Australia – SpringServe, the ad serving platform acquired by Magnite, has announced the appointment of Mete Bargmann as commercial director for JAPAC and Kok On Chew as director of client solutions.

Bargmann will be responsible for planning, developing, and implementing commercial strategies to support and accelerate the growth of SpringServe throughout APAC. He is expected to bring his 15 years of digital advertising experience to the new role.

Prior to joining SpringServe, Bargmann previously held the position of head of business development for Asia at Magnite, working with publishers and broadcasters across Europe and Asia to develop their advertising businesses and strategies.

Meanwhile, Chew will be based in Singapore and will be providing technical support for SpringServe’s product suite in the APAC region. 

He is expected to bring his experience in designing and implementing OTT video streaming solutions in the media technology sector to his new position. 

Before SpringServe, Chew previously spent 18 years working at Harmonic, Inc. as presales and SaaS manager where he handled architectural design efforts and implementation of cloud-based OTT video streaming solutions, amongst other responsibilities.

Magnite has also previously acquired revenue management platform Carbon to accelerate publisher audience activation.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Global cloud communications platform Infobip has appointed Ben Lewis as its new vice president of marketing and growth. In his new role, he will be leading Infobip’s global marketing and growth function and will be responsible for increasing the firm’s market share and brand awareness to meet its growth targets.

In addition, he will ensure Infobip is positioned as a full-stack omnichannel communications platform for every platform.

Overseeing a global team, Ben has significant experience in global omnichannel communications. He was previously the VP of strategic commercial Innovation at Infobip. Before Infobip, Ben was the director of revenue operations at U.S. messaging company OpenMarket. 

Acquired by Infobip in 2020, Ben joined OpenMarket from a tech start-up in 2016. Following the acquisition of OpenMarket, Ben managed the transition of the sales and accounts teams, working closely with Infobip’s executive team.

Speaking on his new role, he said, “Having worked with Infobip and its executive team since its acquisition of OpenMarket, I’ve seen first-hand the breadth and depth of its people. Infobip has been hugely successful to date, and it has strong relationships with customers such as Microsoft and Adobe and partners like CRM platform HubSpot and workflow platform ServiceNow.”

He added, “With a more agile and collaborative approach, we can enhance that success and ensure Infobip achieves ambitious profitable growth. I’m looking forward to working with colleagues to ensure customers understand how our full stack communications infrastructure is so powerful that other providers run their platforms on it.”

Meanwhile, Ivan Ostojić, chief business officer at Infobip, commented, “Infobip is focused on profitable growth, and the marketing and growth team is critical to our success. But to achieve that success, every team worldwide must be aligned and focused on the same objective. Combining the marketing and growth teams under Ben’s new leadership unifies our end-to-end go-to-market functions from strategy to campaigns. Now everyone is focused on how they can help our customers succeed and, by doing so, how we can achieve ambitious profitable growth.”

He added, “Ben is an exceptional marketing leader with vast industry experience. What’s more, having been with the firm for some time [who] understands our business inside out. At Infobip, we’re committed to developing our people, helping them perform at their best and make the step up, which Ben exemplifies with this new appointment.”

Shanghai, China Global growth agency Aiken Digital has appointed Kian Fong Wong as its new general manager of China

Wong made the announcement through a LinkedIn post. According to his profile, he will be based in Shanghai, China for the new role. 

Wong is an experienced leader and technology executive who co-founded digital agency Deep Focus, which was previously known as FlipScript Interactive.

Prior to joining Aiken Digital, Wong was previously the head of media and marketing solutions agency UM Studios in China. In this role, he spearheaded the startup and formation of MediaBrands Content Studios (MBCS) in the country, amongst other responsibilities.

He also held the regional director for North Asia position at public relations and communications company Isentia and was managing director for China at advertising agency R/GA.

Aiken Digital specialises in growth consulting, experience design, system development, creative & content, XB e-commerce and SaaS products.

Mumbai, India – Global brand and customer experience agency VMLY&R has announced the appointment of Saurabh Saksena as chief executive officer of VMLY&R India

He will be based out of Mumbai and will report to Hari Ramanathan, CEO of VMLY&R, South and Southeast Asia and Japan

In the new role, Saksena is expected to drive the integration of VMLY&R’s capabilities across India, such as creative excellence and transformational solutions at the intersection of brand and customer experience, data, platforms, and commerce.

Prior to joining VMLY&R India, he was the president of Red Fuse Communications India. He also held the CEO position at J. Walter Thompson Worldwide and brings with him experience in social, commerce, data and CRM, shopper marketing, full-funnel management, and new-age media, amongst others.

On his appointment, Saksena said, “I’m thrilled to take up this new role and lead the VMLY&R operations in India. The agency houses a great pool of talent across specialisations that don’t usually exist together in a single agency, making it well-positioned to harness creativity, technology, and culture to create connected brands.”

He likewise mentioned that VMLY&R has outstanding growth potential in India and that he and his team will continue to build on it.

Ramanathan further commented, “India is an anchor market for us in Asia and with a breadth and depth of offerings that are unmatched in the industry, VMLY&R India, under Saurabh’s leadership, is all set to help clients get their ‘unfair’ share of growth in a vibrant market.”

VMLY&R India also previously appointed Rajshekar Patil as its executive creative director last year.

Singapore – To support its growth strategy across the Asia-Pacific region, IT company Fujitsu has named its new head of marketing for APAC, Jezmynn Koh-Turner. This is a comeback for Koh-Turner who previously joined the company back in 1999. 

Koh-Turner will be based in Singapore, joining Fujitsu’s APAC leadership team. She will be focusing on supporting the company’s regional business strategy and building the Fujitsu Uvance brand.

She is expected to bring over two decades of marketing and communications experience in enterprise tech and SaaS companies across APAC, ASEAN, Greater China, North Asia, South Asia, and Australian markets in the new role.

Prior to joining Fujitsu, Koh-Turner was most recently director of marketing for APAC and MEA for SaaS solutions provider Jedox AG. Throughout her experience, she’s also held marketing and communication leadership roles at SingTel, F5 Networks, and Commvault, amongst others. 

When Koh-Turner first joined Fujitsu in 1999, she supported go-to-market strategies at Fujitsu Asia, with a role that spanned for seven years. 

On re-joining Fujitsu, she said, “I am very pleased to have re-joined Fujitsu during such an exciting period of transformation and I look forward to collaborating with the Global Marketing team and the Asia Pacific organization to support Fujitsu’s growth strategy and bring to life our purpose-led strategic direction and focus.”

Graeme Beardsell, chief executive officer of Fujitsu Asia Pacific also said, “With extensive experience in the enterprise technology market across the Asia Pacific region, she is the ideal executive to lead our Asia Pacific marketing team as we look to elevate our position as a trusted digital transformation (DX) and sustainability transformation (SX) company in the region.”

Vice Head of Global Marketing at Fujitsu Dr. Laura Bonamici also expressed her excitement to work with Koh-Turner in supporting the business strategy and financial objectives for the APAC region and building the Fujitsu Uvance brand.

“She is passionate about driving integrated marketing and communications strategies to generate market awareness, shift perception and impact purchase consideration, and will no doubt be a great asset to our company,” Bonamici added.

Fujitsu is a leading business and IT solutions provider, offering services drawn from five key technologies: computing, networks, AI, data and security, and converging technologies.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Chayenne Tan has announced that she is joining financial services company Standard Chartered as its head of consumer, private, and business banking–according to her LinkedIn profile.

She was previously with CIMB, where she was the head of sustainable finance for consumer banking. She also previously held other marketing roles in CIMB, including director of performance marketing and director of consumer marketing, among others.

Some of her work in CIMB revolved around growth marketing, integrated marketing, remarketing, martech, performance marketing, and brand management. 

Prior to joining CIMB, she was also the head of strategic planning and integrated marketing at marketing agency ROOTS Asia Pacific, where she worked with clients such as Adidas, Unilever, HTC, and Goodyear, amongst others.

In addition, she’s held other marketing and communications-related roles at companies Deloitte, Hong Leong Bank, and Siemens.
Standard Chartered recently teamed up with NTUC in Singapore and Bukalapak in Indonesia to launch respective new digital banking services in each market.

Singapore – Carolyn Soh, previously from the Singapore Health Promotion Board, has moved to out-of-home (OOH) advertising company JCDecaux as its new marketing director. According to her LinkedIn, the appointment took effect in December this year.

She served for over seven years at the Singapore Health Promotion Board, where she was recently the senior marketing manager for preventive health topics. During this stint, she was responsible for marketing effectiveness and business operations in media and risk management. 

She also specialised in integrated marketing for B2C health campaigns and communication management, and brings with her experience in managing partnerships with HCPs and healthcare networks.

At the Health Promotion Board, she also helmed the marketing of division infant nutrition and food nutrition. Aside from the recent one, she’s held roles at Singtel and L’Oreal.

JCDecaux has been ramping up its services in the APAC region, recently partnering with foodpanda HK to be featured in JCDecaux’s OOH screens at the HKIA.

Australia – To support its continuous national growth, corporate affairs agency Bastion Reputation has appointed Andrea Robertson as its new group client director.

In her new role, Robertson will be delivering work and support for Bastion Reputation’s client roster across government, education, technology, financial services, mining, energy, resources, and sports sectors.

Robertson is an experienced multimedia and communications agency client service director and has over 20 years of experience with global and Australian multimedia companies and advertising agencies. 

She also specialises in client relationship engagement, client service strategy and workflow, customer experience, contractual agreements, and product strategy and development, amongst others.

Prior to joining Bastion Reputation, Robertson was the group account director at global advertising agency Now Screen. In the role, she managed client experience and process, as well as brand and advertising strategy and creative and production for all advertising channels.

“An exemplary client experience has always been central to how we work, and Andrea’s appointment is a key step as we continue our rapid growth to ensure we are delivering the high quality, high impact and values-based services the business is known for and our clients demand,” said Bastion Reputation Managing Director Clare Gleghorn.

She added, “Through Andrea’s experience in media organisations, as well as advertising agencies, she has led large client service and project management teams, as well as managing blue chip private sector clients, and government accounts.”

Bastion Reputation has been making appointments this year to amplify growth, including the appointment of Elliot Giakalis as principal consultant for media and public affairs and Jim Carden as principal consultant for campaigns and digital reputation.

Singapore Real-time data platform Aerospike has named Sharon Koay as its new marketing director for the Asia Pacific region and Japan

According to her LinkedIn profile, Koay will be handling Aerospike’s marketing process and campaigns from research and planning to execution and analysis. She will also be managing the marketing budget and goals for APAC and Japan.

Moreover, she is expected to bring her skills in market planning, enterprise solutions, sales, channel management and go-to-market strategies to her new role. 

Koay has sales and marketing experience of about 20 years and has held managerial roles at technology company Dell and software development company One Identity.

Prior to joining Aerospike, she also worked as a marketing consultant for Silver Linings Consultancy. Her clients included Aerospike, Proofpoint, EnterprizID, DT Asia, and Hoonartek.

Aerospike is a data platform that enables organizations to act instantly across billions of transactions while reducing server footprint.

Singapore – Integral Ad Science (IAS) has appointed Khurrum Malik, the former head of global business marketing at Spotify, as its new chief marketing officer. In his new role, Malik will accelerate the market growth initiatives for IAS and lead its global marketing strategy.

During his previous stint at Spotify, he led the business marketing, creative, product marketing, measurement, and analytics teams within Spotify’s advertising business. He was also previously the CMO of Compass, a real estate technology platform, and was head of product marketing at Meta.

Speaking on his new role, he said, “IAS has set the global benchmark for trust and transparency in digital media quality. I look forward to working with the entire IAS team to ensure global marketers, publishers, and media platforms understand how best to leverage our technology and insights to activate brand-safe and ROI-driven campaigns.”

Meanwhile, Yannis Dosios, chief commercial officer at IAS, commented, “Khurrum’s impressive background and passion for technology and marketing will be instrumental to driving our go-to-market strategies and increasing awareness of our value proposition. We are excited for him to lead the marketing effort for IAS.”

Malik’s appointment comes a month after Integral Ad Science was tapped by streaming giant Netflix–alongside DoubleVerify–to verify the viewability and traffic validity of their ads starting in Q1 2023.