Tag: Appointments

Singapore – Bonsey Jaden, a digital marketing and advertising agency backed by digital technology group CUE, has appointed Sherwin Kukreja, former head of social media at digital telco Yoodo, to be its new head of social media. This new role is Kukreja’s re-entry into the agency end of the digital marketing and branding world.

Kukreja comes into the role with more than enough to go on, having occupied the same position for Yoodo, under Celcom in Malaysia. He also runs on the principle that everything one experiences should inform the next thing. The said international experience includes his unorthodox start as a sound engineer in Melbourne and Dubai, before—in his own words—stumbling into advertising, and thereby finding his passion.

Moreover, Kukreja has had a hand in several campaigns and events, including the launch of the Samsung S9, the first-ever world event for BMW in Malaysia, and, true to his musical roots, Yoodo Presents: Punk Rock Picnic, which featured the biggest local punk rock bands.

Having handled clients from different industries—from food and beverage to tech — Kukreja still believes that his biggest accomplishments have been personal in nature. He noted, “I’ve built my management skills to the point where I can say that people are the most important part of any job and that the key to people—managing them or working with them, it hardly matters—is listening.” 

Bonsey Jaden said that the appointment of Kukreja aims to expand and strengthen the agency’s expertise and leadership team across the Asia Pacific region through continued investment in its talents.

Meanwhile, Daniel Posavac, Bonsey Jaden’s co-founder and CEO, commented that they are so excited to have Kukreja on board with them, giving them fresh leadership and experience in a key part of their business.

“We love the diversity of experiences and skillets from talent who don’t take the traditional pathway —not exactly studying advertising, but picking up principles and skills through the years. I personally believe that if you’ve got the passion for it, nothing will stand in the way of a successful career – and Sherwin is certainly a great example of that. This particular role is integral to driving excellent digital experiences for our client, with social media remaining a prime marketing channel, and Sherwin’s personal emphasis on cultivating meaningful relationships reassures us that we’re headed in the right direction,” said Posavac.

Sydney, Australia – Rufus, the dedicated media and communications agency by Initiative for Amazon’s range of services, has announced new senior leadership appointments namely Sarah O’Leary as managing director and Tom Cumberworth as head of partnerships.

O’Leary has a strong media investment background garnered from 15-years in senior management and director roles both agency and marketing-side. 

Previously with Atomic 212 as Head of Client Service and Planning, O’Leary’s strengths lie in her leadership qualities and deep understanding of how media agencies operate within the ANZ landscape.

Meanwhile, with nearly 15-years of global and local experience, Cumberworth was previously group trading director at OMD Sydney where he led the Suncorp Group business, overseeing the investment strategy and decisioning for the entire portfolio across all media. 

Previously he was with Mindshare and MEC in the UK commencing in 2008 as a TV buyer and moving to an account director role working on clients such as Nike, News Corp, 3 Mobile and Kimberly Clark to name a few.

Melissa Fein, CEO at Initiative Australia said after a robust search and selection process she was delighted to welcome both Sarah and Tom to Rufus, who together bring specialist skills to the table and are charged with delivering high performance outcomes for Amazon.

“Sarah has a proven track record of leading senior stakeholder relationships and delivering business growth in today’s complex and fast-moving market. We’re delighted she has accepted the opportunity to lead Rufus at a pivotal time in the agency’s growth and momentum,” she said.

Fein added, “Tom is an outstanding team leader with a raft of global and local experience managing and leading specialist buying teams across all media platforms, inclusive of TV, VOD, OOH, Radio and more. He will play a leading role in Rufus, Amazon and our media partners’ future successes.”

Manila, Philippines – Uniquecorn Strategies, a PR agency based in the Philippines, has launched a new PR and marketing arm called ‘Blockceler8’, as part of a larger effort to expand its offering focused on blockchain, crypto, NFT, Web3, GameFi, and Metaverse projects.

The new marketing arm began operations with a focus on communications and marketing for cryptocurrency businesses. It employs engaging long-term marketing practices to bring cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to the forefront.

Additionally, Blockceler8 offers services that revolve around educating the audience, including full-stack public relations services, thought-leader marketing, commentary, content marketing, and branding. The agency also provides social media and forums management.

Uniquecorn Strategies said that its genuine interest in disruptive technology motivates its team of marketing experts to employ engaging strategies that will allow companies to reach more customers, partners, investors, and other stakeholders. The power of storytelling is central to the growth of its clients, and it wanted to bring this to its existing web3 clients, such as Tetrix Network, Moneybees, and The Mega Maxi, which will be transferred under the management of Blockceler8.

Dean Bernales, CEO and managing director of Uniquecorn Strategies, said, “The blockchain space is fueled by innovation, so as much as we like to be tech-savvy, we still want to keep its human element. Blockcele8 uses the power of information and persuasive communication to relate crypto to the masses.”

Moreover, Uniquecorn Strategies has promoted co-founder Irene Manansala as its new associate director, a step up from her position as public relations manager. In this new role, Manansala will be leading all Uniquecorn Strategies’ communications, including building the company’s reputation, managing client relationships and long-term partnerships, and developing sustainable communication strategies.

Manansala brings nearly seven years of experience working in advertising and PR to the company. She has worked with companies across various sectors, managing their projects, events, campaigns, and relationships with clientele including Johnson & Johnson (Johnson’s Baby line, Modess, Trade & Marketing, Shopper Marketing, and Retail), Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi-Aventis Philippines, Cignal TV, TV 5 Network, and Reckitt Benckiser Philippines, as well as Mead Johnson, and Petron Corporation, amongst many others.

On her appointment, Bernales commented, “Irene’s extensive communication experience with a very open and collaborative approach to team building and management is something that is necessary and of great importance, as we execute on the next chapter of our company’s future.”

Singapore – Global financial superapp Revolut has appointed Raymond Ng, chief commercial officer at Liquid Group, to be its new CEO for Singapore. This follows Revolut’s recent launch of its crypto products in Singapore.

In his new role, Ng will be focusing on leading and building the next chapter of Revolut’s expansion in Singapore, developing and implementing the local business strategy. 

During his previous stint at Liquid Group, Ng managed product and business development and global expansion. He also held senior executive roles with large global corporations such as Microsoft, Visa, and MasterCard, as well as with tech startups.

Revolut said it is committed to establishing Singapore as one of the cornerstones of its global business and plans to establish several global product hubs.

Commenting on his appointment, Ng said, “I’m thrilled to lead the exceptionally talented team and bring Revolut’s super app offering to Singapore as we continue to develop the best financial solutions for millions in Singapore, especially those who are looking for hassle-free digital alternatives to get more from their money.”

Meanwhile, Nik Storonsky, CEO and founder of Revolut, noted, “With a wealth of experience in the mobile, payment and travel tech sectors and an outstanding track record in scaling the business across new markets in the APAC region, Raymond is an excellent fit for the role and his appointment is a major achievement in our continued mission to become the world’s first truly global financial superapp.” 

In April 2022, Revolut has appointed Charles Debonneuil as APAC general manager as it continues to focus on growth in the APAC region. Debonneuil will focus on building out Revolut’s local Growth teams and developing the business’ growth strategy, driving rapid new user acquisition in the APAC region.

Singapore – Mindshare, the media services company under WPP, has appointed Sidharth Parashar, former president of investments and pricing at GroupM India, to be its new chief investment officer for APAC.

In his new role, Parashar will be focusing on enhancing Mindshare’s investment strategy across local markets, as well as driving Intentional Investment and the opportunity for Good Growth in the region. He will also be reporting to Helen McRae, CEO of Mindshare APAC.

Additionally, Parashar will be based in Singapore and will be part of the Mindshare APAC leadership team.

Commenting on his appointment, Parashar said, “It has been an amazing journey at GroupM, and I am delighted to now take over this new Mindshare APAC investments role. I look forward to this opportunity in new markets to build value for our client’s business.”

Meanwhile, McRae noted, “I am very pleased that Sidharth will be joining our regional team. He brings a tremendous depth of expertise and will be a great champion of Good Growth for our clients.”

Prasanth Kumar, GroupM’s CEO for South Asia, said that Parashar has had a phenomenal career journey where the organisation has witnessed his evolution from a practice expert to a leader over the last 18 years with GroupM. 

“He has successfully led the investment mandates across all media and has elevated the practice through innovative products and delivering exceptional value for our clients. I would like to wish him the very best and will continue to work closely with him as he drives the regional investment strategy for Mindshare,” added Kumar.

In July 2022, Mindshare announced new leadership appointments, namely Shankar Rajagopal as chief client officer for APAC; Ashish Thukral as managing director at Mindshare and m/SIX Vietnam; and Preeti Mascarenhas as head of strategy and product for APAC.

Singapore – Crypto.com, a Singapore-headquartered online platform that supports investors to invest in cryptocurrencies, has appointed Chin Tah Ang, former executive director and head at Digital Industry Singapore (DISG), to be its new general manager of Singapore. 

In his new role, Ang will be bringing his strategic business development experience in the technology sector and deep understanding of the Singapore market landscape.

Ang’s most recent role was at DISG, a joint office between the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). DISG’s aim is to build a great technology ecosystem in Singapore by anchoring global technology leaders, building local champions and nurturing future-ready talent in Singapore. Aside from this, Ang has also previously served in a variety of roles with EDB, advancing strategy and policy engagement for the EDB in various international markets.

Commenting on his appointment, Ang said that Singapore is leading the way as a vibrant hub for fintech and Web3 innovation, and he is thrilled to join a company at the forefront of these efforts.

“Crypto.com will continue to collaborate closely with our public and private sector partners to address critical issues, promote responsible digital asset innovation, and ensure the sustainable growth of Web3 in Singapore,” he added.

Meanwhile, Kris Marszalek, co-founder and CEO of Crypto.com, shared that he is pleased to welcome Ang who brings a comprehensive and well-rounded understanding of local market conditions, the competitive landscape, as well as regulatory matters and technological trends.

“Chin Tah’s proven leadership and expertise will continue to guide us in a critical market for the future of our business and industry,” said Marszalek. 

In June 2022, Crypto.com received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for its Major Payment Institution License.

India – dentsu in India has appointed Bhasker Jaiswal, former APAC lead at Publicis Media, to be its new chief operations officer of media.

In his new role, Jaiswal will be leading integration, transformation, and operational excellence agendas while driving innovations and excellence for dentsu clients and businesses through its three media agencies, namely Carat, iProspect, and dentsu X. He will be reporting to Divya Karani, CEO of media at dentsu South Asia. 

Moreover, Jaiswal will also be working closely with Karani to deliver business transformation, set up and standardise operations and systems, govern product leadership, and enable sustainable revenue growth.

With over 24 years of experience in the media and advertising industry across APAC, Jaiswal specialises in building solutions for advertisers and media companies across monetisation, research, and media investments. His key strength sits in understanding the eco-system of consumers, advertisers, and media owners, as well as the decision-making heuristic. Jaiswal is also passionate about disrupting the current thinking and has developed industry-leading proprietary products which bring efficiency and effectiveness across geographies and clients.

Speaking on his appointment, Jaiswal said, “I am excited to be joining dentsu and being back in India, a big and complex market growing dynamically. I look forward to adding value by improving dentsu processes to impact client outputs as well as improving the lives of our biggest assets – our people.”  

Meanwhile, Karani commented that Jaiswal joining the team here in India is another great step on their journey to become the go-to network of choice for brands in India. 

“His impressive track record, savvy business judgment, operational excellence, and an innate understanding of people and their motivations make him ideal to lead our transformation and integration,” she said.

Singapore – GroupM, WPP’s media investment group, has announced a roster of C-suite appointments in APAC that will be leading the regional transformation of GroupM Nexus – the global performance organisation that unites the network’s performance talent and technologies into one single outfit.

The appointees are Arshan Saha, the new CEO of GroupM Nexus APAC, Jon Thurlow, the new COO of GroupM Nexus APAC, Deepika Nikhilender, the new CEO of Xaxis APAC, and Brett Poole, the new CEO of Finecast APAC and AUNZ.

A founding member of Xaxis APAC, Saha rose through the ranks to become APAC CEO of Xaxis and GroupM’s data-driven specialty businesses, including INCA, Finecast, Sightline, and Acceleration. For over a decade, he led the expansion of Xaxis – an A.I.-powered programmatic engine – into 16 markets and multiplied its revenue by 20-fold.

Saha shared that GroupM Nexus is a cross-channel performance-led organisation that unites its expertise in service excellence, AI technology and the most advanced solutions. 

“This is the future of marketing, and we are poised to offer our clients and agencies the most powerful performance engine that will accelerate their growth. I’m honoured to be working alongside some of the world’s best specialists at GroupM Nexus to collectively cultivate a better media ecosystem,” he added.

Meanwhile, as the new COO of GroupM Nexus APAC, Thurlow will be driving the transformation of Nexus alongside Saha. His new role is an additional appointment to his corporate remit as COO of GroupM APAC.

Thurlow is one of the region’s most accomplished practitioners across the breadth of the network’s business. He architected the consolidation of GroupM’s search, social, commerce, programmatic, and addressable practices in APAC, and for almost three years, he oversaw the complex integration of inter-network systems and structures across 16 markets into a unified campaign delivery platform.

Commenting on his appointment, Thurlow said, “I’m very excited about the launch of GroupM Nexus across the region. Building on the success of the past years, the expanded service and solutions offering that GroupM Nexus will create, represents a wonderful opportunity to deliver genuine market-leading innovation and produce a positive business impact for our clients.”

Moreover, Deepika Nikhilender, who is elevated from SVP to the CEO role at Xaxis APAC, has over two decades of marketing and data science experience. She steered Xaxis’ A.I. and machine-learning ambitions in the region while leading the design of marketing solutions, supply strategy, trading, and operations excellence, as well as ad-tech and platforms strategy.

Deepika commented, “I’m thrilled to embark on this exciting challenge to lead Xaxis APAC into new frontiers where we can break new ground for our clients and agencies with our A.I. differentiated initiatives and solutions. Together with the team, I look forward to cultivating a culture where our talents will continue to thrive as well as strengthening Xaxis’ capabilities to achieve our clients’ desired outcomes.”

Completing the Nexus APAC leadership line-up, Poole, who was formerly managing director of Finecast Australia, has been appointed the CEO of Finecast APAC and AUNZ. With over two decades of experience in product development, tech commercialisation, publishing, and advertising platforms, he has launched and built profitable businesses across native advertising (plista), data tech (mPLATFORM), programmatic trading (Xaxis), and most recently, spearheaded television transformation in Australia where his team grew the Finecast brand to become synonymous with addressable TV and TV innovation.

Poole noted, “I’m thrilled to be given the opportunity to continue growing Finecast across APAC as part of GroupM Nexus. I look forward to working closely with Nexus APAC leaders to build on the outstanding work of our Finecast APAC team.”

Malaysia – Creative agency Ogilvy in Malaysia has appointed Michelle Ong, former CEO of Dentsu One Malaysia, to be its new executive group director.

In her new role, Ong will be driving the agency’s borderless creativity strategy, approach, and opportunities across key clients, as well as elevating the diversity and business leadership capabilities across existing and potential clients. She will be reporting to Nizwani Shahar, CEO of Ogilvy Malaysia. 

Moreover, Ong will be joining the agency management team and will be working closely with Adrian Miller, Ogilvy Malaysia’s chief creative officer, Paul Gage, Ogilvy Malaysia’s strategy director, Edmund Quah, Ogilvy Malaysia’s senior program director, and the Ogilvy leadership Team. While she will focus primarily on account management, Ong’s general management experience will be critical in driving the agency’s goals. Her role will also entail streamlining the agency’s internal processes, managing key department operations, and providing guidance and leadership to agency staff members.

Ong is an experienced and solid communications practitioner with 30 years of experience in building a diverse range of brands strategically and creatively. Prior to her recent role at Dentsu One Malaysia, she also served as the COO of Leo Burnett Malaysia. Ong has also spent time in Indonesia where she was the managing director of McCann Worldgroup. Additionally, she has managed blue chip clients and brands, including Coca-Cola, Nestle (Nescafe, Breakfast Cereal), and McDonald’s, as well as Philip Morris, and Dutch Lady, amongst others.

Commenting on her appointment, Ong said, “Ogilvy Malaysia was my jumping-off point in this industry and after a great adventure, I am so glad to return home to where it all started. Ogilvy is a strong network agency which has not only great brands, but also powerful, passionate people that drive creativity with the goal of inspiring brands and people for the better. I look forward to working with Niz and the leadership team to scale greater heights together.”

Meanwhile, Shahar shared that Ong is someone she deeply admire and respect, and with her experience, drive, and proven leadership qualities, Ong brings not only vision and skill but also her wealth of experience in business leadership as well as general management. 

“This is another huge step forward for Ogilvy Malaysia as we move from strength to strength, improving our talent density across all levels and departments, and creating a diverse makeup of senior leadership to chart the path of growth. I am thrilled to have Michelle back in the family and greatly look forward to working alongside her again,” she said.

Singapore – Media agency Wavemaker has appointed Jenny Pham, former general manager of marketing and strategy at GTI Tourism, to be its new APAC head of media for Colgate-Palmolive.

In her new role, Pham will be based in Singapore, and will be responsible for leading the Colgate-Palmolive business in the region. In July, Wavemaker launched a new agency model for Colgate-Palmolive, creating an APAC hub in Singapore designed specifically to support the client’s business transformation agenda. The team will develop strategy and audience planning for the region across Colgate-Palmolive’s product portfolio, and lead execution through the performance practice established over recent years.

Pham brings with her great experience and a strong point of view around digital transformation, which will be invaluable as the agency partner Colgate-Palmolive into a new era of growth. No stranger to the group, she has previously worked in senior roles at GroupM agencies in Australia, including Essence Digital Global as VP client partner, MEC Australia as managing partner, and Mindshare as business director.

Commenting on her appointment, Pham said, “I am delighted to return to the GroupM family and for the opportunity to play a role in this transformative journey of building the hub for excellence with innovation and growth at its forefront.”

She continued, “I’ve long admired the brand’s work, particularly the Smile Strong campaign showcasing stories of real people who overcame seemingly insurmountable challenges through the sheer power of their optimism. I am excited to lead, inspire and champion optimism at Wavemaker!”

Meanwhile, Rose Huskey, Wavemaker’s chief client officer for APAC, said that they are thrilled to welcome Pham back to their agency group network with Wavemaker being the top choice.

“I am certain that with her strong digital knowledge coupled with her experience in managing brands in fast-paced environments, she will be building strong relationships where clients, teams and collaborators are empowered to achieve success collectively,” added Huskey

Gordon Domlija, Wakemaker’s CEO for APAC, commented, “I love Jenny’s energy, passion and drive to make a difference, it is inspiring and infectious. Jenny joins at a fantastic time, as we launch a new agency model for Colgate-Palmolive. Her leadership of the hub will accelerate our growth ambition for Colgate-Palmolive and further enhance Wavemaker’s position as the leading agency in the digital transformation space.”

In July 2022, Alban Dudek, formerly the chief digital and marketing officer at Omnichannel Retail Indonesia, has joined Wavemaker Indonesia as partner for e-commerce. In his new role, he will be responsible for leading e-commerce services for all Wavemaker Indonesia clients, from brand awareness to conversion on multiple channels.