Tag: Chief Investment Officer

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – IPG Mediabrands Malaysia has announced the appointment of Stephanie Foong as its chief investment officer. Her appointment follows the leadership transition of Fan Chen Yip, the current chief investment officer, who departs to pursue new opportunities.

Effective immediately, Foong will step into the role of chief investment officer, responsible for all legacy and new media investments within the group, with a focus on buying accountability and innovation. Stephanie’s role will oversee all aspects of IPG Mediabrands’ investment initiatives, focusing on maximising value for clients through data-driven insights and innovative media strategies. 

Her appointment takes effect 1 July 2024, and she will report directly to CEO of IPG Mediabrands Malaysia, Bala Pomaleh.

Speaking on Foong’s appointment, Pomaleh said, “After three years of dedicated service, Fan will be moving on from our company from the end of June. During his tenure, he has been instrumental in shaping our investment strategy and fostering growth within IPG Mediabrands. We are grateful for his contribution to our leadership team and wish him all the best as he embarks on this next chapter of his career.”

He added, “We are excited to appoint Stephanie into this role as chief investment officer. Stephanie has been with the group as head of Orion for four years and played a pivotal role in nurturing our partnerships. Her wealth of industry experience and proven track record within the network gives her a deep understanding of the nuanced media investment dynamics at play today. We trust in her commitment to driving results as we look to steer our partnerships and trading capabilities through this next evolution. Stephanie’s leadership will be pivotal in helping us navigate the rapidly evolving media landscape to ensure we continue to deliver unparalleled service to our client base.”

Singapore – Mindshare, the media services company under WPP, has appointed Sidharth Parashar, former president of investments and pricing at GroupM India, to be its new chief investment officer for APAC.

In his new role, Parashar will be focusing on enhancing Mindshare’s investment strategy across local markets, as well as driving Intentional Investment and the opportunity for Good Growth in the region. He will also be reporting to Helen McRae, CEO of Mindshare APAC.

Additionally, Parashar will be based in Singapore and will be part of the Mindshare APAC leadership team.

Commenting on his appointment, Parashar said, “It has been an amazing journey at GroupM, and I am delighted to now take over this new Mindshare APAC investments role. I look forward to this opportunity in new markets to build value for our client’s business.”

Meanwhile, McRae noted, “I am very pleased that Sidharth will be joining our regional team. He brings a tremendous depth of expertise and will be a great champion of Good Growth for our clients.”

Prasanth Kumar, GroupM’s CEO for South Asia, said that Parashar has had a phenomenal career journey where the organisation has witnessed his evolution from a practice expert to a leader over the last 18 years with GroupM. 

“He has successfully led the investment mandates across all media and has elevated the practice through innovative products and delivering exceptional value for our clients. I would like to wish him the very best and will continue to work closely with him as he drives the regional investment strategy for Mindshare,” added Kumar.

In July 2022, Mindshare announced new leadership appointments, namely Shankar Rajagopal as chief client officer for APAC; Ashish Thukral as managing director at Mindshare and m/SIX Vietnam; and Preeti Mascarenhas as head of strategy and product for APAC.

Vietnam – GroupM, a WPP media investment group, has elevated media agency veteran Nitin Kumar to the role of chief investment officer at GroupM Vietnam. Kumar will be based in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam and will assume the position on 1st July 2022, taking over the reins previously held by Huyen Trinh.

Formerly the Principal Partner of Products at GroupM Indonesia, Kumar has spent more than one and a half decades immersed in the media and marketing industry. From client leadership to trading, investment, general management and most recently, products development, Nitin accumulated a wealth of experience across key remits at the world’s biggest media investment company including significant tenures at GroupM agencies – Wavemaker and Mediacom.

Nitin has worked with a star-studded roster of clients including P&G, Heinz, Coca-Cola, Wipro, Airtel, Del Monte and many other brands across India, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Nitin will report to both Himanshu Shekhar, CEO of GroupM Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam as well as Anita Munro, GroupM’s chief investment officer for Southeast and North Asia, who also chairs the APAC Investment Committee.

Commenting on his appointment, Kumar said, “I am thrilled to join GroupM Vietnam whose roster of local and global advertisers makes for an eyewatering portfolio. Together with my investment team, I look forward to leaning into our local and regional partners to create differentiated and market-leading advantage for brands. We will help our clients unlock even more premium content, data, and first-look rights as well as offer beta testing and priority access to premium inventories.”

Himanshu Shekhar, CEO of GroupM Indonesia, Thailand & Vietnam, shared, “Nitin’s all-round expertise in media strategy, planning, negotiations, trading and product development makes him a highly valuable leader to drive our investment vision and roadmap for Vietnam. This is one of the fastest-growing markets in Southeast Asia with latent potential, and I’m confident that with Nitin’s entrepreneurial skills and commercial acumen, he will be able to lead the team to extract maximum value for our clients in a rapidly evolving digital media ecosystem.”

Meanwhile, Anita Munro, chair of GroupM’s APAC Investment Committee, said, “GroupM Vietnam has built a strong investment legacy that will be further advanced with Nitin at the helm. As he focuses on enhancing the partnerships in-market and augmenting our investment capabilities across all channels, our clients will be able to enjoy far-reaching value.”

Munro added, “In partnership with our regional investment team, Nitin will lead the delivery of GroupM’s Responsible Investment Framework in Vietnam that entails building a diverse, sustainable and high-quality media ecosystem that our clients can invest in confidently now and in future.”

Singapore – Media investment company GroupM has appointed Anito Munro to the role of chair of the APAC investment council, on top of her new role as chief investment officer for Southeast Asia and North Asia. Munro will be steering the group’s investment strategy across the burgeoning markets in the region from 1 April 2022. 

Munro will be part of GroupM’s APAC leadership team, reporting to Ashutosh Srivastava, CEO of GroupM APAC, and Andrew Meaden, GroupM’s global chief investment officer.

With two decades of agency experience, Munro crosses over from GroupM’s agency Mindshare, where she was most recently chief investment officer of Mindshare for APAC. At Mindshare, she had led the media business for LVMH at L’Atelier; while throughout her tenure in APAC, Munro has led the investment activities for key client accounts including Unilever, L’Oréal, Huawei, Ford, Jetstar, Mondelez, and more.

Speaking about her appointment, she said that with GroupM’s global scale and unparalleled reach, they are poised to shape a new era of media by helping clients apportion their media spend for good, while extracting maximum value for their investments.

“As the first woman to helm the chair role on our regional investment committee, I’m thrilled to be part of an organisation that’s leading the charge to cultivate greater equity and diversity across the entire industry. Together with our investment community, I look forward to continuing creating value for clients across the entire media supply chain, and propel us towards a more sustainable and vibrant media future,” she stated.

Meanwhile, Srivastava commented, “Anita’s diverse experience across a plethora of roles that span client leadership, investment, strategic planning and operations has gifted her with a deep appreciation and understanding of the holistic business as well as the investment needs of clients and markets.” 

She added, “As we continue to help our clients evolve their media strategies in an increasingly digital and biddable world, Anita will undoubtedly be a transformative force in stewarding responsible investment that will make advertising work better for people.”