Tag: Appointments

Sydney, Australia – Global comparison platform Finder in Australia has promoted Taylor Blackburn, former head of media relations for ANZ, as its new head of public relations for ANZ. 

Prior to joining Finder in September 2018, he has previously worked as the account director of communications agencies Haystac and Howorth, and the account supervisor of creative network Ogilvy Health. 

The elevation of Blackburn comes after the stepping down of Adam Freedman, who will be pursuing a different path. 

Commenting on his promotion, Blackburn said, “It’s a thrill to be leading such a great team of professionals, but even more rewarding because of what we do. I joined a really strong crew at Finder in 2018 and it’s my privilege to enable them to go even further as a team.”

Chris Ellis, Finder’s CEO for Australia, shared that Blackburn has powered an incredibly strong media relations team at Finder and demonstrated his deep understanding of the role communications plays in their business – from idea creation to media spokesperson.

“For us at Finder, our customers, partners and crew are at the heart of everything we do. As a passionate and popular leader, Taylor’s unique skill set and experience will be vital to this role, and we’re excited to see him lead our communications function into the future,” said Ellis.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Top online food and grocery delivery platform, foodpanda, has appointed Mediabrand’s media network, Universal McCann (UM), as its new media agency of record.

As part of the remit, UM will be overseeing foodpanda’s media duties including strategy, planning, buying, and research, as well as data and analytics.

Bernard Chong, foodpanda’s marketing director, commented, “We were especially impressed by the people we met, and the commitment of the UM team. We are confident their insightful expertise across data, analytics, and storytelling will help us drive more brand love for foodpanda.”

Audrey Chong, Universal McCann and UM Studios’ CEO, shared that UM aims to help build brands that disrupt through data-led integration, digital acceleration, and content creation through a consultative lens, and this aligns with foodpanda’s vision of the media partnership. 

“The team is excited to get started on this fun, daring brand and we look forward to collaborating and building more buzz together,” said Chong.

The appointment of UM will commence in the first week of December 2021.

Just recently, foodpanda has announced a new vertical within its platform, partnering with Chinese tech giant Xiaomi to now deliver consumer electronics and appliances starting with Singapore and Thailand.

Sydney, Australia – Creative agency Host/Havas has announced the appointment of former creative director at Droga5 New York Henry Kember as its newest group creative director, where he will play an important role in the agency’s creative leadership, and will also help in continuing to shape and drive company culture.

Through his new role, Kember will be overseeing projects across the entire Host/Havas client portfolio which includes Air New Zealand, NBA, Reckitt, Stockland, Palau Legacy Project, Avis Budget Group, Tassal and United Nations Free & Equal.

He brings into the agency over 15 years of experience both locally and internationally. During his stint at Droga5 New York, During his career, Kember has worked on some of the world’s most iconic brands such as Covergirl, PayPal, IKEA and Diageo.

Jon Austin, ECD at Host/Havas, commented that they are thrilled to have someone of Henry’s fearsome calibre and talent join them at Host/Havas, noting that he has long admired Kember’s creative talents during his other stints in other agencies.

“Not just for his incredible aesthetic and passion, but also for his ability to genuinely impact and leverage popular culture in his thinking. In fact, when we were chatting, I’d leave every call feeling like he’d somehow managed to jam several SXSW talks into our Zoom chat. And not even premium Zoom, just the 45-minute one, which is even more impressive,” Austin said.

Meanwhile, speaking about his appointment, Kember commented, “It’s a fascinating, challenging time to be in advertising. No one gets this more than Jon Austin, Olly Taylor and Laura Aldington, and no one’s better set up to thrive at this moment than Host/Havas. Plus they’re so nice I could never have pitched against them. Even the fact that Jon was front man for NZ’s version of Blink 182 couldn’t stop me signing on.”

Singapore – GrowthOps, a marketing technology company, has made strategic appointments to strengthen its teams in the Southeast Asia region, namely David Isaac Mathews as chief growth officer for the Southeast Asian region, Shaad Hamid as general manager for Singapore, and Chris Greenough as general manager for Malaysia. 

Between Singapore and Malaysia, Hamid and Greenough will oversee a diverse team of some 200 professionals, in highly sought-after technology, user experience, creative, consulting, and marketing roles.

Prior to joining GrowthOps, Mathews was an innovation co-lead for ASEAN at EY-Parthenon’s TAS Digital, wherein he delivered digital transformation and strategy projects across a range of industries, covering business design and monetization for clients. Aside from his new role at GrowthOps, he is a mentor for Deep Technology Commercialization: formerly at Lean LaunchPad Singapore, and currently at the NUS Research Innovation Programme (GRIP) program.

“Driving growth increasingly requires regular innovation at the intersection of product and marketing strategy; our multi-disciplinary consulting and implementation teams are assembled to support that. At GrowthOps, we are guided by the customer experience and journey, and our aim is to implement the marketing technology needed to bring data-driven decision-making to the C-suite. Comprehensive marketing strategy and full-funnel marketing are the cornerstone of our best-practice methodologies, based on the learnings of what top-quartile CMO’s do to build, launch and grow,” David said regarding his appointment.

Meanwhile, Hamid’s past experience started off with DigitasLBi in Dubai, UAE as a senior account manager and then as SEO director, working on clients such as Etihad and Johnson & Johnson. He first joined GrowthOps in 2017 as the regional head of growth marketing services for Southeast Asia, a role he continues to hold up to this day alongside his new role.

“I am delighted to take up the role of GrowthOps Singapore’s General Manager, leading this brilliant team of people who bring passion, innovation, and diversity of thinking to work every day. I am incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved so far, and we are all excited about our next phase of growth. We continue to be client-focused, hungry to create amazing work, and humbled by our responsibility to shape the future of marketing in our region – in partnership with our visionary clients,” Hamid stated.

Lastly, Greenough started off his career with FutureLab in 2011, where he was part of the founding team that would go on to become GrowthOps Malaysia after a series of acquisitions. Then in 2015, he co-founded Hyperlab, an enterprise Conversational AI startup that was acquired by global Customer Experience firm, Everise. At Everise, he was elevated to Chief Marketing Officer, where he led the rebranding of multiple acquisitions and repositioned Everise from a traditional call center into a leading digital customer experience outsourcing firm. 

“My combined agency, startup and enterprise CMO experience gives me a well rounded perspective of the challenges leaders in various stages of growth and transformation encounter. Throughout my career I’ve blended the use of technology with creative marketing to build effective customer experiences. This is the working practice knowledge I bring to GrowthOps, which I hope will benefit our employees and customers,” he said regarding his new position.

Speaking about the new hires, Chee Hung Goon, CEO at GrowthOps Asia, commented, “Businesses today are rapidly evolving through digital transformation, but sustaining growth is difficult because the traditional ways of reaching a customer are no longer as impactful. We are growing, because our partners are gaining confidence from our ability to identify where their customers are, and how best to reach and retain them on digital platforms.”

Singapore – Dentsu International has appointed Rohan Philips, former global chief product officer at digital-first end-to-end media agency iProspect, to be its new global president of product for Media division. 

Philips brings with him 12 years of experience in the media industry. Aside from his role in iProspect, Philips also worked as the vice president at GroupM’s audience intelligence and activation solution [m]PLATFORM for APAC GroupM and the vice president of product and strategy at programmatic media company Publicis Groupe.

In his new role, Philips will be responsible for developing the 2025 product strategy and roadmap for dentsu clients worldwide, with imminent rollouts through its network of global media agencies, including Carat, iProspect, and dentsu X.

Philips shared that the whole media industry is at a turning point with myriad factors influencing agency and client decisions from sustainability and privacy, through to the emergence of new platforms and the departure of established tracking norms. 

“It has never been more critical to map, plan and build the right tools and products needed to navigate this change for us and our clients to thrive into the future. The team at dentsu knows this and I’m going to be leading some exceptional media specialists around the globe to crack these challenges and it is the potential I see from the team in delivering these new products which excite me the most,” said Philips.

Meanwhile, Doug Ray, Dentsu International’s global chief product officer of media, commented that Philips has a strong presence and a holistic understanding of data and technology and how it applies to media. 

“His approach to client challenges and his ability to identify and solve these – not only in isolation but as a transferable benefit for all is truly exceptional and really raises the bar on what we are able to offer out of dentsu,” said Ray.

Australia – Creative agency BMF in Sydney has announced two new teams to further strengthen its creative department. Within the teams are four new hires. 

Joining the senior creative team are Josie Fox, former senior art director at creative agency Special Group Australia, and Harry Stanford, former senior copywriter at Special Group Australia. On the other hand, Erica Mallett, former radio host at radio station Triple J, and Angel McMullan, current art director at BMF, will be joining the new junior creative team. 

For more than 10 years, Fox and Stanford have worked at various agencies across Australia and London. Both have previously worked at Special Group for the past five years, and some of the duo’s most notable work includes their Uber Eats campaigns – Australian Open ‘No Repeats’ and ‘Tonight I’ll be Eating’ with Simon Cowell and the Wiggles.

Fox and Stanford commented, “BMF has such a wide range of exciting and iconic clients and is full of lovely people. Who wouldn’t want to get stuck into some juicy new briefs and make some work that both we and Australia love?”

Meanwhile, the agency is beefing up its creative force with Mallett bringing with her a multi-faceted background as a musician, content creator, and podcaster, while McMullan carries with her credentials in literary creatives as a book designer and picture book illustrator.

Mallett and McMullan said, “We can’t wait to get our grubby little fingers all up in BMF’s pies. We’re looking forward to using our experience to bring to life some big, meaningful ideas – and to learn from the incredibly clever team at BMF.”

With the new appointments, Alex Derwin, BMF’s chief creative officer, noted that the agency prizes its open and collaborative culture above everything.

“Josie, Harry, Angel, and Erica are top-drawer creative thinkers who offer an even more diverse skill set to our creative department,” said Derwin.

Just recently, BMF has also appointed three new hires to strengthen its planning department, namely Anna Bollinger, the new head of planning, Jessica Sutanto, the new senior strategic planner, and Benjamin Yap, its new junior planner.

Singapore – The Singapore team of creative agency 72andSunny has announced three new senior appointments, namely Judy Ang, the new group brand director, Jaclyn Lee, the new senior strategy director, and Jonathan Tan, the new brand director, to further strengthen its 2021 growth momentum.

Ang has over 16 years of experience across major creative networks in Singapore and Shanghai. She has previously led and grew the Scoot business at Publicis and helmed the HSBC and Changi Airport Group accounts at J. Walter Thompson, which is now Wunderman Thompson. She has also worked on Unilever and Castro at Ogilvy and Mather Shanghai, and has client-side experience as regional marketing director at the Furama Hotel group.

Commenting on her appointment, Ang said, “I am super stoked to join the 72andSunny team. I’ve always loved how they put creativity and collaboration at the core of everything – the work, the people, and the business.”

Meanwhile, Lee has over 15 years of planning expertise, while Tan brings with him almost 10 years of account management experience. Both have been with the agency for over two years and have been leading the GIC, Carousell, and Singapore University of Technology and Design accounts, among others.

Ida Siow, 72andSunny’s president for Singapore, describes Ang as a powerhouse who knows how to “wrestle big, complex accounts and deliver results for her clients.”

“Jaclyn and Jonathan are both superstars with the smarts and the heart to lead their teams, build strong client partnerships and make the work work. They make me and everyone else look good,” said Siow.

Australia – BMF, the creative agency based in Sydney, has appointed three new hires to strengthen its planning department, namely Anna Bollinger, the new head of planning, Jessica Sutanto, the new senior strategic planner, and Benjamin Yap, the junior planner.

Bollinger’s career spans over 14 years in the advertising industry, with broad experience in QSR, FMCG, service, and retail industries. Bollinger’s appointment is a comeback to BMF, having started her career in the agency as a grad. From BMF then, she moved on to work with advertising agency DDB, and then independent creative firm The Special Group.

Commenting on her appointment, Bollinger said, “I was fortunate to start my career at BMF and so rejoining the team feels like coming home. What’s more, it’s my joy to be invited to work on ALDI: one of the most pioneering and entertaining brands.”

Meanwhile, Sutanto joins from DDB where she worked on large accounts including Westpac and McDonald’s, and dabbled in brand work with Netflix, Neutrogena, Carefree, and Pharma. 

And lastly, Yap has worked in multiple social content roles at creative companies including Red Engine, Ogilvy PR, and most recently at BMF’s sister agency Orchard. He brings with him over five years of experience in delivering social campaigns for the likes of consumer and healthcare brands, and working with clients such as PepsiCo, Carnival Cruise Lines, and Microsoft, among others.

Christina Aventi, BMF’s chief strategy officer, commented that they feel lucky to have three stellar planners “stomping the floor” at Pyrmont. 

“Ben is a beautiful soul and a modern-day planner whose background will teach us a thing or two. Jess is a licorice all-sort of a planner, equally comfortable in the lofty heights of brand and deep in the nitty-gritty of connections planning. I will likely be reporting to her one day. And Anna, well, what can I say? When I asked people for recommendations for the best head senior planner around, her name ALWAYS came up,” said Aventi.

In August this year, BMF has also announced the return of its former senior copywriter, Lucy Kough to become its new creative director. She brings over 20 years of experience across direct, brand, media, digital, and experiential, as well as regional, and CRM.

Manila, Philippines – Live-streaming platform kumu in the Philippines has appointed Anand Roy, former regional director of music and live entertainment for SEA at Disney, as its new senior vice president for strategy and international.

Roy brings with him more than 17 years of experience from Disney and has mainly worked with international markets. 

Roy shared that he first heard about the platform from Open Space Ventures, one of the company’s investors, and at that time, was feeling quite unhappy with the state of social media generally, but with Kumu, he viewed the business as brimming with positivity, optimism, and community. 

Roy believes in the field of entertainment and technology,and that there has never been a better time to be in the international marketplace than today. 

“In many ways, this should have been what social media is about—bringing out the best of humanity, and not what we are seeing right now. Social media should not be dividing and polarising society. The basic, most vital ingredients are already in place here at kumu,” said Roy.

He added, “What I’m hoping to add to the team is that pursuit of excellence, and an ambition to be the best in the world in what we’re doing. That’s the recipe for global success.”

Rexy Dorado, kumu’s president and co-founder, commented, “We’ve always looked up to Disney as a reference for their work in media, entertainment, and the business of inspiring love and imagination. We’re excited for Anand to tap into his experience leading Disney’s music and content efforts in the region in pursuit of our growing ambitions.”

Singapore – Global web recommendation platform, Outbrain, has appointed Shouneel Charles, former executive vice president and business head digital at Time Group’s television division Times Network, to assume the position of managing director for its India arm

Charles brings more than 20 years of digital and media expertise, setting up large digital ecosystems, digital news publishing models, and profitable internet, as well as mobile-based businesses.

Aside from his previous role at Times Network, he worked as the chief revenue officer and chief sales and marketing officer at news media company NDTV, as well as the national sales head of Yahoo India, and as director at HBO & Warner Brothers India.

In his new role, Charles will be responsible for driving Outbrain’s revenue, business strategy, and digital growth.

Commenting on his appointment, Charles said that he will bring his skills to bear in the native advertising and digital ad tech spaces.

“Outbrain India is primed for rapid growth and I am privileged to now be a part of it. I hope to not only see business increase but also to be instrumental in the next phase of growth for Outbrain across India,” said Charles.

Andrew Burke, Outbrain’s managing director for APAC and growth markets, said, “We’re sure that with his impressive background in this region, he will help us continue to provide the best service across the open web.”