Tag: Appointment

Singapore – Media company Verizon Media has announced the promotion of former director of content Simon Wheeler as the company’s senior director of content, therefore ramping up the company’s remit in Southeast Asia and India following the success of its Australian-based media brands.

Through his new role, Wheeler will be responsible for editorial strategy in English-language regions including Australia, India, and Southeast Asia. Editorial teams in India and across Southeast Asia will now report to Wheeler under the new structure. 

Prior to his new role, Wheeler has led the editorial strategy in Australia, managing teams to deliver quality content, diversify audiences, and achieve substantial growth. 

According to the company, Australian monthly active users across its editorial brands Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Lifestyle, Yahoo News and Yahoo Sport grew by 8% last year, and logged-in users increasing by 7%.

Commenting on his promotion, Wheeler said, “This is a really exciting time for Verizon Media as we band together with international teams to deliver quality content for our audiences across the wider APAC region. 2020 presented difficult and unexpected challenges for all but we overcame and adapted to interact with our audiences in new ways. I’m excited to be taking on this new role and working closer with our regional counterparts.”

Meanwhile, Marie-Hélène Savard, vice president and head of international consumer at Verizon Media, commented, “We’re thrilled to announce Simon’s promotion to this new role. Having proven success in diversifying and growing audiences over the past few years in Australia, we’re excited to see his expertise in play across the wider region. This new structure will better align our editorial strategy across wider APAC and enable our editorial teams to continue to deliver fantastic content and results for our audiences.” 

Singapore – Singapore’s femtech start-up Fig Health has appointed Nadya Davies, former Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s (CWT) marketing and communication manager, as its new chief marketing officer, effective this month.

Fig Health is a VC-backed healthcare start-up in Singapore that aims to revolutionize outdated practices and improve women’s healthcare. The company seeks to empower women to understand and manage their health, taking a patient-centric approach and offering the opportunity for health-conscious women to be the experts on their own bodies. 

Davies will be leading the marketing strategy for customer acquisition, retention, engagement, and branding, with responsibility for the full marketing spectrum – from big picture ideation and positioning of the brand down to purchase funnel analytics and building a social media following. 

Prior to her new position, Davies is a marketing communications expert with more than 13 years of local, regional, and global experience across both B2B and B2C. After spending years in PR agencies, including communications agency AKA Asia in Singapore, she transitioned in-house to the global business travel agency CWT, expanding her remit to customer acquisition through digital and content marketing, as well as employee and client communications. 

Commenting on her appointment, Davies believes that Fig Health will bring “massive” impact on the way women manage their own health issues. 

“Having experienced the highs and lows of trying to conceive myself, I know first-hand the importance (both for your physical and mental health) of having information about what’s going on inside your body and finding an action plan to help you achieve your goals. I’m so excited to be part of the team that is going to make this journey easier for women,” said Davies.

Davies will report directly to CEO and Co-Founder Maria Wang-Faulkner. She said that Davies will be a strong addition to their leadership team at a time when the business is fast-tracking to the next stage of growth.

“Her experience in the market, expertise in growing a customer-base, and personal passion for our mission will help us build on our strong foundations and create a meaningful brand and community of users,” said Wang-Faulkner.

Cyberjaya, Malaysia – Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), has appointed former SME Bank Malaysia’s Group Chief Strategy Officer (GCSO) Aiza Azreen as its new chief digital business officer (CDBO), still in line with the agency’sReinvent’ agenda, the mission to strengthen MDEC’s organization to further better its strategies in expanding the nation’s digital economy in the new normal. 

The ‘Reinvent’ agenda seeks to implement a strategic change in the agency’s management, aiming to inculcate a high-performing and high-impact organization. With this mission, the agency can build capabilities internally, identifying the right skills for managerial roles and ensuring that the departments have the best performances.

As the new CDBO, Azreen will be responsible for driving all business development, strategic, and operational aspects of the company. This also includes corporate and business development initiatives, strategic planning, budget development and control, commercial input into national digitalization development, and supporting investor relationships and fundraising.

Azreen will also be a member of the MDEC Operating Council (MOC) and will report directly to CEO Surina Shukri, overseeing and steering the digital adoption ecosystem in e-Commerce, data ecosystem development, and the digital infrastructure departments. She will also lead external innovation opportunities to expand commercial strategies and build corporate business and innovations for e-commerce, in line with MDEC’s focus on digitizing SMEs, MSMEs, and enterprises.

Azreen’s experience spans 20 years. She has worked in Australia and Malaysia across multiple industries in strategy development and execution of large-scale business transformation. She held leadership positions in organizations, such as Pertama Digital Berhad, Axiata Digital Services, and Axiata eCode Sdn Bhd, as well as Bank Rakyat, Sime Darby Group, and Media Prima Berhad and AmBank Berhad where she helped pioneer digital ecosystems. This includes pioneering Malaysia’s cashless ecosystem with Boost eWallet, deploying frontier technologies, innovating operating models, and commercializing businesses through mergers and acquisitions (M&As), venturing, building, and collaborating with strategic partners.

Azreen commented that she had “the good fortune” of having conversations with the leadership team at MDEC on what is required to accelerate Malaysia’s digital economy and on the execution of MDEC’s ‘Reinvent’ as well as the inherent and future challenges in these efforts. 

“At the end of these conversations, taking leave from the private sector to be part of MDEC’s journey was not a difficult decision to make. Today, I join the best-in-class team to contribute not just to MDEC, but to the country as well. With the recent launch of MyDIGITAL initiative and the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint, I am excited with what lies ahead,” said Azreen.

YBhg. Datuk Wira Dr Hj. Rais Hussin Mohamed Ariff, chairman of MDEC, said that with Azreen addition to the team, the organization aims to strengthen its expertise and experience as part of our relentless effort in fulfilling Malaysia 5.0.

“Increasing number of distinguished talents are now gravitating towards MDEC and this augurs well for our stakeholders, adding new perspectives and dimensions in a rapidly-changing landscape during unprecedented times like these. Her appointment will enable us to further expand and solidify our business development initiatives and reach in the digital economy sphere, allowing us to fulfill our goals and Malaysia’s digital vision as espoused in the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL),” said Hussin.

Meanwhile, Shukri said, “The appointment of Aiza will strengthen our line-up as we expand our business capabilities and opportunities, both domestically and globally, in our resolve to create and bolster impactful digital outreach for Malaysia. I’m excited to work with Aiza and I am confident that she will further add value to MDEC as we strive towards driving digital outreach for the society and economy. Aiza’s appointment is a reflection of MDEC’s commitment to create technocrats and a people-first society in the age of 4IR technology, leading to shared prosperity for all.”

Singapore – Creative production company MediaMonks Singapore has tapped Joao Flores, former chief creative officer of dentsu International, to be its new executive creative director (ECD) in SEA, Korea, and Japan, supporting its business expansion plan across the APAC region.

The new ECD will be responsible for developing creative partnerships with the company’s clients, as this will help influence teams with a growth mindset across APAC and elevate the standards for creativity in the region.

Prior to his new position, Flores started his journey being in creative leadership at marketing company Cheil Iberia. Through this, his perspective about imaginative narratives and experiences transformed, which also opened his world for a new age of creativity.

He was then responsible to lead Horizon Foote, Cone & Belding’s (FCB) creative vision in the Middle East, which guided him into dentsu in Singapore, where he gained recognition while growing the business, being promoted to Chief Creative Officer.

Commenting on his appointment, Flores said, “We are living in a new age for creativity, the pioneers of that mindset are MediaMonks and S4 Capital. How to structure creative teams at scale in this new era? How to define a new creative identity elevating data and tech? And what does that mean for people, for the ones living those experiences? The passion for the craft, connected ecosystems, and the commitment to create product ideas with a tangible positive impact, that’s the Monks way, that’s my why, and what made this opportunity so appealing to me.”

According to Joris Knetsch, managing director of MediaMonks Singapore, Joao is known for his creative leadership and his disruptive creative process, as well as his vision for integrated ideas which positively impact people, businesses, and culture.

“We share the passion for creative excellence, and I’m excited to start working with Joao. Together with the rest of the MediaMonks team, we are perfectly set up to scale to new heights,” said Knetsch.

Shanghai, China – Advertising network Grey Group in China has appointed former Proximity China CEO Sharlene Wu as its new CEO, in an aim to build better connections with Chinese Grey clients. 

The new CEO will work with the Global COO & President for International of Grey Group Nirvik Singh and will lead the Grey Advertising. She will also be responsible for the integration of Grey DPI, Grey Star Echo, and Grey Easycom.

Leveraging on her experience in the Chinese market, Wu will be responsible for driving the agency’s overall strategic vision and growth plan, furthering business transformation, and providing oversight across key clients and businesses. With Grey, she will continue to enhance and deliver Grey’s marketing services & integrated solutions to clients.

Sharlene Wu is an accomplished advertising veteran. Her career began in 2000 with WPP’s JWT Wings Taiwan and then Ogilvy. Following a short stint with JWT Shanghai in 2006, she then joined as Business Director of BBDO Shanghai in 2007, which marked the beginning of her career with Omnicom Group as Proximity Shanghai’s general manager.

She instantly progressed through the ranks and was named Managing Director (MD) for both BBDO and Proximity Shanghai in 2015, creating specialty teams across Digital Planning, Data Analytics, Social Media, and Digital Production while managing client accounts such as Adidas, Visa, Master Kong, Tencent, and Alibaba; and in May 2020, Wu was finally named CEO following the merger of Proximity and RAPP in China.

Grey Group’s Global COO & President for International Nirvik Singh commented that Wu is a dynamic, results-oriented leader who has extensive knowledge of our industry.

“Her appointment is a clear signal of our ambition to aggressively pursue growth and digital transformation in China. She is a seasoned professional with experience across many industries and categories and I am certain, along with our existing China Leadership team, will create a powerhouse offering for our clients,” said Singh.

Meanwhile, Wu expressed excitement in leading a “strategic and digital-focused” Grey Group in China, believing that she and the agency share the same belief that creativity can solve business problems.

“We have a great team in place to deliver innovative and creative work that will drive the growth of our clients’ brands and businesses,” said Wu.

Singapore – Twitch, Amazon’s live video streaming service has appointed its newest marketing head for the APAC region, Sandeep Suvarna. 

The appointment comes in the middle of the streaming service’s rapid expansion in the region. It is expected to form a critical part of a wave of new hires in Singapore, to grow the local Twitch community and further improve the service for its content creators, media partners, and publishers.

For his new role, Suvarna will be charged with overseeing Twitch’s marketing strategies for APAC audiences. 

“Twitch is redefining the way we think about entertainment, and provides a point of connection for millennials and members of Generation Z who visit the service to socialize with communities of like-minded individuals and creators,” said Suvarna.

This is not the first time that Suvarna will be spearheading a digital streaming service. Prior to joining Twitch, he most recently launched Fox network’s FOX+ in APAC. 

His credentials boast of over 15 years of marketing experience, working across prominent brands such as LinkedIn and Yahoo. 

“Sandeep’s expertise in marketing comes at a crucial juncture as Twitch expands its operations in the Asia Pacific,“ said Sunita Kaur, APAC Senior Vice President of Twitch.

“With Sandeep on board, we look forward to broadening our services, and showcasing both our gaming and growing non-gaming content, to a greater number of users across the region,” added Kaur.