Singapore — Merkle, dentsu’s technology-enabled, data-driven customer experience management company, has named John Riccio as the new president of Merkle Asia Pacific (APAC). He replaces Zhengda “Z” Shen, who has announced his retirement, effective July 1, 2022.
In addition to the appointment, Riccio will continue in his existing role as CEO of Merkle’s ANZ region while now being tasked to lead the growth of Merkle in APAC. Riccio has an extensive understanding of leadership and holds more than 25 years of experience heading major digital businesses and strategic programs. He is recognized as a specialist in helping clients transform the way they respond to market change and engage consumers.
Prior to joining Merkle, Riccio was in the customer experience consulting industry, holding the position of consulting partner of EY for APAC. He also held partner positions including PwC in Australia and Asia, and at IBM in the United Kingdom.
Riccio said, “Since joining Merkle, I have been impressed by the technical expertise and forward-thinking, agile approach the company takes in the experiences delivered to its clients and employees. I am excited to expand my ANZ role across the broader APAC region, supporting our clients who have entrusted us to create distinctly better experiences and relationships with their customers across all key technology platforms.”
On Riccio’s appointment, Michael Komasinski, global CEO of Merkle, said he is delighted to confirm Riccio as president of Merkle APAC, as further proof of dentsu’s commitment to accelerating the growth and performance of their customer experience consulting, data, digital transformation, and B2B services across the region. Komasinski said Riccio’s extensive regional and global leadership experience will further enable and drive growth and success in this critical region for the business.