and has 26 offices as of present.

Tokyo, Japan – To strengthen its creative power, marketing communications agency Geometry Ogilvy Japan has announced the promotion of Yasushi Arikawa as senior creative director and creative head of experience whilst adding Naoto Nishimura who assumes an executive creative director position.

The appointments are part of the agency’s efforts to support the growth of its client portfolio and as a whole agency.

Arikawa has been an integral part of the agency’s pioneering Shibuya metaverse work over the last several years. He will now oversee the work of KDDI’s new Web3 venture, Alpha-U which was launched last month.

Meanwhile, Nishimura previously worked at Beacon Communications in Tokyo where he built a strong creative portfolio. In his new role, he will work with Arikawa to strengthen the agency, bringing creative and social together to provide a more integrated offering.

Doug Schiff, chief creative officer at Ogilvy Japan, said that it’s good to recognise some of their best talents whilst bringing great leadership from the outside. Schiff also said that he looks forward to working with the team to collectively move forward and provide bigger integrated ideas for their clients.

Geometry Ogilvy Japan works with brands both in Japan and global countries to support their business ambitions and growth objectives.

Singapore – To set its growth path, digital agency ADK Connect announces the appointment of Rie Otsuka who will simultaneously work as its chief executive officer for Singapore and emerging countries and chief growth officer for ADK Global.

In her new role, Otsuka will be responsible for unlocking the value of the markets in Australia, India, Singapore, and other emerging markets while maintaining the network’s continued success.

Her appointments are also a part of the agency’s commitment to address the post-pandemic communication landscape and prepare itself as a future-ready communications partner. 

Otsuka brings with her an experience in CRM, digital, and global marketing. Before joining ADK, she led the digital and CRM practices at McCann Worldgroup, particularly the global teams for Mitsubishi Electric, Hitachi, and Panasonic. 

Yasuyuki Katagi, chief executive officer at ADK Global, said that they need a leader who will oversee the transformation and structure the change management processes to make it possible.

“With Rie Otsuka’s pedigree in agency leadership and her rich experiences in digital, her dual appointment makes perfect sense. Singapore remains a prime market for many clients as a regional hub,” he added.

Meanwhile, Otsuka added, “Teamwork is a crucial strength of the ADK network. It may not be a new buzzword, but it is an old adage that is challenging to upkeep. We must focus on fostering and empowering great talent to move forward in our highly competitive marketing industry.”

ADK Connect specialises in digital, creative and performance media. It partners with clients in solving marketing challenges by providing innovative solutions.

Australia – Havas Media has announced the promotion of Kevin Fernandes as its national head of partnerships and adtech across all media channels. The appointment coincides with the restructuring of the partnership team, where it fuses online and above-the-line channel planning and buying to focus on engaging with audiences across all channels in all formats.

The restructuring also emphasises the agency’s focus to find the greatest opportunity for marketers to engage audiences along the customer decision journey. Moreover, this allows more seamless delivery of integrated audience data collection and meaningful insights to be activated at speed across multiple media platforms to drive online or in-store purchases.

In his new role, Fernandes will be responsible for leading the newly merged team to develop integrated thinking across all channels. He previously worked as head of data solutions and adtech for Havas Media where he led the delivery of innovative client solutions across addressable and digital offerings. 

Virginia Hyland, chief executive officer at Havas Media Group, said that Fernandes’ promotion is their natural next step as the company experience the integration of digital and data employment across all media channels.

“I am looking forward to leading the team on our integrated digitisation journey, as we look to deliver solutions for the now and future. Utilising data points and technology to continue to evolve advertising innovation, efficiency, and effective results for our valued clients,” Fernandes added.

This month, Havas Media has also named Rebecca Tos as its new managing partner to lead the new Havas Market× business division.