Singapore – Global creative and media agency VaynerMedia has appointed Chan Woei Hern as the head of creative for Asia-Pacific, where he will further strengthen its credentials as an integrated consumer-centric agency in the region.

The seasoned creative brings with him an experience in the advertising world across the creative, media, content and film segments. He previously served as the executive creative director of VMLY&R Commerce for Malaysia and Southeast Asia, where he integrated and accelerated growth in the areas of creative commerce.

Woei Hern has also led the creative teams at advertising agencies Naga DDB, dentsu, and Ensemble and has worked with brands such as Grab, Nippon Paint, Maxis Communications, Petronas and Munchy’s.

In his new role, he will be reporting to Tim Lindley, managing director of VaynerMedia APAC.

Lindley said that when they started to find a successor for VJ Anand, who was recently promoted to the ECD position for the EMEA region, Woei Hern was on the top of their list. 

Lindley added, “His excitement for our attention-first model, his curiosity across platforms, and his passion to develop great people make us even more excited about the next phase of our growth. Woei Hern is an exceptional creative talent, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the team.”

Meanwhile, Woei Hern commented on how inspiring the energy is in the media agency. 

He added, “I can’t wait to see what an amazing adventure this will be to bring the culture to life through the work we do together as a team.”-

Last November 2022, one of the leaders of VaynerMedia APAC, Jonathan Gerard, who is its head of production, joined MARKETECH APAC as one of the speakers at the webinar, What’s NEXT 2023: Influencer Marketing in APAC. As part of the panel discussion, Gerard shared his insights on how brands should best engage with influencers as their content creator partners.

Malaysia Malaysia Airlines has appointed Juliana Chua as its new head of brand, strategy, and creative. Chua shared the announcement on a personal LinkedIn update.

Chua brings with her more than 20 years of experience in marketing and advertising, working with media, creative, and event agencies. In her last stint, she was with mattress company Sonno as head of marketing.

In addition, she also headed the brand and marketing of technology solutions provider Vettons. She has also worked with Kuala Lumpur Pavilion as its general manager of brand and marketing. Moreover, she also assumed the general manager position of branding agency Ignite.

Her other notable roles include being the business director and head of activation at advertising agency TBWA Kuala Lumpur, brand manager and planning director at media agency Zenith Media, and senior account manager at media investment company GroupM.

Sydney, Australia – The Australian arm of insights and consulting company Kantar has announced the appointment of Irene Joshy as the new head of creative for its Creative Domain division, effective immediately.

She brings a wealth of experience to Australian clients, which includes over 18 years in the wider Kantar business and most recently leading its creative development arena across Asia-Pacific.

Prior to her appointment, Irene began her career teaching social anthropology and social research at the University of Mumbai before moving into consumer insights research and advertising, including tenures at Colgate Palmolive, Lowe Lintas and Nielsen. Her time in Asia-Pacific spans countries like India, China and Singapore with a remit across North and South-East Asia.

Speaking about her appointment, she stated that she is thrilled to be a part of this ‘super achiever team’ whose mantra is ‘great things in business are never done by one person’. She also added that she looks forward to joining a team of passionate people who help steer clients’ growth through impactful creative.

“Drawing on the world’s largest database, behavioral measures, neuroscience capabilities and extensively validated solutions, we show brands how to develop and optimise their advertising to stand out, create meaningful impressions and generate sales,” Joshy stated.

She added, “Kantar’s creative domain is driven by the knowledge that successful campaigns start with a clear human insight, and tell stories that resonate, consistently, across all touchpoints. They communicate a meaningful difference, generate sales in the short-term, build brands in the long-term and have the power to increase ROI ten-fold. I love helping clients and brands to navigate the creative journey from identifying the best idea right through to flawless execution and best practice learnings for their next campaign.”

She will report to Jon Foged, managing director for insights at Kantar ANZ, as Joshy will be relocating from Singapore to Melbourne to conduct her official duties.

“We are thrilled to have Irene join us in Australia. Her most recent work in creative and advertising across Asia-Pacific has informed powerful client strategies through the lens of culture and consumer insights and into early-stage creative development. Irene is hugely client-centric, tenacious, has a strong willingness to support both our people and clients, and brings a high dose of energy to our business,” Foged stated.