Sydney, Australia – GroupM, the media investment arm of WPP in ANZ, has recently appointed Aimee Buchanan as the company’s CEO for Australia and New Zealand, where she will lead the network of agencies under GroupM including Mindshare, MediaCom, Wavemaker, Essence, Neo and m/SIX and specialty media businesses including Finecast, Xaxis and Sightline.
Buchanan has been CEO of media communications agency OMD since 2016 and sits on both the Media Federation of Australia (MFA) and social purpose organization UnLtd boards. Her career spans more than 20 years in media agencies. In her time at OMD, the agency has grown to become a well known agency in Australia, hence Buchanan has been a leading voice shaping the Australian media landscape and driving progress around brand responsibility and diversity and inclusion.
Speaking about her appointment, she said, “I am excited to take on the new role at GroupM and believe they are uniquely placed to influence how media drives growth for clients’ businesses and shapes society. I look forward to working alongside the GroupM leadership and the broader team to set GroupM up for a bright future.”
She also mentioned that she has loved every step of the journey with the OMD team and that she is proud of what they have built and achieved together.
“A big thank you to all of the OMDers across the nation, our clients and partners for all their support over the last 10 years,” Buchanan added.
Meanwhile, Ashutosh Srivastava, APAC CEO at GroupM and acting CEO at GroupM Australia, commented that Buchanan is ‘an exceptional agency leader with a phenomenal track record and an intimate knowledge of what clients need, and how agencies and their people thrive’.
“She is a truly visionary leader, whose priorities and integrity align with ours. She is client-obsessed and always puts her people and culture first,” Srivastave stated.
He added, “GroupM’s purpose is to harness intelligence and imagination to create, integrate and scale breakthrough ideas that help businesses leap forward. Aimee is the perfect person to lead GroupM’s ambitious program of change, enable our agencies to succeed and enhance their capabilities to meet current and future client needs and drive faster growth in the business.”
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Dentsu in Malaysia has named advertising veteran Kunal Roy as its CEO for the ‘Creative’ line of service. The CEO role is a newly created position following the global network’s restructuring which saw it dividing the business into three main lines namely, Creative, Media, and CRM, and which was first announced in late 2019.
Dentsu said Roy will be initiating the transformation of dentsu malaysia’s Creative line of service in tandem with parent network dentsu international’s brand evolution and simplified business model, developing a modern creativity offering underpinned by a new delivery model called ‘AOR – agency of record – on demand’.
Roy brings with him 20 years’ worth of award-winning work with marquee agencies such as Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, Cheil Worldwide, Ogilvy, BBDO, and TBWA. He has a demonstrated track record in building brands with clients like Samsung, Coca-Cola, adidas, McDonald’s, Unilever, P&G, as well as Axiata and Maxis, among others. Previously, Roy led Leo Burnett to achieve ‘Agency of the Year’ at the prestigious awards Effie in 2019, then a double Effie ‘Agency of the Year’ for 2020 and 2021.
CEO of dentsu malaysia, Kien Eng Tan, who himself has just been appointed in February this year, said that they have ambitious plans for dentsu malaysia as a creative powerhouse, and that things would only be looking upward from here now with Roy onboard with his award-winning strategic and creative experience.
“Kunal will be partnering the Malaysian media and CXM team as well as the network to drive end-to-end creative solutions to ensure our clients achieve sustainable growth,” said Tan.
Meanwhile, the new Creative CEO commented, “I am truly excited to take on this role at Dentsu. I have always believed that creativity has the power to transform businesses, brands, and peoples’ lives. Dentsu’s heritage is rooted in innovation and a forward-thinking culture; that along with the dynamic talent in Malaysia will only propel me further to bring together meaningful creative solutions to augment our clients’ businesses and make their brands magnets.”
Dentsu Malaysia is made up of six brands – Carat, dentsu X, iProspect, Isobar, dentsumcgarrybowen, and Merkle. Aside from Roy and Tan, the agency in Malaysia has also announced in January this year Dheeraj Raina as CEO of the Media line.
Sydney, Australia – Media and marketing agency Mediabrands in Australia has recently announced the appointment of Maria Grivas as the new CEO of Reprise, Mediabrands’ digitally-led full-service performance agency in the country.
Prior to her new role, Grivas has previously worked as the chief data and technology officer at media agency UM Australia, a role she has had for the past three and a half years, and has been a member of UM’s senior leadership team. She has also been a mentor across the Mediabrands group on digital development.
Grivas’ appointment came after the resignation of CEO Matt Sallis, who cited family reasons related to travel restrictions from his base in Canada. In taking the leadership role at Reprise, Grivas will be playing a key role in shaping the group and will also be joining the Mediabrands Australia Executive Leadership Team.
Commenting on her appointment, Grivas said, “Having already worked closely with Reprise for some time, I am very excited about the CEO role. The business has a large team of very talented people doing great work and my ambition is to help elevate their successes as the industry evolves at pace.”
Meanwhile, Mark Coad, the CEO of Mediabrands Australia, commented that Reprise Australia plays a vital role in supporting the teams and clients with world-class communications solutions, and Grivas is the ideal future leader for the business.
“I’m thrilled that Mediabrands has the talent of Maria’s caliber to promote into such an important leadership position, as well as her high-quality team members. We will find Maria’s successor for her role in UM Australia in due course,” said Coad.
Reprise Australia has more than 150 people and offices in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, as well as Perth. The business works with many of Mediabrands’ clients across the group and also has independent clients.
Mumbai, India – Global financial superapp Revolut has appointed Paroma Chatterjee, former chief business officer of online financing company Lendingkart, to be its new CEO for the India team, as it expands its market presence in the country this year.
Chatterjee is a renowned leader in the fintech and consumer tech industry. She has held senior executive roles for various companies including travel agency Via.com, e-commerce company Flipkart, and telecommunications enterprise Airtel Money. In her new role, Chatterjee will be responsible for building and leading Revolut’s subsidiary in India. She will also be defining and implementing the fintech’s business strategy, as well as hiring a team and managing license applications and any potential acquisitions in the market.
According to Revolut, the fintech is making a multi-million-pound investment in India over the next five years and has committed to the creation of around 300 new jobs in the country to serve its global business operations. Furthermore, it has also recruited heads of operations and legal for the country and is leveraging India’s strong talent pool to recruit across multiple functions such as human resources, finance, growth, marketing, recruitment, and compliance, as well as risk, and technology.
Commenting on her appointment, Chatterjee said, “It is an honor and a privilege to be asked to lead the business for such a world-class company, in a country that presents one of the largest opportunities globally for Revolut. I look forward to building an exceptionally talented team and working with them, as we continue to develop superlative financial solutions for millions of consumers in India.”
Meanwhile, Nik Storonsky, the CEO and founder of Revolut, commented that Paroma is an excellent fit for the role and her appointment is a major achievement in Revolut’s continued mission to become the world’s first truly global financial super app.
“We’re looking forward to transforming the way people in India access and manage their money as we bring our products and services to more people around the world. India is a core market in our expansion strategy with a huge supply of talent, and we’re excited to tap into that talent pool to help Revolut go from strength to strength,” said Storonsky.
Shanghai, China – Advertising network Grey Group in China has appointed former Proximity China CEO Sharlene Wu as its new CEO, in an aim to build better connections with Chinese Grey clients.
The new CEO will work with the Global COO & President for International of Grey Group Nirvik Singh and will lead the Grey Advertising. She will also be responsible for the integration of Grey DPI, Grey Star Echo, and Grey Easycom.
Leveraging on her experience in the Chinese market, Wu will be responsible for driving the agency’s overall strategic vision and growth plan, furthering business transformation, and providing oversight across key clients and businesses. With Grey, she will continue to enhance and deliver Grey’s marketing services & integrated solutions to clients.
Sharlene Wu is an accomplished advertising veteran. Her career began in 2000 with WPP’s JWT Wings Taiwan and then Ogilvy. Following a short stint with JWT Shanghai in 2006, she then joined as Business Director of BBDO Shanghai in 2007, which marked the beginning of her career with Omnicom Group as Proximity Shanghai’s general manager.
She instantly progressed through the ranks and was named Managing Director (MD) for both BBDO and Proximity Shanghai in 2015, creating specialty teams across Digital Planning, Data Analytics, Social Media, and Digital Production while managing client accounts such as Adidas, Visa, Master Kong, Tencent, and Alibaba; and in May 2020, Wu was finally named CEO following the merger of Proximity and RAPP in China.
Grey Group’s Global COO & President for International Nirvik Singh commented that Wu is a dynamic, results-oriented leader who has extensive knowledge of our industry.
“Her appointment is a clear signal of our ambition to aggressively pursue growth and digital transformation in China. She is a seasoned professional with experience across many industries and categories and I am certain, along with our existing China Leadership team, will create a powerhouse offering for our clients,” said Singh.
Meanwhile,Wu expressed excitement in leading a “strategic and digital-focused” Grey Group in China, believing that she and the agency share the same belief that creativity can solve business problems.
“We have a great team in place to deliver innovative and creative work that will drive the growth of our clients’ brands and businesses,” said Wu.
Singapore – Dentsu International APAC welcomes the new year with a bang by unveiling its new CEO for its media relations, Prerna Mehrotra.
Mehrotra is currently the managing director of the network’s Media Group at Singapore and will be taking on the new role alongside her existing position.
Prerna will be responsible for driving Dentsu’s global media strategy and delivery in APAC, ensuring its alignment and relevance in the market with “client-centricity at the core,” to develop an integrated portfolio of tools and capabilities aimed at maximizing the effectiveness, relevance, and performance of clients’ media.
For the new role, she will be reporting to Ashish Bhasin, CEO of Dentsu APAC, and Peter Huijboom, global CEO of Media & Global Clients.
Bhasin shared in a press release that Mehrotra was a clear candidate for the role, having joined the business in 2016.
“She has gone from strength to strength excelling in roles across investment and media. This integrated view across our media portfolio and her acumen of over 20 years set her apart from the rest,” he said.
Meanwhile, Huijboom commented, “I am delighted to have Prerna join my leadership team and drive Dentsu’s media strategy in this critical region. Her experience in key markets including India and China and her long-standing client relationships will ensure we continue to drive value, and excellence in everything we do.”
On her appointment, Mehrotra said, “The media landscape in this region has never been more complex. Over the past eight months, consumers’ expectations of what brands produce and how they behave have changed rapidly, and it will only continue. I am excited to be working with top talents from across our markets to create growth opportunities and long-term value for our clients.”
Singapore – Global media network Omnicom Media Group (OMG) has announced that its COO for the APAC division of its marketing agency OMD, Rochelle Chhaya, has been promoted to CEO of OMG in Thailand.
In her previous position at OMD, Chahaya was instrumental in scaling a client-centric, digitally-powered, and data-led agency model across the region.
“Rochelle has done an outstanding job of improving OMD’s organizational processes for growth while enhancing its operational capabilities and efficiency,” said Tony Harradine, CEO at OMG APAC.
He added, “With Rochelle’s comprehensive knowledge and experience, coupled with her unrivaled visibility over the entire client-agency-partner ecosystem, I am confident that OMG Thailand will reinforce its position as an innovative and digitally-forward agency brand.”
In her new role, Chhaya will be tasked to drive profitability and efficiency across OMG’s media agencies OMD and PHD in Thailand.
Additionally, she will also oversee and support the development of the network’s digital transformation roadmap as well as the operationalization of products to foster stronger client partnerships, drive digital growth and creativity in the market.
“Thailand has always held a special place in my heart and I am humbled to take on this responsibility,” said Chhaya.
“Right now is an important time of change for the Thai media landscape and together with the Thai leadership team, we are fully committed to build on the fantastic momentum and harness all opportunities to drive OMG’s continued growth and ambition in the Kingdom,” she added.
Chhaya will report to Tony Harradine and will officially assume her role immediately.
Mumbai, India – Dentsu International has roped in Chief Data Officer and CEO of Dentsu Programmatic for South Asia Gautam Mehra to lead the APAC unit anew. He will be assuming the title Chief Data & Product Officer for the larger region.
The appointment comes as the marketing communications company moves to build a stronger and more unified APAC data and product offering across the network. Based in Mumbai, Gautam will report to Zhengda Shen, APAC president of Dentsu’s data-driven performance marketing agency Merkle.
Gautam joined Dentsu in 2013, where he later assumed the South Asia leadership three years after. In his recent role for the region, Gautam was responsible for driving the data quotient in the market both internally and with clients. Most notably, he led the unification of the Dentsu’s data sciences team and the team of programmatic marketing service Amnet to create Dentsu Programmatic.
Gautam also led the creation of Dentsu’s proprietary adtech product, the Dentsu Marketing Cloud ecosystem, which is a cohesive system that brings together a slew of Dentsu proprietary ecosystems such as the Facebook Marketing Partner (Ad-Tech) Badged DMC Explore, Dentsu Play, Dentsu TrueValue and other proprietary martech tools used in over 32 markets globally.
On the appointment, Ashish Bhasin, Dentsu Asia Pacific CEO said that data is central to the company’s business strategy as it ensures that advertising efforts are in the right direction.
“Having Gautam drive this data agenda for us is crucial in the era of data explosion. He has earned a reputation of developing and delivering highly innovative data-led initiatives while embodying the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurism. This is a well-deserved promotion and I look forward to working closely with him,” said Bhasin.
Merkle APAC president Zhengda Shen also commented, “Organizations are constantly challenged to evolve with agility and speed and adapt to ever-changing consumer dynamics. Providing leadership for clients by integrating data, media, content, and technology to navigate through this shifting landscape is a critical function of agencies. Gautam’s track record for driving innovations and developing globally scaled solutions makes him perfectly placed to help our clients in the region and to ensure that Dentsu International continues to lead through innovation.”
Meanwhile, Gautam, on his new role, said, “There are almost no limits to what we can uncover by studying consumer behavior and their interplay with brands. I’m excited to apply my leadership, knowledge, and experience in delivering globally adopted tech-driven products and solutions to further the data-driven culture of Dentsu International and to build the practice across APAC, further cementing our dominance in this area within the region in using cutting edge technology to solve everyday client challenges.”
Very recently, Dentsu announced its rebranding from Dentsu Aegis Network to now Dentsu International. The new brand will see the union of thousands of global employees under one Dentsu name.
This month, MARKETECH APAC truly lived up to its name. For the top 5 stories this September, we saw a diverse set of newsmakers hailing from around the APAC region.
The top stories were identified based on Google Analytics from August 17 to September 15. In the list, two great brands from Southeast Asia and East Asia flexed their creative prowess to showcase novel brand marketing moves. Marketing leaders also continue to dominate the list; a marketing executive from South Asia recounted her almost two-decade marketing journey, another one, an APAC business director filled us in on a growing buying trend that no one saw coming amid the pandemic, while a significant appointment from ANZ also grabbed people’s attention this month.
Top 5: Shopee gets fictional character Phua Chu Kang as new face of the brand
Ever since eCommerce platform Shopee was launched, it has only been putting its trust to big, international names to represent its brand – that would be Kpop girl band Blackpink and professional footballer Cristian Ronaldo. During its 9.9 super sale, the brand decided to show what hyper localization really means by getting not just any local personality, but a deeply rooted cultural icon – sitcom character Phua Chu Kang.
Phua Chu Kang, played by actor Gurmit Singh, is the title character of the longest-running sitcom by network Mediacorp, which revolves around the misadventures of the Phu family.
The show ran from 1996-2007, and within that time, Singaporeans grew to love the eccentric, overly confident, and yellow-boots wearing contractor. So what has truly made the Shopee team go for this rather unconventional stint?
Speaking to MARKETECH APAC, Head of Marketing Tiger Wang said, “The [appointment] marks another milestone for us as we continue to build on the hyper-localized approach and deepen our engagement with the local audiences. Phua Chu Kang is a household name and a celebrity, [and] local icon. His ability to resonate with and unite local communities aligns with Shopee’s vision, making him the best choice for us.”
Top 4: Hong Kong-based Towngas cooking academy extends its expertise to YouTube
Amid in-person limitations during the ongoing pandemic, many brands and businesses alike have turned to the virtual side of things. Take Hong Kong-based cooking school Towngas Cooking Centre as an example. The culinary academy which has flame cooking at the core of its program, has gotten things rolling this September as it forayed to YouTube this month, and it doesn’t stop at that. It has a bunch of high-caliber celebrity chefs to boot, tapped to showcase the school’s virtual sessions.
Healthy Monday, French Wednesday, Culinary Tips4U, and Star Chef Weekend and Sunday Mom & Dad are just some of the quirky-titled lessons that are slated for its YouTube viewers.
General Manager for Retail Marketing & Sales Catherine Wong said that the occurrence of COVID has definitely pushed Hong Kongers to prefer home-cooked meals to dining out, and this is what ultimately brought the brand to make the most out of the situation.
Jasrita’s marketing expertise expands almost two decades, where she’s worked with a list of well-known brands such as consumer product giant Procter & Gamble, hospitality brand Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, and television media company NDTV before having focused entirely on brand and marketing for healthcare services.
Currently, she is the assistant vice president for healthcare provider Fortis Healthcare in India. When we sat down with Jasrita during her #MARKETECHMondays episode, she shared some very helpful advice that could be very well treated as a guiding light to budding marketers.
“I just have two things to say to [marketers]; the first is, please never forget why you decided to become a marketer. There would be times in your journey when you’re feeling low, but constantly remind yourself [your why], [which is] because you want to be your consumer’s voice inside your organization,” said Jasrita.
‘The second is keep upgrading; it’s nobody else’s responsibility to upgrade your skills. Because your consumer is going to keep changing; there are new avenues, [mediums], [and] new platforms. You have to have their pulse,” added Jasrita.
Top 2: Stella Berry’s take on a new phenomenon in shopping amid the pandemic
Have you heard of revenge shopping? We bet not, but we too are sure that it would be a term soon to ring bells. In a nutshell, revenge shopping goes hand in hand with luxury shopping. It is a phenomenon that sees luxury stores opening their doors to shopping-starved consumers looking to avenge their months spent holed up at home during the lockdown.
This month, Regional Business Director of mobile advertising solutions Adludio, Stella Berry dedicated a full thought leadership article on the buying trend.
Stella said that it is a testament to the unique relationship consumers have with luxury.
“No one could have predicted that after months of lockdown, the need for luxury goods has resulted in long queues outside of boutiques. This phenomenon is the result of brands, really making the effort in continuing to engage with people even during the lockdown,’ shared Stella.
All looking positive for brands and consumers, but Stella also puts out a caution.
“Returning to business as usual at this [rapidly] accelerated pace could bring about a negative impact [on] the environment, and consequences on sustainability. So luxury marketers need to find their balance to ensure the brand continues to remain sustainable, but also well-loved,” said Stella.
Top 1: Cognizant ANZ ropes in former PwC executive Jane Livesey
Livesey breathes and lives IT. At PwC, she led over 800 IT professionals for the company’s technology consulting practice team in Australia; while for 12 years, she served as tech managing director for Accenture. With a seasoned IT experience under her belt, Livesey has also become an active advocate for women in the field of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, or STEAM.
It hasn’t been very long since Jane settled into the role, and as we checked up on her, she shared with us, “It’s been great to join Cognizant and hit the ground running in Australia and New Zealand. Over the past few weeks, I’ve had conversations with both our clients and our teams. At Cognizant, we are focused on how to enable organizations in ANZ to keep on top of era-defining innovations and drive growth in the face of continuous technological and market changes. As CEO of ANZ, my priority is to provide local enterprises and governments with high-quality, market-leading digital transformation capabilities that enhance the lives of people and support digital-first.”
Watch the MARKETECH APAC REPORTS of these top five stories, with exclusive appearance and commentary from the newsmakers themselves.
If you have interesting stories, thought-leadership pieces, and case studies in the area of marketing, technology, media platforms, and SME, please send us an email at [email protected]. Who knows your story could be part of our top 5 next month.
Sydney, Australia – International-wide video advertising platform Unruly has announced that it has appointed former CEO of media agency IPG Mediabrands David Haddad as its newest CEO for the APAC division.
Unruly connects advertisers and publishers through its omnichannel marketplace UnrulyX to distribute video ads across a range of screen formats including CTV, mobile and desktop.
Haddad will be responsible for accelerating the company’s growth in the key Australian and New Zealand markets, working closely with the company’s key strategic partner News Corp Australia with which Unruly boasts its video distribution access to 50 publishing titles.
Haddad brings with him over 17 years’ experience of working in the advertising industry having serviced in functions of trading, planning, and client management as well as strategy and agency management.
Aside from his leadership in IPG Mediabrands which he ran in Singapore, he oversaw media agencies UM Australia as general manager and also assumed a directorial position for agency Bellamy Hayden.
Haddad will be based in Unruly’s Sydney office and will report to Alex Khan, the company’s managing director for international affairs.
Commenting on the appointment, Khan said, “The Australian and New Zealand markets are key growth territories for us, so having David’s incredible leadership skills, vast knowledge, and industry know-how will be crucial as we continue to roll out our exciting all-screen capabilities to our clients.”
Meanwhile, Haddad said, “I’m delighted to be joining Unruly, one of the most well-known, innovative companies in the global video advertising ecosystem. Bolstered by Tremor’s enhanced capabilities, I’m excited to unleash Unruly’s multi-screen, market-leading proposition across Australia and New Zealand.”
Unruly one of the business divisions of global advertising technology firm Tremor International, alongside Tremor Video and Rythmone.
We use cookies to improve your experience and to analyse our traffic. To find out more, please click here. By continuing to use our website, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
