Tag: Appointments

Jakarta, Indonesia – Hypefast, the house of e-commerce native brands in Southeast Asia, has appointed Mohammed Alabsi, former senior vice president of engineering at e-commerce platform Bukalapak, to be its new chief technology officer.

In his new role, Alabsi will be joining the senior leadership team, and will be managing Hypefast’s tech team, focusing on developing technology to support the development of the company’s end-to-end tech-driven retail ecosystem.

Alabsi is a seasoned technology leader with experience in the US, Asia, and the Middle East. He brings over 17 years of experience in the technology industry, with a proven track record of building AWS services powering the infrastructure of tech companies worldwide. He was also a founding member of Amazon’s advertising and B2B e-commerce businesses. In addition, Mohammed is active in the startup scene, advising and investing in startups across SEA and the US.

Commenting on his appointment, Alabsi said that the opportunity to build and accelerate technology innovation for Hypefast gained his attention from the start, especially the idea of developing ultra-relevant tech solutions for the e-commerce native brands in SEA based on real problems and challenges they are facing when managing their own portfolio brands. 

“We want to use this to bring innovation and effective solutions to the brands. I also look forward to building Hypefast’s new best-in-class tech team and together taking Hypefast one step closer to the company’s vision,” he added.

Meanwhile, Achmad Alkatiri, Hypefast’s founder and CEO, commented that they are excited to welcome Alabsi to their leadership team, as his diverse experience in tech makes him distinctively suited to drive innovation as Hypefast accelerates their tech-driven retail ecosystem and brings solutions to e-commerce native brands.

“His experience, combined with our best-in-class team in retail and e-commerce, will lead our continued investment in the leadership team for the industry and strengthen Hypefast’s commitment to super-charge the growth of e-commerce native brands in Southeast Asia,” said Alkatiri.

Mumbai, India – Chimp&z Inc, the digital creative agency from the house of Merge Infinity Global, has elevated Ashish Duggal, former vice president of growth and operations at Chimp&z Inc, to the new role of chief operating officer.

In his new role, Duggal will be accelerating Chimp&z Inc’s expansion across key business verticals by adding new revenue streams. He will administer new business acquisitions, large-scale campaigns, strategy, influencer management, and project management team, as well as overall agency operations to redefine the company’s growth metrics.

Prior to joining Chimp&z Inc, Duggal has served as the senior manager of business alliance at digital marketing services provider Logicserve Digital, and was later on elevated as the associate vice president of business alliance.

Commenting on his elevation, Duggal said, “I am truly honoured to become the COO of this whip-smart team of storytellers. With a strategic roadmap in place, an exciting time comes ahead. I look forward to contributing to the new wave of growth for Chimp&z Inc in the global market establishing it as a digital powerhouse.” 

Meanwhile, Angad Singh Manchanda and Lavinn Rajpal, Chimp&z Inc’s founders, shared that Duggal is a thinker with an acute understanding of their client’s evolving requirements, and he has a track record of harnessing creativity in all its forms to deliver rapid growth and results.

“His knowledge and erudition about the ever-changing digital market always came to fruition for the agency. We wish him the best for his new role and hope that he continues to deliver strategic solutions that will uplift Chimp&z Inc.’s success metrics,” they both added.

Earlier this month, Chimp&z Inc has won the digital mandate of the Indian skincare essentials brand, Raw Beauty. The agency will be managing Raw Beauty’s social media and increasing brand awareness for boosting conversion rates and sales.

Singapore – Global electronic signature and agreement cloud company DocuSign has appointed Kartik Krishnamurthy, former vice president for APAC at conversationalist AI platform Paradox, to be its new area vice president for Asia. 

Aside from his previous role at Paradox, Krishnamurthy has served as the managing director of cloud-based human capital management software company Cornerstone OnDemand in Asia, where he executed the strategic vision and regional plan to support the company’s growth in the region. He has also worked with payroll service provider ADP for more than three years in multiple senior roles.

In his new role, Krishnamurthy will be responsible for driving sustainable revenue growth across key markets within Asia, including Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, and the Philippines across all customer segments. He will be reporting directly to Dan Bognar, DocuSign’s group VP and general manager for APJ. 

Krishnamurthy said that they are at an exciting phase of transformation, and DocuSign’s proposition of helping leaders elevate their business to the next level to unlock greater potential is a value add that he strongly believes in.

“Together with the regional and global team, I look forward to improving the lives of – and making business easier for – customers with a fast, efficient and productive solution here in Singapore and the rest of Asia,” he added.

Meanwhile, Bognar shared that Asia is a key contributor to their business and one of the fastest-growing regions globally, and even before the pandemic, they’ve seen a great demand for new tools and services to support the diverse businesses here. 

“We are committed to innovating our business through expanding our local teams to support our customer needs,” said Bognar.

Mumbai, India – Advertising agency DDB Mudra Group has elevated Vanaja Pillai, former consultant of diversity and inclusion at DDB Mudra Group, to be its new head of diversity, inclusion, and impact.

Pillai was the driving force behind the agency’s ‘Phyllis India Project’, which is one of the industry’s most comprehensive and intense leadership development programmes with consistent and deep interventions, to help prepare DDB’s women talent for leadership.

In her new role, Pillai will be working closely with Aditya Kanthy, DDB Mudra’s CEO and managing director, and Rita Verma, DDB Mudra’s head of HR, on initiatives to grow a diverse and inclusive workplace, including talent acquisition, retention, training, and outreach to talent in underrepresented communities. She will also be leading the creation and delivery of effective growth and development opportunities rooted in the company’s purpose and growth strategy. 

Pillai said that over the next year, they will focus on a select set of DEI goals and approach them with the same rigour and passion that made the Phyllis India Project what it is today. 

“From an overall talent perspective, the pandemic made us even more aware of the need for constantly focusing on people and their growth. We hope to make some of our talent programs world-class this year,” added Pillai.

Meanwhile, Kanthy shared that besides being a stellar leader, having run operating roles in the agency business with flair and distinction, Pillai has over the last two years built one of the industry’s best-run diversity programs – the Phyllis India Project. 

“This work with the Group’s effort as a global network to bring in diverse voices to help shape workplace culture and brand communication of the future,” said Kanthy. 

Nikki Lamba, DDB Worldwide’s chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer, noted that Pillai’s work on the Phyllis India program has been applauded across DDB’s borders and is a brilliant example of senior leadership driving actionable change in advancing DEI within the DDB family. 

“We are excited about her taking on this larger mandate and bringing DEI to the heart of our business, people and product strategies in India. There is a lot of good work happening already in parts of the DDB network that India will surely build off and gain from,” said Lamba.

Just recently, DDB Mudra Group has also announced the appointment of Anand Murty as the national strategy head for DDB Mudra and Mehak Jaini as the national strategy head for 22feet Tribal Worldwide. Both will be leading the group’s promise of a cohesive view across advertising, digital marketing and media.

Singapore – dentsu Asia Pacific has appointed Farrokh Madon, former chief creative officer at creative and CRM agency Wunderman Thompson, to be its new chief creative officer for APAC at B2B-dedicated CXM agency Merkle B2B.

Aside from his previous role at Wunderman Thompson, Madon has a career spanning Singapore, Amsterdam and India, where he has previously led various creative departments in Singapore at BBDO, McCann Erickson, and Y&R, which has been renamed VMLY&R following a merger with VML. He has also worked with major brands including BMW, Lazada, Johnson & Johnson, MasterCard, Gillette, and Caltex, as well as Suntory, and Diageo. 

In his new role, Madon, who will be based in Singapore, will be overseeing Merkle B2B’s creative directions and strategies to impart creative technology solutions and innovative customer experience. He will also be reporting directly to Kiaran Geen, the president of Asia Pacific at Merkle B2B, and Rhys Taylor, the managing director of strategy and creative for APAC at Merkle B2B.

Commenting on his appointment, Madon said, “When storytelling and technology hold hands, magic happens. I am looking forward to creating engaging brand stories and experiences with the talented team at Merkle B2B.”

Meanwhile, Geen shared that Madon will be bringing his wealth of experience and expertise in creativity and design to Merkle B2B with out-of-the-box ideas and digital solutions to their ever-evolving customer journey.

“We look forward to having him on board to share his insights in creating a unique brand experience and bringing it to the next level at Merkle B2B,” said Geen.

Cologne, Germany – Global brand experience agency Uniplan has appointed Olaf Pempel, former executive vice president of client experience and practice group leader of marketing communication at communications network Weber Shandwick Germany, to step into the newly created position of executive director of global communication.

In his new role, Pempel will be responsible for Uniplan’s entire communications with teams in Germany and China. The appointment will take effect this April, and he will be reporting to Rüdiger Maeßen, Uniplan’s CEO for Europe, as well as working closely with the other members of Uniplan’s global board.

Pempel has been working for more than 25 years in PR and marketing communications. Prior to his previous role at Weber Shandwick, Pempel was the business director at Pleon, which is now Ketchum, and the head of corporate relations at Sony Electronics in Cologne.

Commenting on his appointment, Pempel said that he was particularly impressed by the open and diverse corporate culture at Uniplan and the agency’s international footprint. 

“I am also looking forward to further leveraging the brand’s potential and building a global and integrated communications team,” he added.

Meanwhile, Maeßen commented that he is very excited that they have won Pempel for this role, as he can bring the right experience to accompany the transformation of Uniplan into a holistic consulting company in both internal and external communications.

“We can only benefit from his proven PR expertise and the know-how he has acquired over many years as an executive in international network agencies,” said Maeßen.

Australia – Creative technology and digital agency Orchard has appointed Daniel Taylor, former head of data, analytics and strategy at digital and conversational agency VERSA Agency, to step into the newly created position of director of data and insights. 

Throughout his career, Taylor has worked with clients including British Airways, Ikea, Toyota, and Coca-Cola, amongst others. He has also held positions at government executive agency Service NSW, as well as an eight-year stint at digital agency Deepend, where he was the senior analytics and data planner before being promoted to director of analytics and insights.

In his new role at Orchard, Taylor will be expanding the agency’s data-led service offerings and working with strategic partners to drive more connected experiences for Orchard’s clients.

Taylor commented that the team at Orchard are hugely talented and has delivered some amazing work in the data and CRO space, and with huge momentum and some great new client wins, it is an exciting time to get onboard.

“Very early on in discussions with Orchard, we spoke about the need to ensure data is an ever-evolving resource that works across multiple platforms, teams, and use-cases. This will be a key focus for us to ensure our clients’ data tech-stack is future-proofed, less fragmented and set up for success,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mikaela Crimmins, Orchard’s head of experience, shared that Taylor is a leader who is equally as comfortable mining data to identify trends and narratives that drive change, as he is leading teams that connect brand promise to brand experience. 

“We are truly thrilled to welcome him to the team at Orchard and overly excited to watch our data capabilities expand with his rich experience,” Crimmins added.

Just recently, Orchard has also appointed Michael Di Natale, former managing director at digital and conversational agency VERSA Agency, to step into its newly created role of managing partner, in which he was tasked to bolster the agency’s growth and create connected experiences.

Singapore – Virtue, the creative agency by media company VICE, has appointed Zoe Chen, former senior strategist at advertising agency BBH Singapore, to be its new strategy director, aimed at bolstering its APAC strategy team.

In her new role, Chen will be drawing on the rich cultural insights of the Vice Media Group to work with its clients across the region, pushing the limits of creativity and driving agency growth. She will be based at Virtue’s Singapore regional hub, and will be the strategic lead for Japanese skincare brand Clé de Peau Beauté, for which Virtue is the global social media agency of record, as well as working on innovation projects for Diageo and Coca-Cola. Moreover, Chen will help lead Virtue’s soon to be launched internship programme.

During her previous stint at BBH in Singapore and London, she has worked with brands including Chupa Chups, Audi, Nike, Uber, and Jollibee, as well as United Overseas Bank, and Sentosa.

Commenting on her appointment, Chen said, “Joining Virtue and the VMG network feels like I’m coming full circle and getting first dibs on the most intriguing parts of culture. I’m excited to be at the intersection of strategy and culture to create work that contributes back to culture.” 

Meanwhile, Huiwen Tow, Virtue’s head of strategy for APAC, shared that Chen is a creative strategist at heart who has an innate interest in art, design and culture, and an insatiable curiosity about the world around her. 

“As we continue to grow in the region by building forward-thinking brands from the inside of a culture, her strategy experience and collaborative approach make her an ideal addition to our team,” said Tow.

In March, Virtue APAC has made a number of key appointments, namely Nuno Dores, the new associate creative director for Singapore, Hayden Scott, the new senior creative director, and Kartick Krishnamurthy, the new business director for India.

Malaysia – Marketing communications agency Naga DDB Tribal has appointed Farrah Harith-McPherson, former managing director at media network M/Six in Kuala Lumpur, to step into the newly created role of chief growth officer.

Harith-McPherson is a branding and communications specialist with over 20 years of experience, and has served in a diverse range of roles in a leadership capacity. Aside from her previous role at M/Six, she has also held roles at BBDO Malaysia and M&C Saatchi.

In her new role at Naga DDB Tribal, Harith-McPherson will be reporting to Kristian Lee, Naga DDB Tribal’s CEO, and will work closely with Clarence Koh, the agency’s COO, Alvin Teoh, the agency’s CCO, and Alex Goh, the agency’s CSO, as well as Nik Radzi, the agency’s ECD. She will focus on driving the agency’s action goals focused on developing new services in pursuit of new business as well as organic growth. 

Moreover, Harith-McPherson will aid in charting the direction of the agency in identifying horizontal and vertical growth opportunities to elevate the diversity and level capabilities of its service offerings to existing as well as to its potential clientele. Her role also entails sharing responsibilities with the COO in streamlining the agency’s internal processes, managing key department operations, and providing guidance and leadership to agency staff members.

Commenting on her appointment, Harith-McPherson said, “I am thrilled to be joining an agency with such a strong legacy for building enduring and memorable brands. I look forward to continuing the strong growth momentum as well as being a part of the team that charts this next chapter to drive organic and new business growth for Naga DDB Tribal through new offerings and strategic collaboration.” 

Meanwhile, Lee stated that the hire was an indicator of the agency’s intent and ambition to continue to strive towards pursuing positive evolution to attain its goals of becoming an agency that truly understands and meets the marketing needs of brands of all sizes local and regional alike.

“With her experience, drive, and proven leadership qualities, Farrah brings not only vision and skill but importantly a strong voice that complements our management team perfectly. We could not be more thrilled and excited by her coming on board,” he said. 

Singapore – Automotive manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) has elevated Yoichi Miyazaki, former CEO for Asia at Toyota Motor APAC, to be its new operating officer and global chief competitive officer at TMC. 

Miyazaki, who has been leading the Asia region for Toyota since 2020, will now become responsible for improving the competitiveness of Toyota across all regions, delivering ‘Ever Better Mobility’ solutions for the customers, as well as contributing to society and global sustainability.

Succeeding Miyazaki is Hao Quoc Tien, the chief operating officer and regional operating officer of Toyota Motors APAC, who will be promoted to the role of CEO for Asia region at TMC and president at TMAP. In addition, Tien will be also taking over the role of vice chairman of Toyota Daihatsu Engineering and Manufacturing Co., while concurrently maintaining his responsibilities as CEO of Asia region for Toyota Financial Services and deputy chief officer of Sales Financial Business Group for TMC.

In his new roles, Tien will now be leading the on-going transformation of Toyota in Asia from an automotive to a mobility company, focusing on achieving Asia’s ambitious business plans. This includes the launch of various electrified vehicles, the drive towards carbon neutrality across the entire value chain, and the start of multiple new mobility initiatives through close collaboration with Asia Sales and Manufacturing Companies (ASMCs) and Sales Finance Companies (SFCs) in the region.

Commenting on his appointment, Tien said that Toyota’s long and storied history has allowed them to be market leaders across multiple countries, thereby serving a huge number of customers with technologically advanced vehicles that deliver the highest quality, durability, and reliability, and he is very excited to build upon this foundation, while transforming themselves to a mobility company, bringing thrill and joy to meet changing expectations of customers. 

“We aim to tackle climate change through multiple technological pathways, including the widest and most accessible electrified vehicle lineup and various new mobility solutions. In line with the vision of Akio Toyoda, our Global CEO, this will allow us to create ‘Mobility for All’, and ensure that we support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) transformative promise to ‘Leave No One Behind’,” added Tien.