Tag: Appointments

Hong Kong – Global creative and CRM agency Wunderman Thompson has appointed Sheungyan ‘Mayan’ Lo, the current head of its APAC unit’s creative team, to be its new chief creative officer in Hong Kong.

Lo has been at the helm of the APAC creative team for more than two decades and will continue to be heavily involved in client work and support the creative team and leadership in the Greater China offices and beyond.

With Lo’s guidance, the APAC unit has been recognized at some of the industry’s best shows including Japan’s AI Manga for KIOXIA and Thailand’s Stay Home Miles Exchange for Thai Airways. 

In addition, his work has received accolades worldwide at award-giving bodies such as Cannes, One Show, and D&AD, as well as Clio, and LIA, among others. Lo has also been regularly invited to be on the other side – as a jury panel to help decide which among the entries are award-winning pieces of work. 

As part of the new role, Lo will be leading the Hong Kong creative department.

Commenting on his appointment, Lo said, “I am delighted to go back home. And I am even more excited to work closely with all the talents in my home market.”

Meanwhile, Matt Parry, the managing director at Wunderman Thompson Hong Kong, vouched for Lo, looking to him as one of the most respected creative leaders in Asia. 

“He has an incredible track record of delivering outstanding creative solutions for some of the most iconic brands in this region. I could not be more excited that Mayan is returning home,” said Parry.

Lo’s appointment coincides with the departure of Carlos Camacho, executive creative director, who is moving to the Amsterdam team.

Sydney, Australia – Independent media agency Match & Wood has announced the appointment of former IPG executive Stuart MacDougall, to the newly created role of national performance director.

Through his new role, he will be leading the paid search and social performance for Match & Wood’s clients across Australia, with offices in Melbourne and Perth.

Prior to his new role, he worked as paid media director at IPG Mediabrands, handling across key accounts such as Officeworks, Kmart and RAC. Prior to this, he led paid search for Reprise Perth, and also worked as a search specialist at Mediacom in Sydney.

“I’ve watched them grow into one of the best and most successful independent media agencies in Australia. The thing that excites me the most are the fresh ideas and great culture that is immediately present all the way through the business. I can’t wait to work across the diverse client base and further develop their performance product,” he stated, regarding his appointment.

MacDougall is the latest hire for Match & Wood which have been steadily adding to their ranks across both Perth and Melbourne in recent months. Former The Brand Agency media planner/buyer Jodie Allen has joined as communications advisor, Keleigh Moore has been appointed as communications manager from OMD and Tiffany Doan joins from Nunn Media as digital communications manager.

Match & Wood chief operating officer, Chris O’Keefe, said: “We’re so excited to have such an accomplished digital specialist join our national team. Having worked with Stuart in the past I know that he will bring a unique perspective and strategic, data-fuelled decision making to our clients’ businesses.”

The new additions come as Match & Wood wins a number of clients including Curtin University, Pentanet and Intelicare. 

Indonesia – TotallyAwesome, the largest kids-safe digital advertising and content platform in the APAC region, has appointed Ridwan S Hidayat, former client services director at global data and measurement-driven media agency Essence, to be its new country manager in Indonesia.

Hidayat brings with him extensive experience from his previous senior media agency positions. Besides his former role in Essence, he has also worked as the senior media and production manager at Kraft Heinz‘s food and drink subsidiary Kraft Heinz ABC, the group head at media company Mindshare, and the senior media planner at marketing agency Armananta Group.

Commenting on his appointment, Hidayat said that he is very excited to be leading TotallyAwesome in the country and contributing to high-quality interaction between brands and young audiences.

“TotallyAwesome is a unique media business with a focus on helping kids and families connect with brands through safe and private interaction. Helping protect our youngest internet audiences and their families in the digital environment is a big focus for government and business,” said Hidayat.

Meanwhile, TotallyAwesome APAC’s CEO Will Anstee, commented that Hidayat’s credentials to lead TotallyAwesome have been shaped by his client service and planning experience.

“As the digital world evolves, there is a growing need for human assessment and guidance in how brands reach out to digital audiences, especially our Indonesia youth that make up over 30% of the population. We need to protect them and ensure brands are stepping up to play a more meaningful role in their lives. Ridwan will lead this for us in Indonesia. I’m excited and proud to have him join us on this journey,” said Anstee.

The digital platform provides a safe digital environment for children and their families to interact with child-focused products on the internet while acknowledging and supporting the world’s most advanced regulations protecting kids’ data privacy. In Indonesia, TotallyAwesome has been active since 2015 and has an audience of 35.2 million monthly active users.

Earlier this year, TotallyAwesome announced other new appointments, namely Mikio Kudo, the new country manager in Japan, and James Sawyer, the new managing director of AUNZ operations.

Manila, Philippines – Live-streaming platform kumu in the Philippines has welcomed a new chief product officer, Crystal Widjaja, the former chief of staff and senior vice president of growth at Indonesia’s Gojek.

Currently, Widjaja is the entrepreneur-in-residence at e-learning company Reforge. Prior to joining Reforge, she led a team of engineers, analysts, and product managers in Gojek, and was responsible for growing orders from 30,000 to over 5 million per day. 

In her new role, Widjaja will be leveraging her extensive experience in helping startups with growth, data, and strategy, alongside bolstering the platform’s overall product strategy. 

Commenting on her appointment, Widjaja said that she is honored to join kumu and take on its mission of building the largest participatory social network in the world. 

“For us, the ultimate goal is to be there and provide authentic connections when you’re bored, lonely, or feel disconnected. I’m thrilled and inspired to see how we become a larger part of the world’s everyday life, and the friendships we make along the way,” said Widjaja. 

Meanwhile, kumu’s Founder and CEO Roland Ros commented that they are absolutely delighted to have Widjaja as part of the kumu family. 

“With our commitment to building kumu as the best place for content creators to engage and scale authentic communities, we believe she is the transformational partner that we need to get to the next level,” said Ros. 

Rexy Dorado, the president and co-founder at kumu, said, “Our people are the most important part of kumu. With this new wave of world-class leaders, we believe we can build a product and company that raises the bar not just in the Philippines, not just in the region, but the entire global community.”

Just recently, the platform has just also announced the appointment of Alex Tshering, the new chief growth officer.

Sydney, Australia – The Australian arm of insights and consulting company Kantar has announced the appointment of Irene Joshy as the new head of creative for its Creative Domain division, effective immediately.

She brings a wealth of experience to Australian clients, which includes over 18 years in the wider Kantar business and most recently leading its creative development arena across Asia-Pacific.

Prior to her appointment, Irene began her career teaching social anthropology and social research at the University of Mumbai before moving into consumer insights research and advertising, including tenures at Colgate Palmolive, Lowe Lintas and Nielsen. Her time in Asia-Pacific spans countries like India, China and Singapore with a remit across North and South-East Asia.

Speaking about her appointment, she stated that she is thrilled to be a part of this ‘super achiever team’ whose mantra is ‘great things in business are never done by one person’. She also added that she looks forward to joining a team of passionate people who help steer clients’ growth through impactful creative.

“Drawing on the world’s largest database, behavioral measures, neuroscience capabilities and extensively validated solutions, we show brands how to develop and optimise their advertising to stand out, create meaningful impressions and generate sales,” Joshy stated.

She added, “Kantar’s creative domain is driven by the knowledge that successful campaigns start with a clear human insight, and tell stories that resonate, consistently, across all touchpoints. They communicate a meaningful difference, generate sales in the short-term, build brands in the long-term and have the power to increase ROI ten-fold. I love helping clients and brands to navigate the creative journey from identifying the best idea right through to flawless execution and best practice learnings for their next campaign.”

She will report to Jon Foged, managing director for insights at Kantar ANZ, as Joshy will be relocating from Singapore to Melbourne to conduct her official duties.

“We are thrilled to have Irene join us in Australia. Her most recent work in creative and advertising across Asia-Pacific has informed powerful client strategies through the lens of culture and consumer insights and into early-stage creative development. Irene is hugely client-centric, tenacious, has a strong willingness to support both our people and clients, and brings a high dose of energy to our business,” Foged stated.

Los Angeles – OTTera, global white label OTT service, has announced the appointment of its director of business development for India operations, seasoned media and communications Sumit Rastogi. 

The appointment comes at a time when on-demand and live stream videos are at their peak demand with audiences looking for digital channels of entertainment in the middle of lockdowns. 

Headquartered in Los Angeles, OTTera provides an all-in-one platform for content developers with solutions for cross-platform development, distribution, and monetization. It allows companies to launch highly customized OTT services at speed, one that would normally take several years and a massive investment to build. According to the company, it currently manages over 70 linear channels and more than 50 OTT services globally.

Stephen Hodge, co-CEO and chairman of OTTera, said that the appointment of Rastogi, who has built a broad leadership and network within the country, will help the company accelerate its growth and tap the many opportunities in the Indian sub-continent.

Rastogi boasts of over 18 years of experience in the area of media sales, content acquisition, and content syndication, and most importantly, in partnerships and affiliate business. Prior to joining OTTera, he was general manager at U2opia Mobile and has also worked for Times of India, Locovida Digital Solutions, and 9.9 Media & Dainik Jagran.

For his new role, Rastogi is charged to grow OTTera’s client base and operations in India. He will be exploring business opportunities from Indian content creators to showcase their content diaspora on leading connected TV and OTT channels and platforms globally.

Rastogi commented that the OTT viewership in India is at an all-time high now and has become the primary mode of entertainment for consumers across Tier II and III cities.

“Regional content, gaming sports, fitness, education will be key drivers in India’s OTT growth and I realize that I have a big opportunity to introduce OTTera services to all the OTT players [and] linear channels and content creators in India. I’m thrilled about working with the talented & experienced OTTera team,” he said. 

Mumbai, India – Global brand and customer experience agency VMLY&R in India has appointed Mukund Olety, former group creative director at advertising company BBDO Worldwide, to be its new chief creative officer. 

Olety brings with him two decades of career experience across India, China, and Southeast Asia. Aside from his previous role at BBDO, Olety has partnered with advertising agency Ogilvy in Beijing to create digital and integrated campaigns for Nestle and Audi. He has also had stints with various creative agencies such as Leo Burnett Malaysia, O&M India, JWT, and DDB Mudra, where he worked with brands such as Mercedes, McDonald’s, and Samsung, as well as Durex, and Unilever, among others.

In addition, Olety has also served on jury panels and partnered with One Club, a nonprofit organization that seeks to inspire, encourage, and develop creative excellence in advertising and design, to mentor young creatives.

In his new role, Olety will be a part of VMLY&R India’s senior leadership council. He will be instrumental in developing and boosting the creative capabilities in India in tandem with VMLY&R’s positioning of creating connected brands that add value for clients by harnessing creativity, technology, and culture. His mandate will also include driving the agency’s creative vision and nurturing its creative talent.

Commenting on his appointment, Olety said that VMLY&R has this potent mix of creativity, technology, culture, and commerce, and the ambition that they have for the India office astounded him. 

“With industry legends like Tripti, Valerie, and Anil at the helm, there is not a better group of people I want to take this ride with. I am looking forward to creating connected, future-facing and awesome work for our key clients and brands,” said Olety.

Meanwhile, Anil Nair, the CEO at VMLY&R India, commented that he could not have thought of a better person to lead their creative team in these thought-provoking times. 

“Mukund has extensive experience working on both local and global brands and working at both Indian and international levels. This grasp of both, coupled with his passion for creativity, makes him an outstanding addition to the VMLY&R family,” said Nair.

Just recently, VMLY&R India also announced the appointment of Payal Vaidya as its new executive vice president of experience design. She will be leading the customer experience design vertical, and will be responsible for evangelizing design thinking and customer-first experiences within the agency and with clients.

Singapore – As the company aims to expand its streaming services across new markets in Asia, subscription video on demand (VOD) streaming service HBO Max has announced the appointment of Amit Malhotra as HBO Max’s managing director for Southeast Asia and India.

He will immediately assume responsibility for the management of HBO GO, WarnerMedia’s existing OTT streaming service available in eight territories across Southeast Asia. In the future, he will spearhead the introduction of HBO Max in these territories and will lead WarnerMedia’s exploration of future opportunities to launch the streaming platform in additional markets, as well as a potential future launch in India.

Under Malhotra’s leadership, WarnerMedia expects to launch HBO Max in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and in Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam in the future, including an expanded content offering for the entire family and a premium new platform that would be hosted on HBO Max’s tech stack, providing a more stable and consistent streaming experience than HBO GO. 

Prior to his new role, Malhotra most recently served as regional lead for Disney+ in Southeast Asia, where he was responsible for overseeing the launch and operations of Disney’s streaming services in the region, including Disney+, Disney+ Hotstar and Hotstar. He also led the content sales and distribution division as part of The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to Consumer & International (DTCI) business in South APAC and Middle East.

Speaking about his appointment, he said, “I am delighted to be part of the incredible team at WarnerMedia in Asia as we look at bringing HBO Max to this region. WarnerMedia’s brands including DC Universe, HBO and Cartoon Network are extremely popular with passionate fans and audiences across this region. With a focus on consumers our goal will be to bring all of these brands and content together in an exciting new world class streaming experience as we move into the future with HBO Max.”

He will report to Johannes Larcher, head of HBO Max International, who commented that with their upcoming launch across Latin America on 29 June and plans for Europe in the future, they turned their sights toward Asia, where they have an incredible opportunity to bring HBO Max to millions of new fans who are just as excited about streaming as their audiences in the United States.

“Amit’s experience launching streaming services in both mature and emerging markets across Southeast Asia and the surrounding region make him the ideal leader to plan and oversee the rollout of HBO Max and its expanded content offering and platform experience,” Larcher said.

The HBO Max team in Southeast Asia will build on the partnership with Clement Schwebig, managing director for India, Southeast Asia, and Korea at WarnerMedia, and members of his team including Magdalene Ew, head of content at HBO Asia; Yasmin Zahid, head of distribution at HBO Asia, as well as Leslie Lee, head of kids for APAC at HBO, in a collaboration that’s pivotal to the success of HBO GO and HBO Max in the region.

Singapore – Global experience management (XM) provider Qualtrics, in a bid to strengthen its presence in Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) by 2024, has announced new senior hires for the company’s presence in the region, as well as stating that the company will also target to hire 1,200 new hires for the APJ team.

The new senior hires are Jason Laufer as managing director for ANZ, John Seo as managing director for Korea, and Navneet Narula as managing director for India.

In regards to the 1,200 target new hires the company has mentioned, Qualtrics is hiring for its seven offices in Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, India, and Hong Kong. This comprises all departments, including sales, professional services engineering, operations, customer success, and marketing.

The announcement comes after Qualtrics has recently scaled its operations in the region, which includes opening a new headquarters in Sydney and a data center in Singapore. According to the company, these company moves come as businesses and governments increasingly turn to Qualtrics to help them deliver customer, employee, brand, and product experiences.

For Zig Serafin, CEO at Qualtrics, organizations around the world are in the middle of an experience transformation –– and there is a massive market and category opportunity ahead of us. He added that experience data is becoming the most valuable data within an organization, hence the investments the company is making today will help them grow across Asia Pacific and Japan, and ensure they continue to help their customers build their next great customer, employee, product, and brand experiences.

Meanwhile, Brigid Archibald, managing director at Qualtrics in APJ, commented, “To help our customers succeed in this age of experience transformation, Qualtrics is committed to continually investing in and expanding our local operations. As a result, Qualtrics continues to lead the way in equipping businesses and governments with the tools, services, expertise, and support needed to design new experiences for our evolving world, and then continuously improve them.”

Through the expanded team and capabilities, Qualtrics will provide customers with world-class support and services enabling them to quickly and effectively discover and take action on the immediate and evolving needs of customers, employees, and the wider market. Additionally, customers will gain access to local and global industry leaders and XM communities to share learnings and best practices, and receive breakthrough research and benchmarks from the Qualtrics XM Institute.

Australia – Purpose-driven integrated communications agency Think HQ has appointed Professor Shane Hearn, former pro-vice-chancellor at the University of Adelaide, to be part of its leadership team and assume the newly created role of head of first nations engagement and communication.

The appointment aims to support and encourage greater participation by Indigenous people in the industry, and ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are included in all agency communications and activities.

Hearn brings with him extensive experience across higher education and health, where his leadership has delivered powerful positive outcomes for First Nations people. His insights into Aboriginal culture and engagement have shaped campaigns, academic programs, and the way organizations engage with Australia and its people. 

Hearn has previously worked as the director of Indigenous-owned firm CultureLink Consultancy, where he developed the NSW Health Aboriginal Strategic Framework for the prevention and management of chronic disease in Aboriginal Communities, and as the practice leader at specialist Indigenous communications company Cox Inall Ridgeway, where he designed and led the rollout of the Federal Department of Health’s Live Longer campaign.

In his new role, Hearn will be responsible for leading and building Think HQ’s First Nations Engagement and Communication function. He will also be providing insight to First Nations audiences and connect them to the agency’s work to ensure experiences are centered and the Indigenous audience is included in campaigns.

Commenting on his appointment, Hearn said that he is delighted to join the Think HQ team that is truly providing the Australian community with a platform for meaningful engagement across so many areas. 

“The agency is doing powerful work in the equity and inclusive communications space and the clear alignment in our shared values will allow us to expand our work to a First Nation’s audience. During Reconciliation Week, I’m reflecting on the need to drive action, not just rhetoric. Think HQ is living up to that ideal, and I’m confident we will achieve a lot together,” said Hearn.

Meanwhile, Think HQ’s Founder and Managing Director Jen Sharpe shared that Hearn’s appointment would ensure First Nations Australians are represented in everything the agency does, internally and externally.

“We are so excited to welcome Shane to the Think HQ team. His credentials in the space of First Nations engagement are second to none and he has made tangible, positive improvements in people’s lives. He will play a vital, active role in our work, ensuring we’re true including First Nations people in every campaign we produce. We’re so lucky to have him join us,” said Sharpe.

In March this year, Think HQ, together with Australia’s government agency WorkSafe Victoria, launched the ‘Culturally and Linguistically Diverse’ (CALD) campaign, with the aim to deliver safety messages to workers and employers for the celebration of Cultural Diversity Week.