Tag: Country manager

Bangkok, Thailand – Mastercard has announced the appointment of Winnie Wong as its country manager for Thailand and Myanmar. In her new role, Winnie will oversee all Mastercard activities in the two markets, including business development, implementation of innovative, safe, and smart payments solutions for businesses and consumers, as well as the growth and delivery of commercial solutions to corporations and SMEs.

She brings over 20 years of experience in payments, commercial solutions and banking across Southeast Asian markets including Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia. 

Since joining Mastercard in 2013, she has partnered with governments and corporations to spearhead the adoption of B2B platforms, enhancing the efficiency and transparency of cross-border trade in Asia Pacific.

Winnie is also the country manager for Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, a role she was appointed to in 2019 and which she continues to hold. In the past six years, Winnie played a pivotal role in establishing an ecosystem for safe and secure payments in these markets. She was also instrumental in engaging with regulators and stakeholders in creating a cashless and financially inclusive society in Vietnam. 

In addition, Winnie drives Mastercard’s global commitment to inclusion for women and has championed several initiatives for women’s empowerment. Notably, she led the launch of Mastercard Strive Women in Vietnam with CARE, an international humanitarian organisation. This program aims to strengthen the financial health and resilience of businesses, particularly micro and small businesses led by women, with a goal of reaching two million entrepreneurs in Vietnam within four years. Additionally, Winnie serves as the vice-chair for AmCham Vietnam.

Speaking on her new role, Winnie said, “It is my honour and privilege to take on this role and work alongside such a dedicated Mastercard team in Thailand and Myanmar. I look forward to partnering with Mastercard’s customers and partners as we shape the future of payments and digital innovation in Thailand together and contribute to the growth of its economy. I am especially excited to support the government’s agenda to build an innovative, secure and inclusive digital economy that benefits everyone – individuals and businesses alike.”

Meanwhile, Safdar Khan, division president for Southeast Asia at Mastercard, commented, “Winnie’s extensive experience across Southeast Asia will be greatly valuable to Mastercard in Thailand and Myanmar. Her deep insights into digital payments and commercial solutions, and her leadership across key strategic initiatives in this region will play a crucial role in contributing to the advancement of Thailand’s digital economy, the growth of its SME sector and its transition toward a cashless society.”

Singapore – Open web technology platform Outbrain has appointed Chris Oxley to the newly created role of country manager for Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, wherein he will lead the charge in driving the expansion of Outbrain’s advertising business. 

In his new role, Oxley will oversee the development and implementation of Outbrain’s commercial strategy along with driving new business opportunities to accelerate revenue growth across the region. His responsibilities include building and maintaining strategic partnerships, amplifying Outbrain’s value proposition, and managing the Outbrain sales teams.

Most recently, Oxley was the national head of digital sales for Foxtel Media, where he launched programmatic TV and led the team to commercialise advertising on the streaming platform Binge. Prior to that, he had successful tenures at Yahoo and BSkyB, which have contributed to Oxley’s deep understanding of ad tech platforms, programmatic advertising and data-driven marketing.

Speaking on his appointment, Oxley said, “Outbrain has quickly become a leader in digital media, connecting advertisers with premium audiences in contextually relevant environments. I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to lead the ANZ and Singapore teams, solidifying our role as the primary engagement partner for some of the world’s top digital media companies.”

Meanwhile, Amrita de la Peña, APAC managing director at Outbrain commented, “Chris is a best-in-class sales leader. He leads from the front and has a remarkable track record of empowering sales teams to surpass their targets. He possesses extensive expertise with a passion in digital media and he strives to build an incredible sales team who are just as passionate as he is.”

“Chris was selected for his visionary mindset, strong relationships in-market, and successful track record of leading high performing teams. We are thrilled to welcome Chris to Outbrain at this exciting time of growth,” she added.

Vietnam – Channel Factory, a global brand platform for YouTube, is strengthening its presence in the APAC region, with the opening of a dedicated office in Vietnam. Said expansion show’s the company’s dedication to strengthening their commercial strategy and making expenditures in the area.

The newly established office in Vietnam will be managed by country manager Khanh Ngo, whose responsibility is to serve media agencies and direct brand clients by providing targeting, brand appropriateness tactics, and campaign optimization solutions.

Ngo, who has a decade of experience collaborating with media agencies across the APAC region, leads the team alongside Hoang Luong as sales manager, Van Tran as client partner, and Duyen Thao as account manager.

Speaking about the newly established office in Vietnam, Khanh Ngo, country manager of Channel Factory, expressed, “I’m thrilled to play a pivotal role in setting the foundation for Channel Factory in Vietnam. With an already distinguished roster of global clients, the opportunity to deliver localised brand suitability strategies directly to agencies and brands allows us to deepen our existing partnerships and, over time, expand our esteemed client portfolio even further.”

Meanwhile, Kevin Wong, VP, APAC of Channel Factory, commented on the launch, “Local market experience and support is imperative for what we do for our clients. The establishment of our office in Vietnam serves as a vital step in solidifying our position, providing us with a distinct competitive advantage in the region.” 

He added, “We are incredibly fortunate to have already cultivated extensive expertise in the area through our teams in Australia, Singapore, India, and the Philippines, and view the Vietnam office as a natural progression in this ongoing evolution.”

Wong also expressed, “This is an exciting time for Channel Factory as we continue to expand across markets and support our clients with contextual and suitability solutions that protect brand reputation and ensure businesses are adhering to the recent changes to government regulations around misleading and unethical advertising practices.”

Long Pham, managing director of Dentsu iProspect Vietnam, remarked on the expansion, “We are excited about Channel Factory’s expansion into Vietnam, as we believe it will greatly enhance our ability to deliver exceptional brand suitability and contextual targeting strategies to our clients in the region.”

“Our partnership with Channel Factory, not only represents our commitment to stay at the forefront of industry innovation and provide our clients with the best solutions for their advertising needs, but also maximise ROI in this dynamic market,” Pham said. 

Sydney, Australia – London-based adtech data and location firm Blis has made a number of appointments and promotions to expand its operations in Asia-Pacific, specifically in the markets of Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. Amongst the notable leadership unveiled is the announcement of Donald Saw as its new country manager for New Zealand.

Saw’s role is expected to charge efforts forward in meeting the increasing demand from advertisers in New Zealand. He will leading the company’s sales and operations across the country. 

For leadership targeted at the whole of APAC region, meanwhile, Blis has named Lupe Prada as head of marketing and Clarie O’Mahony as head of client services. Prada will lead marketing initiatives in APAC while O’Mahony is tapped to be in charge of the client services team in the region.

In addition, Scott Mathison is the newly appointed sales manager for Queensland and Western Australia. 

Commenting on new appointments, Emma-Jayne Owens, managing director at Blis APAC, said that she’s delighted for their new hires as they continue to grow across the APAC region over the past few years.

She added, “They join Blis to drive our ambition for an even stronger team within each of our markets, where their combined local knowledge, expertise in client service and growth marketing allows us to provide solutions to help our clients’ businesses grow.”

Singapore – Wootag, a Singapore-based interactive visual marketing platform, takes a new step in expanding its global presence by launching its operations in India. Simultaneously, the company appointed Aditya Singh Chauhan as its first country manager.

With this expansion, Wootag still aims to further develop its growth strategy for India despite being one of its fastest-growing regions in the Asia-Pacific market. The company sets its eyes on strengthening regional partnerships for its visual marketing growth. 

As the inaugural country manager for India, Chauhan will lead the company’s go-to-market functions, and be responsible for driving client satisfaction and the adoption of the ‘Wootag for Ads’ in India. In his last stint, Chauhan worked as associate director of brand partnership & monetization for Myntra and led business development for Affle.

Recently, Wootag has introduced Wootag for Ads across Asian markets which aims to provide marketers with expanding offerings in interactive and intent-based audience engagement across various forms of advertising. 

Raj Sunder, CEO & founder of Wootag, said, “Not only does India boast the second-fastest growing economy in the G20, its marketing industry has evolved rapidly to keep up with [the] emergence of the video consumption and ecommerce ecosystem and ever-changing demands of consumers. This makes India such an important market for us in the region, contributing significantly to our business across Asia Pacific.”

Meanwhile, Chauhan commented, “I am thrilled to be joining Wootag and I would like to thank the company for trusting me to lead the team into the next chapter. I am excited to contribute to the company’s growth journey and empower our clients to succeed in a distributed and rapidly changing world.”

Wootag is currently operating in 13 countries including Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong SAR, Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and now India

Singapore – Jona Oboza, formerly the APAC senior director of client strategy at Xaxis, has joined adtech PubMatic as its country manager for Southeast Asia and Korea, according to her LinkedIn profile.

In her previous role at Xaxis, she was responsible for the company’s business management, programmatic media buying, and new business development in the region. She also previously served as Xaxis’ general manager in Taiwan, where she led the accelerated transformation in client development, innovation, and operations excellence of GroupM Taiwan’s performance media and programmatic business.

Her other previous roles included head of digital integration and innovation at Publicis Media and head of performance at Omnicom Media Group (OMG), as well as associate director at Innity.

PubMatic recently published a playbook in October this year, where it laid out strategies on how mobile app publishers can capture increased brand spend.

Indonesia – Public relations and content marketing agency Mutant has appointed Tanya Tresnasari, former general manager of Golin and Weber Shandwick, to be its new country manager for Indonesia.

In her new role, Tresnasari will be leading, running, and delivering strategic and results-driven campaigns across PR, content, social media, and branding.

Tresnasari brings more than 20 years of experience in the communications industry, spanning advertising, activation, and public relations. At Golin and Weber Shandwick, she was instrumental in driving cross-practice collaboration and helped to diversify the agency’s roster with key clients, including Sanofi, MSD, Clubhouse, Linktree, Carousell, Shell, and Hyundai, as well as Cathay Pacific, and Singapore Airlines, amongst others. 

Mutant said that expanding to Indonesia was the next logical step for the agency after a successful decade in Singapore and robust growth in Malaysia since its launch in 2019.

Commenting on her appointment, Tresnasari said, “Just as the name suggests, Mutant is constantly evolving. I’m excited to bring the agency’s blended PR, content, social and branding approach and adapt it for clients locally. With the addition of new hires, Mutant Indonesia has already hit the ground running, and I look forward to welcoming and driving real business outcomes for clients.”

Meanwhile, Joseph Barratt, founder and CEO of Mutant, noted, “It’s an exciting time to enter the market, with a differentiated offering that combines PR, content, social media, and branding to help businesses succeed. I can’t think of anyone better than Tanya to lead us through this, and pave the way for Mutant’s next chapter.”

In addition, Gabriela Gunawan also joins Mutant Indonesia as a PR Manager. Previously from Golin Jakarta and Weber Shandwick, Gunawan has worked with a variety of clients, including Morgan Stanley, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi, and SK-II, as well as Mastercard.

Singapore – Global digital ad verification company Integral Ad Science (IAS) has elevated Megan Reichelt, former head of programmatic for APAC at IAS, to be its new country manager for SEA.

In her new role, Reichelt will be actively working with brands, agencies, publishers, and technology partners to increase digital media quality and programmatic growth across SEA. She will also be developing sales strategies to best support current clients while building new partnerships with key stakeholders to help them go beyond verification and make every ad impression count. 

Reichelt joined IAS in June 2021 as strategic partnerships manager, and within a short span was promoted to APAC head of programmatic business. With programmatic sales and marketing experience across Australia and Singapore, she brings strong expertise in business development, sales strategy, and scaling local market programs. Before joining IAS, she was the marketing lead for Accor hotels, working on digital advertising and content strategies.

Commenting on her appointment, Reichelt said, “Southeast Asia’s digital media market is evolving quickly, and I look forward to working with marketers and publishers to tap into IAS’ solutions that can help drive efficiency and return on their investments in new ways.”

Meanwhile, Laura Quigley, SVP for APAC at IAS, noted that with their continued investment and growth plans in Southeast Asia, they have rapidly expanded their team across multiple functions in Singapore, and she is thrilled to have Reichelt provide operational excellence, team management, and sales leadership in the region.

“She has already been very successful in her programmatic lead role with strong track records of building strategic partnerships across these markets and growing business within the ad tech space. I am confident she will successfully guide the teams and help clients improve their digital spending outcomes,” said Quigley.

In July 2022, IAS and Anzu have recently announced a partnership to enable global brands and agencies to effectively monitor the quality of their in-game media investments in mobile gaming environments.

Manila, Philippines – Global digital payments company Visa has appointed Jeff Navarro as its new country manager for the Philippines and Guam. He succeeds previous country manager Dan Wolbert, who has moved to a new role for Visa North America.

Navarro was previously the regional vice president for the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indochina at Western Union. He also served as the president and chairman of the board at Western Union Processing Services Inc. Prior to joining Western Union, he has also worked with SMART Communications and Shell across sales, brand, and business development roles.

Speaking on his appointment, he said, “It is a great pleasure for me to join Visa, a global leader in payments and money movement, areas which are near and dear to my heart. I am excited and honoured to have the opportunity to lead a team of seasoned professionals, who share the drive and passion to further widen financial inclusion for all Filipinos.” 

He added, “I look forward to working closely with our clients, fintechs, the regulator, and all stakeholders to grow digital payments in the country, and enable individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive.”

Meanwhile, Tareq Muhmood, Visa’s Group Country Manager for Regional Southeast Asia, said, “I am delighted to have Jeff lead our team in the Philippines and Guam as the country manager. Jeff’s regional experience and in-depth knowledge of the financial services industry will be an asset for Visa and will serve him well in leading our team.”

He added, “Jeff and the team will drive our business agenda with clients, consumers, and regulators in the Philippines and Guam, in line with our purpose to uplift everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.” 

Vietnam – Transparent programmatic and data-driven agency, Bidmath, has appointed Rakesh Singh, former head of digital, destination marketing and marcom at Hoiana, to be its new country manager for Vietnam and commercial head for APAC.

In his new role, Singh, who will be based in Ho Chi Minh City, will be responsible for leading the new business and solutions in Vietnam, as well as commercial partnerships across the APAC region. 

Aside from his previous role at Hoiana, Singh has also served as the managing director at Havas Media in Vietnam. In his career span of more than 18 years, he has always been associated with the large media and communications companies in the industry, having worked with agencies like Group M (Mindshare and Mediacom), Omnicom Publicis, and Havas Media Group across Asia and Africa markets, with more than 10 years in senior leadership roles. 

On his thoughts regarding the largest opportunity for brands in Vietnam, Singh commented that the share of programmatic advertising in several emerging markets in APAC is much lower than that of mature markets where more than 80% of the digital spend is bought programmatically, and the primary reason for this is the lack of exposure of brands to the several benefits of programmatic advertising and this is largely due to inefficiency and lack of capabilities prevailing within the industry primarily driven by traditional media agencies who are struggling to move from the traditional media buying approach to the new audience buying approach driven by data and technology.

He said, “With the advancement of technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), programmatic is now playing a significant role in the digital marketing ecosystem and with our huge expertise in this area, Bidmath is well placed to spearhead the growth in the region.”

Moreover, Singh also shared the key game-changers that he believes to be the future of online, which includes AI in marketing, the Metaverse, livestream commerce, AR, voice search optimisation, programmatic advertising, chatbots, and marketing automation, as well as micro-influencers, and shoppable content. Meanwhile, lack of resources, skills, and knowledge are amongst the key barriers for brands to achieve personalisation goals.

Singh noted, “I consider myself an emerging market specialist having had the opportunity to work across several emerging markets like India, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, South Africa, and Vietnam. With the rapidly accelerating technological advances in digital marketing, the recognised value of data and increasing data literacy amongst brands and marketers, I’m looking forward to many more interesting experiences in the near future.”