Tag: Appointments

India – Healthcare-focused advertising agency Medulla Communications has appointed Rajesh Mehta to be its new chief strategy officer.

Mehta brings in over 25 years of experience across India and the SEA region. He previously worked as the head of strategic planning for media agency Triton Communication, the national planning director for advertising firm Contract Advertising, and vice president and strategic planning director for marketing communications brand J. Walter Thompson. 

Mehta has also worked with brands such as food manufacturer Kellogg’s, dairying company Fonterra, and medical device company Johnson & Johnson, as well as private banking company HDFC Bank, among others. He has created award-winning ideas which were recognized by juries across the world.

Commenting on his appointment, Mehta said, “While I have worked on many consumer health brands, I believe that this is an area with a lot of potential and a huge impact on consumers’ lives. Being part of a specialist healthcare agency can help me meaningfully contribute, with better solutions”.

Meanwhile, Praful Akali, the founder and managing director of Medulla Communications, shared, “I welcome Rajesh Mehta to Medulla Communications and am confident that his leadership experience along with his industry experience and approach will assist in solidifying Medulla’s core values i.e. to make healthcare communications more consumer-friendly.”

Singapore – Marketing cloud company InMobi has announced the appointment of Krista Thomas as senior vice president and global head of marketing for its InMobi Marketing Cloud Division.

She brings in 20 years in the media and marketing industries to dramatically expand InMobi Marketing Cloud’s global awareness and influence, optimize customer acquisition, and launch innovative new solutions that leverage InMobi’s end-to-end advertising solutions to activate audiences, drive meaningful connections, and ignite growth.

Thomas is previously the SVP for marketing of advertising platform Amobee where she helped define the company’s TV-first strategy, help build a world-class marketing discipline, and relaunch the brand’s positioning and messaging in support of its CTV Allocator solution. 

She also served as SVP for marketing of software company VideoAmp and asn VP for product marketing of Rubicon Project (now Magnite) which she helped go public in 2014 and where she collaborated closely with InMobi to launch and drive the adoption of programmatic mobile and video advertising around the world.

Speaking about her appointment, Krista said, “InMobi Marketing Cloud has delivered steady growth around the world, extending its lead as a top three mobile advertising provider and the only one fully committed to transparency and an open media ecosystem.”

She added, “As vaccines continue to roll-out and doors reopen, businesses everywhere are seeking partners that can help them re-engage and reignite their audiences to take or defend market share. InMobi is that partner, and now is the time.”

Meanwhile, Abhay Singhal, co-founder of InMobi Group and CEO at InMobi Marketing Cloud commented, “As InMobi builds toward its next phase of growth, we are thrilled to welcome Krista to the executive team as InMobi Marketing Cloud’s first Global Head of Marketing. She will play an instrumental role in advancing our mission to drive real connections between brands and consumers through intelligent, mobile-first experiences.”

Australia – InMobi, the global mobile marketing and advertising platform provider, has announced two key senior appointments to ramp up its market presence in Australia and New Zealand.

The two senior appointments are Nicholas Robson, who was promoted to the newly created role of head of agency and strategic clients, and Aimee Jenkins, who was appointed as the new sales manager. Robson was InMobi’s former head of sales for NSW and QLD. Meanwhile, Jenkins has previously worked as the NSW sales manager for mobile-only ad tech company Kargo, and was a business development manager for women’s media group Mamamia. 

Both new appointments come as InMobi doubles down on its programmatic business in ANZ via the InMobi Exchange, which is a real-time marketplace for buying and selling online media advertising inventory from multiple ad networks, exchanges, and other supply-side partners, platforms, or publishers.

Richard O’Sullivan, the vice president and general manager of InMobi, who rejoined the company in 2019 to drive InMobi’s digital transformation and growth in ANZ, believes that the appointments of Jenkins and Robson will further strengthen InMobi’s strategic sales capabilities and will ensure that they are well-positioned to capitalize on the upswing in demand for InMobi’s mobile marketing platforms and solutions, especially InMobi Exchange. 

“In the last twelve months, the InMobi Exchange business in ANZ has grown by over 350%, from a strong base, as the impact of the pandemic has accelerated mobile-led digital transformation for brands and driven significant adoption of new products such as header bidding in parallel,” said O’Sullivan.

Tokyo, Japan – Global advertising agency R/GA in Tokyo has appointed Kei Shimada, former associate partner and founding member and leader of the Digital Makers Lab at IBM Tokyo, to be its new managing director, effective this month. The appointment aims to expand R/GA’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Shimada will now be responsible for leading the Tokyo office to drive innovation, human-centric work for the company’s local and international clients. He will be tapping into the agency’s deep creativity, tech, and design experience expertise, and will work closely with other regional leads in support of helping clients create a more human future. 

Prior to his new role, Shimada has had a long-standing career of helping companies around the globe. He specializes in redefining existing product and service strategies, and enhancing existing revenue streams, or creating new ones from the ground up. At Digital Makers Lab, IBM Japan’s business-to-business (B2B) workshop, Shimada led the digital transformation of clients and spearheaded the creation of world-first, region-first, and industry-first focused solutions, and business models.

Furthermore, Shimada has worked as the global director of innovation and business development at Dentsu, where he focused on the build-out of dentsu Aegis’, now called as denstu international’s, group wide innovation initiative that created new solutions around wearables, neural technology, locational big data, and crisis management infrastructures. He has also fulfilled the role of chief lab officer of dXLab, dentsu media’s innovation lab spanning eight countries in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Commenting on his appointment, Shimada said that he is excited to be given the opportunity to join R/GA and lead the Tokyo office. He believes that having such an eclectic mix of people working together serving local and global clients is something very unique in Japan, and one gives them a strong competitive advantage.

“I’m looking forward to further shaping and growing the Tokyo office as we deliver transformative solutions for clients that play at the intersection of bold ambition, creativity, and human truths,” commented Shimada.

Meanwhile, Tuomas Peltoniemi, the EVP and managing director of R/GA APAC, shared, “It’s exciting to have a respected, inventive, and influential leader like Kei onboard. With an ambition to leverage new technologies to help clients create new solutions for a more human future, coupled with an incredible track record of commercial and creative success, there’s no one else better to be at the helm of R/GA Tokyo.”

Shimada’s appointment completes the newly-formed Tokyo leadership team that is poised to work with Japanese and global brands, enabling growth both locally and internationally.

Singapore – Media measurement and data analytics platform DoubleVerify has announced Doug Campbell, former chief strategy officer at video management platform Telaria, as its new chief strategy officer, where he will be responsible for the company’s global strategy and corporate development.

Campbell brings into the company more than two decades of experience successfully growing public and private companies in the arenas of advertising technology, connected TV (CTV) and over-the-top (OTT) video, digital measurement, data analytics, and software-as-a-service (SaaS). 

At Telaria, he oversaw the successful merger with digital advertising infrastructure company Rubicon Project and the acquisition of video advertising platform SpotX to form Magnite, an independent sell-side platform.

Furthermore, he was formerly the chief operating officer at data management platform eXelate where he led the sale of the company to data and market measurement firm Nielsen and went on to serve as Nielsen’s senior vice president of global strategy and corporate development, where he oversaw strategic acquisitions in digital media and consumer measurement. Prior to eXelate, he was an entrepreneur and held various leadership positions at local digital media company, WorldNow. Campbell began his career as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. 

“DoubleVerify has taken the lead in providing sophisticated measurement solutions that power media quality and performance in virtually every media environment – including priority, high growth channels like CTV. I look forward to leveraging my industry experience to help strengthen our leadership position globally and accelerate company growth,” Campbell said, regarding his appointment.

He will report to Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify.

“From Magnite to Nielsen, he has demonstrated a track record of success and achievement, and brings exceptional experience and knowledge to the Chief Strategy Officer role. I look forward to Doug’s leadership as we continue to build momentum, expand globally and deliver on our mission to build a stronger, safer and more secure digital advertising ecosystem,” Zagorski stated.

Singapore – Advertising agencyTBWA\ Singapore has announced that it is welcoming a new lineup of creative talents in the company to boost their creative discipline.

Loo Yong Ping joins the company as creative director, where he brings over 10 years of experience across multi-platform and integrated work and has won almost every creative award in the industry. Ping has worked with global agencies Ogilvy and Tribal DDB, media companies BBC and Fox International, and for brands which include HSBC, McDonald’s, Twitter, and SingTel.

Angie Featherstone, a copywriter, and Eirma Webster, an art director, join the company as creative directors. Featherstone and Webster bring diverse skills from global agencies BBH, Leo Burnett, and McCann Erickson, with work spanning across brands like IKEA, Mastercard, Axe, Levi’s, SK-II, and Vaseline.

Meanwhile, Fernanda Machado joins TBWA\ Singapore as senior creative. With 15 years of experience across South and North America in agencies Africa Brazil, David The Agency, and Leo Burnett Detroit, Fernanda brings copywriting, craft, and motion graphics across work that has been recognized at well-known award shows.

The expansion of the team will also see new art directors namely Chris Leow and Zachary Desker joining the company. Leow has a hybrid background in video editing and motion graphics, which has led to his work on a broad spectrum of integrated campaigns which include ‘JollieEverAfter’, ‘Virtual Sentosa’, and ‘Absolut It’s In Our Spirit’.

Lastly, Amanda Devarajan and Yashanti Yap are welcomed as new copywriters. Devarajan has built a portfolio of conceptual writing and highly impactful work across PR, integrated, and film spanning agencies, and has worked recently with Ogilvy Singapore. Meanwhile, Yap, who recently worked with BBH Singapore, brings into the company her copywriting and motion graphic skills which are evident across her work.

Speaking about the new hires, Andy Grant, ECD at TBWA\ Singapore said, “In true TBWA\ style we’ve found the most unique ‘Pirates’ out there. I’m thrilled to have this diverse and skilled talent on board who are all disrupting creativity in their own way. I’m looking forward to them helping us achieve our goal of creating world-class work for our incredible roster of clients.” 

In February, the agency also announced the elevation of its former managing partner Mandy Wong to take the helm as the new managing director. 

Australia – Havas Media Group, the media division of global marketing and communications group Havas, has appointed Alex Wollacott, former activation account director at Omnicom Media Group’s digital marketing agency, Resolution Digital Australia, to assume the newly created role within the agency – performance director.

Wollacott brings with her over six years of strategic skills and experience. She has previously worked across search, social, and programmatic, as well as SEO channels, and managed a team to deliver digital strategy and implementation for top-tier media clients. In her most recent role, Wollacott led digital activation channels for clients in the tech, FMCG, finance, and leisure verticals. 

Commenting on her appointment, Wollacott said, “I’m thrilled to be joining an agency with such an impressive reputation for a wide range of capabilities and services. The opportunity to work with Virginia and the team to drive the continued success and growth of the Havas Performance offering was impossible to pass up.”

Meanwhile, Adam Steward, the head of performance at Havas Media Group, shared, “I’m very excited to work alongside Alex and continue to expand our Performance Media leadership team. Her experience and passion for making media drive success for clients make her a valuable addition to our rapidly expanding media team. I am looking forward to building on the fantastic momentum that we already have with Alex.”

Havas Media Group has also announced the recent appointment of Dan Johns, the new managing partner.

Auckland, New Zealand – Experiential marketing solutions provider Limelight Platform has appointed Leon Hudson as its new managing director for the APAC region.

The appointment will see Hudson enabling the Canada-based marketing agency to support its growth in APAC, beginning with Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

Hudson brings with him more than 20 years of experience in sales and marketing strategy. He has previously worked as the strategic advisor for content marketing agency IMMedia Content, general manager for technology solutions company Re-Hub, and group head of revenue for advertising technology company CtrlShift.

Hudson said, “There has long been a disconnect between online and offline marketing; Limelight helps bridge the gap. With a contactless consumer journey, personalized communication, and numerous safety-related features, the platform’s latest version is ready for the post-lockdown rebound.” 

Meanwhile, Terry Foster, the chief executive officer of Limelight Platform, shared that the decision to appoint a managing director in the region arose from the agency’s strategic planning sessions in early 2021. The chosen strategy aligns with the needs of its long-standing global client base. 

“Hudson is a 20-year Martech veteran with a track record of success, including over 15 years in leadership roles across the Asia Pacific region. His experience will be invaluable supporting our global client base which is rapidly growing in the region,” said Foster.

Limelight Platform works for experiential marketing return on investment, live event data, and insights. The platform enables marketers to create, manage and measure experiential marketing campaigns and live events; crucial as the economy continues to reopen and the appetite for safe and secure human connection.

Singapore – Global software company Zendesk has announced a new appointment of its chief marketing officer, as well as new executives for its global board.

Alex Constantinople will join the company as chief marketing officer effective on 10 May. Meanwhile, new board members Brandon Gayle and Steve Johnson joined its board of directors, effective 31 March. 

Zendesk’s current CMO Jeff Titterton is expanding his role as chief operating officer for the company.

Constantinople joins Zendesk from marketing agency Outcast as former CEO. She will play a critical role in defining, evolving and aligning Zendesk’s strategy and its overall messaging and positioning in the market, and help the company continue to evolve its unique brand identity.

Speaking on his appointment, Constantinople said, “I’m thrilled to be joining the Zendesk team, and to lead a marketing organization that is known for building and delivering brand experiences their customers love. There’s so much opportunity ahead for the business to keep shaping the future of customer service, particularly as it builds off last year’s $1 billion revenue momentum and history of continued high, long-term growth.”

Meanwhile, Gayle is executive vice president of revenue, brand and communications for Spurs Sports and Entertainment, which owns and operates the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. Prior to his current role, he had worked with Facebook and Instagram as director and head of global sports partnerships respectively, and previous stints at Groupon, the New York Jets, and as a consultant at Bain & Company.

Lastly, Johnson is a user experience executive who builds, mentors and coaches creative and diverse organizations that design thoughtful products. He is currently the vice president of user experience at streaming platform Netflix, and prior to this has designed experiences for Electronic Arts, Adobe and LinkedIn. Johnson’s focus on reflecting the unique perspective of a target audience through design will be key as Zendesk continues to expand its business globally.
“As we move into this next growth phase at Zendesk, it is going to be more important that we build a sense of purpose and long-term vision into our product, team, customers, and communities. We’re excited to have Alex join our leadership team, and Brandon and Steve join our board on this journey,” said Mikkel Svane, CEO, chairman and founder of Zendesk.

Sydney, Australia – Local-based adtech Cartelux has appointed Geoff Reilly as the company’s new chief financial officer to drive Cartelux’s financial function through the next stages of significant growth.

He will be responsible for guiding Cartelux through its current phase of rapid expansion as it closes its seed funding round and aims for a significant Series A round later this year.

Reilly’s background spans 20 years’ experience both in Australia and internationally in the capital markets, operations, and financial functions of technology companies, and more specifically enterprise SaaS startups with similar business models to Cartelux. He was previously chief financial officer at Singapore-based software-as-a-service company (SaaS) TradeGecko and helped steer the company through its merger with Intuit in late 2020.

Commenting on his appointment, he said, “I’m very excited to be joining Cartelux at this important time and look forward to working with Josh Williams and the executive team in their objective of executing the delivery of the business’ global growth strategy. My aim is to build on Cartelux’s strength and negotiate the best opportunities for the business through its next phase of funding.”

According to Joshua Williams, chief executive officer and founder of Cartelux, Reilly’s appointment signifies an important milestone for the company as it looks to the next phase of its growth.

“Geoff’s appointment will ensure Cartelux can navigate its way through this crucial phase of our journey, scaling global operations and navigating significant growth. He brings extensive international experience and has successfully driven a number of substantial growth programs throughout his career. As we continue to evolve as a company, Geoff’s financial acumen, steady demeanor, and strategic thinking is a great addition to our leadership team, and Cartelux.”

Williams also added that Cartelux has had a hugely successful 2020 as COVID-19 saw the adoption of ad technologies expedited by approximately half a decade, including its recent global deal with Kia Motors.

“The demand for Cartelux’s services has never been higher and Geoff will provide an experienced set of hands to help steer us through this exciting period,” Williams stated.