Tag: chief executive officer

Singapore – Warren Fernandez, formerly an editor affiliated with The Straits Times, has been named the new chief executive officer of Edelman in Asia-Pacific, effective October 25 this year.

Fernandez will join the firm’s global executive leadership team and report to global president and chief operating officer Matthew Harrington. He replaces Stephen Kehoe, who left Edelman in June. Dave Samson, global vice chairman of corporate affairs, has served as interim CEO since Kehoe’s departure.

His appointment also follows several key appointments for Edelman’s health arm in APAC, in Singapore, and the appointment of Melvin Goo as new chief operating officer for Indonesia.

He joins from English/Malay/Tamil Media Group in SPH Media, where he was the editor-in-chief. He simultaneously served as the editor of The Straits Times. He joined The Straits Times as a political reporter in 1990 and would go on to serve as news editor as well as foreign editor and deputy editor. 

In 2008, Fernandez left to join Royal Dutch Shell as a global manager for its Future Energy project, working with its scenario planning and communications teams in London and the Hague. He returned to the paper in 2012 as its senior-most editor.

Speaking on his appointment, he said, “I’m very excited to join a firm that I have admired and worked with, as a client and partner, over the years. Edelman continues to drive the conversation on Trust and shape the future of the communications industry. I believe there is enormous potential to continue to expand upon the vital thought leadership, as well as media, brand and strategic communications advice we provide to our clients. I look forward to leading the team in Asia Pacific and working with the industry-leading talent across its global network.”

Meanwhile, Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, commented, “Asia is one of the most important markets to Edelman’s future. We have purposely built a communications advisory firm to help Asian companies step onto the global stage, while also supporting other companies as they seek to expand into the diverse markets of Asia. Our ability to help companies navigate the complexities across this vast and dynamic region have never been more critical to businesses and we are the right firm to help them succeed in doing so.”

Hong Kong – Global insurance company Manulife has appointed Patrick Graham as its new chief executive officer for Hong Kong and Macau. In his new role, Graham will become a member of Manulife’s Asia Division Executive Committee and Global Leadership Team, and will report directly to Damien Green, president and CEO of Manulife Asia.

Graham will assume his new role on January 1, 2023, subject to regulatory approval. An insurance leader with a track record of delivering results at scale, both regionally and in multiple geographies across Asia, he will bring to Manulife Hong Kong and Macau more than 25 years of leadership experience in the insurance and financial services industry.

He joins Manulife from healthcare and insurance company Cigna, where he covered eight markets including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea and Singapore in various senior leadership positions over the last decade with his most recent role as CEO, Asia Pacific. 

Prior to joining Cigna, Graham spent 14 years at GE Capital, which was then the financial services arm of General Electric. For the past three years, he has also been director and treasurer of the US ASEAN Business Council.

Speaking on the appointment role, Green said, “As the longest continuously operating life insurer in the city, Hong Kong has always been Manulife’s most important market in Asia with huge contributions to the Group over the past 125 years. The appointment of Graham really highlights our commitment to Hong Kong and our ambitions in this region.” 

He added, “With his outstanding leadership calibre and track record of delivering excellent results, Graham will lead our Manulife Hong Kong and Macau team to take our business to new heights and serve the health, protection, retirement and financial needs of the one in every three Hongkongers who are our customers. I am excited that he is joining our winning team.”

Following the new appointment, Pankaj Banerjee, who since late May has held dual roles as interim CEO for Manulife International Limited and chief distribution officer for Manulife Asia, will revert full time as chief distribution officer at Manulife Asia in January 2023.

“Thanks to Pankaj’s stewardship of Manulife Hong Kong and Macau’s business which demonstrated further resilience in the past few months. His contribution to growing our business from strength to strength is immense. I look forward to having him back to his regional role to drive the expansion of our multi distribution channels across Asia,” Green commented.

Hong Kong – Media and marketing communications agency PHD has appointed Antony Yiu as its new chief executive officer in Hong Kong, effective immediately. He will lead PHD’s vision, development, operations and talent growth in his new role.

In addition, he will also be responsible for driving digital transformation, addressing data privacy issues and maximising the use of AdTech and MarTech across clients’ businesses. 

With over 20 years of in-depth experience in digital and performance media across the US and APAC, he joins PHD Hong Kong from DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, where he was most recently the senior vice president of digital acquisitions and martech.

He has also a vast background in working with B2B and B2C clients on consumer marketing across various industries, including finance and travel. His experience expands across multifaceted aspects of media, building brands from the ground up and launching new start-up products.

Speaking of his new role, Yiu said, “I am excited to join the PHD family and bring my experience to transform PHD into a next-generation agency. The mission is to lead PHD as an innovative, agile, and result-driven agency, uniting our talents at all levels to deliver thought leadership and award-winning work.” 

He added, “My focus is on driving innovation and business transformation with our clients. Now is the time for PHD to be courageous, be different, and leave our mark in the agency-client ecosystem.”

Meanwhile, James Hawkins, CEO at PHD APAC, commented, “Antony makes the leap over from client to agency, bringing a strong character, a fresh perspective and a bold ambition that will inspire our people and enable growth for our clients. With his diverse skillsets, we are eager to see what the next chapter brings for the Hong Kong office with Antony at the helm.”

Shanghai, China – EssenceMediacom, GroupM’s merged agencies of Essence and Mediacom, has appointed Benjamin Wei as its new chief executive officer in China, which launches in January 2023.

The appointment is effective by October this year, and Wei will be reporting to both Patrick Xu, CEO at WPP and GroupM Greater China; as well as to Rupert McPetrie, CEO at EssenceMediacom APAC.

Wei first joined GroupM China in 2010, and has been leading Essence China’s exponential business growth and expansion of its data-driven media offering over the past three years. During this time, he founded GroupM’s first centralised mobile business unit in the market, delivering creative and media solutions to clients.

Also at GroupM China in 2012, Wei established GroupM’s digital media innovation and thought leadership hub in Beijing, and in 2015 he relaunched the mobile unit to provide integrated mobile services to clients.

Speaking on his appointment, Wei said, “I am honoured to have the opportunity to realise our global vision in China with this role. Essence and MediaCom are two exceptional and complementary companies, and this merger significantly increases our competitiveness and leadership in the market. I firmly believe that EssenceMediacom, as the agency model of the future, will create even more excellent value for our people and clients.”

Meanwhile, Xu commented, “We are incredibly excited about EssenceMediacom, an agency that will be at the forefront of the media industry, and will create cutting-edge advantage and opportunities for our clients, people and community going forward. I believe Benjamin, as a veteran with a proven track record of accomplishments, and a knowledgeable and respected leader, will ensure that we get the very best from the merger.”

Lastly, McPetrie said, “Benjamin has consistently put people at the heart of all that he does. At every stage of his career, he has also developed new capabilities and scaled them with a spirit of entrepreneurialism, as well as established very strong, innovative partnerships with clients. As we look to the future, building our new agency in such a key strategic and unique market, I am really excited about what we will create with Benjamin leading the business.”

EssenceMediacom has also recently announced the appointment of Jin Choi as its chief executive officer for South Korea.

London, United Kingdom – Wendy Clark, the current chief executive officer of Dentsu International, is set to leave the company following a global restructuring as mandated by dentsu’s head office in Japan. The restructuring is part of dentsu’s initiative to transition towards a ‘one management team’ system.

In a LinkedIn post, Clark reflected on her time with Dentsu for two years, including a 17% growth in the agency for the first quarter of 2021, and the massive wins of Dentsu Creative Bengaluru for their campaign with Vice.

“Make no mistake, this is progress not perfection. While we lead in certain aspects of our strategy, we have work to do in others and areas we need to improve upon as a company,” she said.

Clark added, “But this performance is ahead of our mid-term management plan and as such the time is right for Dentsu International to integrate into Dentsu Group, led by Hiroshi Igarashi and one management team. As the outgoing DI CEO, I will help Igarashi-san and the DI Exec Team with this transition through the end of this year.”

Clark’s resignation from Dentsu International takes effect on December 31 this year, as well as stepping down from her role as director and executive officer of the company. 

Through the global leadership restructuring, Dentsu Group will have its business operations conducted in four regions—Japan, Americas, EMEA, and APAC. The upcoming “one management team” led by president and CEO Hiroshi Igarashi will comprise a culturally diverse group of leaders with a wealth of knowledge and experience.

In addition, the Dentsu group will globally integrate each of its corporate functions to build a common management platform. On September 15, the group will launch a dedicated integration office to drive a seamless transformation process.

Jakarta, Indonesia – Ogilvy has announced the appointment of Sieg Penaverde as the new group chief executive officer for Indonesia, succeeding previous CEO B. Ramanathan who moves to a regional role.

In his new role, he leads an Ogilvy Group powered by close to 300 experts in brand communication and activation, digital experience, public relations, health and content studio who work fluidly together to unleash impactful creativity that grows its clients’ brands and businesses.

Having held leadership positions in the Philippines, Mexico, Japan and Indonesia, Penaverde brings invaluable global, regional and local insights and wealth of experience in unearthing creative solutions through data and technology fueled with powerful cultural truths. 

Speaking on his new role, he said, “Beyond the amazing talent and expertise across the Ogilvy family, it is the power of borderless creativity and the resilience of our people through the challenges of the pandemic that has inspired us all. We did not allow anything to get in the way of delivering impactful creative work. This strength in numbers gives us the confidence to deliver against the mandate of uncovering growth opportunities for our clients.”

He added, “We also embrace a shared goal doing our part to ensure that we come out of this pandemic with a better normal, not just a new one.”

Meanwhile, Kent Wertime, co-CEO of Ogilvy Asia, commented, “I couldn’t be happier that Sieg is taking on the leadership role in Indonesia. During his tenure with the Ogilvy Group in Indonesia – first as head of Bates and more recently with the additional responsibilities across the whole group as group COO – Sieg has proven to be a trusted and worthy leader, and a natural successor as head of the Group. Sieg is supported by a very capable executive leadership team, who are aligned to Ogilvy’s mission to help our clients in Indonesia.” 

Singapore – Dentsu Creative, dentsu’s creative global network, has appointed Cheuk Chiang as its chief executive officer (CEO) for Asia-Pacific. He was previously the CEO for Great North APAC at dentsu and chairman of dentsu China.

A highly experienced creative leader, he is passionate about the value of creativity and how it transforms brands and businesses. Coupled with his deep understanding of key markets and the broader region as a member of the dentsu APAC executive team, Chiang has a strong platform for growth. 

Chiang has spent half his twenty-nine-year career at creative, data and tech agencies before moving into media and then onto an integrated role at dentsu.

Speaking on his appointment, he said, “The way consumers interact with brands is far more sophisticated than it used to be. In this complex environment, every marketer wants their brand to communicate consistently; to speak with one voice across all consumer touchpoints and experiences. The challenge they face is finding a simple integrated solution that embraces the full richness of the modern marketing landscape.”

He added, “Dentsu Creative is perfectly positioned to deliver on this need through modern creativity and seamless integration across the dentsu network, connecting the right talent around the right brief to deliver end to end solutions to our clients’ problems. I look forward to working closely with the teams in how we can shape the future of creativity for our business.”

Meanwhile, Fred Levron, chief creative officer at Dentsu International said; “At Dentsu Creative we have set a bold ambition for ourselves – owning horizontal creativity, a modern approach to creativity which infuses every part of our company to provide the most integrated solutions to our clients.”

He added, “To be able to deliver on this promise we need not only a new generation of creatives, but also business leaders. Individuals who are obsessed by creative excellence, and have the unique experience necessary to accelerate creativity through media and tech. Cheuk is exactly this. Asia-Pacific is a key region for Dentsu Creative and I am excited to have him by my side to reinvent the way we build brands and businesses here.”

Dentsu Creative was established during the Cannes Lions Festival in June, which unites dentsu’s creative agencies and expands its entertainment, earned attention and experience footprint.

Singapore – Dentsu International has announced the appointment of Robert Gilby as the new chief executive officer for Asia-Pacific, effective on 5 September this year.

He will be responsible for unifying the APAC region’s 11,600 talented people in 18 markets around dentsu’s global ambition to be the most integrated network in the world. In addition, he has 30 years’ experience in the media and entertainment industry and has worked in Asia Pacific for over 25 years.

Gilby joins dentsu from Nielsen where he is president for APAC responsible for building relationships with key media owners, brands and agencies to deliver audience insights across the media ecosystem. Prior to that, he was CEO and founder, Blue Hat Ventures, an investment and advisory firm focussed on identifying and commercialising high-growth businesses in the digital media sector in Asia Pacific. 

He has held non-executive board and advisory roles at the Ministry of Communications & Information, the InfoComm Media Development Authority and the Singapore Media Festival.

In his new role, he will be based in Singapore reporting to Wendy Clark, global CEO at Dentsu International, and joins the Dentsu International Executive team.

Speaking on his appointment, he said, “I was instantly drawn to dentsu’s compelling vision with its rich heritage as the only holding company born out of Asia. It is a privilege to be leading this region with the world looking to the Asia Pacific region as its GDP growth is forecasted to remain strong, the emerging middle-class booms and rapid digitisation and investment in homegrown platforms leapfrog existing technologies.”

He added, “Dentsu’s ability to understand people better than anyone else and vision for horizontal creativity coupled with these market conditions creates an exciting opportunity for brands to thrive.”

Meanwhile, Clark commented, “Rob is an exceptionally well-rounded leader with a progressive approach that deeply understands the future of the industry and opportunities for growth, for our people, our clients and our business.”

She added, “Importantly, he clearly demonstrated his long-term vision, values-based leadership style and passion for building high-performance, diverse teams that is fundamental to the way we do business at dentsu.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Malaysian theme park developer Sim Leisure Group (SLG) has announced Phil Whittaker as its new chief executive officer. As part of the announcement, Sim Choo Kheng has been also appointed as the new executive chairman.

Whittaker, who prior to this appointment served as strategic advisor and more recently as commercial director to the group, carries with him more than 25 years of knowledge and expertise in developing, launching, managing and restructuring sales, marketing, commercial and operations to deliver growth in several notable travel, leisure and entertainment-related organisations in Australia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Speaking on his appointment, he said, “I am truly honoured to take on this appointment as CEO at Sim Leisure, as I am humbled to lead such a globally recognised and respected brand and build on the innovation and success that Sim has achieved as one of the industry’s leading leisure entrepreneurs and operators. I would like to thank Sim and the team for their faith and trust in me as I continue to leverage on my skills and experience to support and help to realise the ongoing expansion plans of the Sim Leisure Group.”

Meanwhile, Kheng will also oversee the Group’s strategic direction and the expansion of Sim Leisure’s brands, including the design and development of new projects locally and internationally, while liaising with key stakeholders.

Kheng said, “In many ways, these strategic appointments can be deemed a pivotal one in our mission to become the premier themed leisure company across the globe, as we train our targets and artillery on world domination! Those who know me can attest to the fact that I like to accomplish the impossible. So, we set out to make the impossible a reality, with our unique products where fun is measured in ‘smiles per hour’.”

In the near future, SLG is also planning to introduce greater industry representation on the board to lend their expertise and help champion SLG’s industry representation in several markets around the world.

Hong Kong – The South China Morning Post (SCMP) has appointed Catherine So as its new chief executive officer. The appointment takes effect 15 June as she succeeds Gary Liu.

Liu will be transitioning into a new role to oversee the development of Artifact Labs, a new blockchain and NFT company created by SCMP.

So joins SCMP from Expedia Group where she was the managing director of Asia-Pacific, overseeing its consumer brands in all APAC markets. She was previously the managing director of Groupon Hong Kong as well, and has previously held leadership positions at iProperty Group which is now REA Group, Tom Group, News Corporation, and AOL Time Warner.

She brings into SCMP a background in digitalisation, audience development, and content commercialisation. This is in addition to her extensive media and technology leadership experience, strong track record for corporate transformation and innovation, and success in growing consumer-focused companies.

Speaking on her appointment, So said, “I am honoured to take on this position and thrilled to lead the South China Morning Post. The need for quality journalism has never been higher in today’s complex and polarised world. As a trusted news media company in Hong Kong and around the world, the Post is well-positioned to shape the global dialogue on Greater China and Asia.”

She added, “Building on SCMP’s world-class editorial, I will focus on strengthening business fundamentals: growing our global readership base, and expanding commercial opportunities, through both product and technological innovations. I look forward to leading and working with the team to achieve the next phase of transformation and growth at SCMP.”

Meanwhile, Joe Tsai, chairman of the SCMP Board of Directors, commented, “We are thrilled to have Catherine as our next CEO. She brings exceptional leadership acumen to the company, and she will drive continued business growth with a deep focus on editorial excellence and user experience.”

He added, “We also thank Gary for his dedication and contributions over five-and-a-half years as CEO. He has created a lasting legacy by transforming the Post digitally and culturally, and has empowered the company to further innovate with purpose and passion.”

Lastly, Liu commented, “SCMP is in great hands with Catherine as our next CEO. The Post will benefit from her deep digital and commercial expertise and her leadership experience. I look forward to SCMP’s continued growth under Catherine’s stewardship.”