Tag: Leadership

Singapore – Dentsu has announced the dual appointments of Ganga Chirravuri as president of product and development for APAC and Matt Farrington as president of investment and trading for APAC. These strategic appointments underscore dentsu’s commitment to driving innovation and growth through its client solutions across the APAC region.

Chirravuri joined dentsu in March 2023 and has been instrumental in delivering a new and improved holistic product stack, elevating the competitiveness of our solutions. He brings nearly 25 years of experience in product management and technology development and has deep, unmatched knowledge of both media and customer platforms.

In his new role, he will continue to drive the strategic development of dentsu’s digital and data product portfolios, leading a team of talented engineers to build scalable, commercial solutions that are customisable to client, brand and market needs and drive incremental performance improvement of client’s ad dollars.

Prior to dentsu, he has extensive experience in software and product technology with a decade at Verizon and more recently as chief product officer at Shopmatic and chief technology officer at CtrlShift.

Speaking on Chirravuri’s appointment, Christina Lee, chief technology officer at dentsu APAC, said, “Ganga’s future mindset, creativity and long-term perspective has enabled the delivery of a product suite designed with client needs at the core, driving the effectiveness and competitiveness of our offering. More broadly, our Data & Technology evolution continues at pace and I’m delighted Ganga will spearhead this important agenda and unlock future, sustainable growth for our clients across all our brands in media, creative and CXM.”

Meanwhile, Farrington brings over 20 years of experience across modern and emerging media ecosystems having worked at agencies including GroupM and Omnicom, occupying leadership roles across both Australia and Singapore. He joins dentsu from Yahoo where he was the head of Partnerships & Investment, APAC and led the investment strategy for Yahoo AdTech across the region, including establishing multi-market holding group partnerships and overseeing all deal and investment activities.

For his new role, he will focus on developing high-quality media investment solutions that deliver sustainable, value-enhancing outcomes for clients, build leading capabilities within our agency disciplines, and strengthen relationships with key partners. His extensive background positions him well to lead and develop commercial partnership frameworks that create value for all stakeholders – its partners, teams, and clients.

Prerna Mehrotra, chief client officer and CEO of media for APAC at dentsu, said, “New media ecosystems are redefining the possibilities of what media can deliver. To win in this unbounded era we need to integrate media with data, technology, creativity, production, sports and entertainment to create new, deeply connected propositions that accelerate new revenue streams for clients. This starts with having visionary talent who fundamentally understand the complexity of the landscape, the opportunities for growth and how to realise it. It starts with our craft.”

He added, “These appointments are testament to that dedication to craft and innovation; Ganga and Matt’s roles mark a significant step-up, not only in capability but in our ability to deliver integrated, ‘++’ solutions for clients, delivering unparalleled impact by being client-first, craft-led and digitally ahead,” added Prerna Mehrotra.”

Singapore – Samir Singh, most recently the chair of Unilever Asia and head of Unilever Singapore Hub, has announced that he is officially leaving the company after 27 years. He has already hinted of joining another company, which he will announce towards the end of the year.

In a LinkedIn post, he reflected on how he valued his time with the company related to his teams and the relationships he had built, as well as how culture is far more powerful than grand statements of vision and purpose. 

“What kept me at Unilever and Hindustan Unilever for such a long time, beyond the diversity of roles and locations, beyond the successes and failures, are the small and often overlooked joys of this everyday existence,” he stated.

Singh further added, “When the culture and values of an organisation are congruent with yours, it is possible to do well in business, disrupt the status quo, face many setbacks, and still totally enjoy the everyday ‘work’ of getting there.”

He first joined the company as an area sales manager in 1998 for Hindustan Unilever, the Indian subsidiary of Unilever. He was then promoted to senior brand manager for skin care in 2001 before taking on a regional brand manager role for SEA and Middle East in 2003, and then as regional marketing director for skin care in SEA in 2005.

His first global leadership role came in 2006 when he was named Unilever’s global marketing director for skin care. At that time, he worked on the global marketing strategy for Unilever’s skin care brand Ponds. He was then named as global brand director for Vaseline based out Singapore in 2008, then as global brand vice president in 2010, where he lead the global branding strategy for Lifebuoy, Unilever’s soap brand.

Singh marked his return to Hindustan Unilever when he was named the executive director of personal care in 2014 before moving into a new global role as global executive vice president of skin cleansing in 2016. He was then promoted to the role of EVP for global skin cleansing and oral care in 2020 then as chief marketing officer for personal care in 2022.

Singapore – Aboitiz Data Innovation (ADI), the data science and AI start-up arm of the Aboitiz Group, has announced that Felicia Li-Gaillard is taking on an expanded role as its chief sustainability officer on top of her existing role with the company as its chief marketing officer, a role she took when she first joined ADI in February 2023.

In an exclusive conversation with MARKETECH APAC, Felicia said that her expanded role will focus on helping ADI map its ESG roadmap and sustainability synergy.

“In my expanded role as chief sustainability officer (beyond my CMO remit), my responsibilities also include developing ADI’s sustainability framework which aligns with the Aboitiz Group’s sustainability synergy and ESG roadmap, ensuring regulatory compliance, fostering external partnerships, and educating ADI employers on our sustainable practices,” she explained.

How she intends to lead ADI’s marketing and sustainability efforts

When asked about her marketing strategy with ADI, Felicia notes that she is focused on ADI’s ambition to become the go-to partner for making AI work in their expanded markets beyond the Philippines and Singapore. 

“When we say “making AI work,” we mean addressing the gap between the hype and the practical implementation of AI in business operations. Many organisations struggle with understanding the foundations of AI or how to integrate it effectively. This is where ADI comes in, with a mission to provide real-world solutions that empower organisations across diverse industries,” she said.

Meanwhile, Felicia says that her sustainability leadership focuses more on ADI actively partnering with government agencies, industry partners, and communities to contribute to ESG goals through our expertise in data science and AI. A recent example of this initiative is ADI’s collaboration with OceanPixel and Baringa on a whitepaper titled “Future Blue Economies”. Said whitepaper explored how leveraging marine resources can drive sustainable development, promote sustainability, and create significant economic opportunities.

“ADI’s role is to offer insights on how data, AI, and technology can be utilised to optimise these efforts. We welcome similar collaborations from other organisations to partner with us,” she added.

Reflection on marketing leadership at ADI

Felicia is no stranger to handling senior marketing leadership roles for various companies across Asia-Pacific. Prior to joining ADI, she was Meta’s interim head of marketing for Facebook Gaming and Audience Network in Asia-Pacific. Prior to that, she also held other marketing roles with Integral Ad Science (IAS) and MoPub, Twitter’s mobile advertising network that was sold to AppLovin in 2021.

For her, what she loves most about her role as CMO is the autonomy and trust that allows her to excel at what she does best—building a fully functioning marketing team and fostering its growth.

“Given that ADI operates like a startup compared to other business units within the Aboitiz Group, we embrace a flexible mindset and often wear multiple hats. This dynamic environment offers my team members incredible opportunities to learn on the job and work across various areas within the marketing spectrum,” she said.

Under his leadership, ADI had also introduced a series of data science and AI products and capabilities, including Alternative Scoring, Transaction Monitoring, Customer Intelligence, and AI for Climate/ESG, tailored for the financial services, industrials, and public sectors. An example of this AI-powered product is ADI’s AVA AI.

“Most recently, we launched AVA AI, our generative AI (GenAI) platform designed to empower enterprises across both the public and private sectors. We have an exciting lineup of new products and markets in the future. This kind of high growth really ignites me and my team to continue pushing boundaries and achieving new results,” she explained.

She also explains that she is a staunch supporter of fostering a great team culture, particularly in connecting employees across 14 countries, and have collaborated closely with their talent team on various initiatives designed to enhance team building, promote company culture, and strengthen employer branding.

“We also prioritise transparent communication and regular updates to ensure all team members feel connected and informed, regardless of their location. Building a strong culture is not just about creating a positive work environment; it is a critical component of our continuous growth and success,” she added.

Tackling marketing challenges in the AI, data scene–the ADI way

When asked about what she thinks is the biggest challenge the AI and data industry face this year, Felicia says that the challenge is building trust, especially in traditional industries and large corporations.

“At ADI, we serve clients primarily from the banking, financial services, power, industrial, and public sectors. While these organizations recognize the need to adopt AI in their operations, they often struggle with data dispersed across multiple sources and systems. This fragmentation leads to missed crucial insights and hampers strategic decision-making,” she said.

Another particular challenge she highlights is data privacy and security; where relying on GenAI platforms that depend exclusively on publicly-available information is prone to generating irrelevant or inaccurate answers and increasing security risks for enterprises.

“These inefficiencies can stifle team productivity and overall operational effectiveness. All these attributes to the cautions about the adoption of AI solutions or finding the right solutions that can meet their unique business needs,” she said.

Felicia further added, “That’s why we launched AVA AI, our GenAI platform designed for enterprises, with the sole purpose in mind to simplify how enterprises interact with their data. By streamlining processes and enhancing workflows, we enable them to not only make informed decisions swiftly and efficiently, but also to uncover valuable insights.”

She also noted that as marketing teams have always been early adopters of the latest trends and technologies. She believes that most marketing teams are now using various GenAI platforms to create AI-powered content. Moreover, she also encourages her team to embrace new technologies, learning to use them to their advantage to improve efficiency and generate highly targeted insights for their audience.

“As a revenue-driven marketer, I am particularly excited about leveraging AI for predictive lead scoring and sales forecasting. By utilising AI to analyse data patterns, we can predict and recommend the next actions for our marketing and sales teams, allowing us to prioritise our efforts on the most promising opportunities,” she said.

Felicia added, “Having an enterprise-grade GenAI interface within the organization is becoming increasingly prevalent in today’s business landscape. At ADI, as a data science and AI company, we are constantly testing new ideas, and I am looking forward to deploying these innovations in our day-to-day operations.”

Singapore – Scott Beaumont, most recently the president for Asia-Pacific at Google, has announced that he is retiring from the company after being with the company for 16 years. For his role, he also stated that he will pass the role to his colleague Sanjay Gupta, most recently the country head and vice president at Google India.

In a LinkedIn post, Beaumont reflected on how Google is now at the forefront of an exciting new age of technology with AI, and how he had the privilege of invest his time differently in teaching, advising, leading and serving Google.

“It has been the most incredible experience whether in London, Shanghai or Singapore. I have thoroughly enjoyed experiencing so many different cultures, histories, languages and ambitions across both Europe and then Asia. It has been so rewarding to meet, advise, learn from and partner with a huge number of motivated commercial partners and customers, entrepreneurs, governments and NGOs,” he said.

Speaking on passing the leadership role to Gupta, Beaumont commented, “Since our first meeting five years ago, I have seen Sanjay’s drive to think ambitiously about how technology can be a power for good in the development of his home country: India. He now has the opportunity to pursue that same calling more broadly across Asia Pacific. I know Sanjay will do the position, his team and the company enormous credit and I look forward to supporting him in his early months.”

Beaumont first joined Google in 2009 where he first served as its managing director for partnerships in North & Central Europe. In 2013, he was elevated to the role of president at Google Greater China & Korea before getting promoted once again to be Google’s president in APAC in 2019.

Prior to Google, he was the executive vice president of alliances and partnerships at T-Mobile from 2000 to 2004. He then co-founded a tech startup Refresh Mobile and served as its CEO from 2004 to 2009. Outside of his leadership role, he also serves an advisory role for the popular racing team McLaren since 2021.

Singapore – Social media company Hepmil Media Group has announced two new leadership appointments namely Michelle Tan as chief executive officer for Singapore and Cassi Yang as chief operating officer. The announcement was made by Karl Mak, co-founder and CEO at Hepmil Media Group.

With a reputation accumulated over the last 9 years of building SGAG and Hepmil Creators’ Network with us, Michelle is uniquely positioned to lead the company’s largest market to new heights. She is also the first domestic CEO for the company.

Meanwhile, over the past 9 years, Cassi has been involved in every major commercial project & innovation team, and has led market expansion efforts across Hepmil. In her new role, she will oversee all commercial activities across all 6 markets in the region, working to expand and deepen the group’s impact and reach as a group.

“Never in my wildest imagination did I envision that we would come so far as a founding team in a small start-up. Our journey together over the past 9 years has been remarkable, demonstrating their unwavering loyalty and exceptional talent in these two amazing leaders,” Mak said.

Singapore – Global omnichannel media agency Assembly has announced the appointment of Jordan Heathfield as the agency’s vice president of connections and brand experience for the APAC region. In this newly established role, Heathfield will be instrumental in driving the integration of creative and strategic media solutions to deliver true brand performance for clients. 

His appointment reinforces Assembly’s commitment to delivering transformative results for brands such as Lenovo, Marina Bay Sands, and Nike. Heathfield is based in Singapore and will report to Assembly APAC CEO Richard Brosgill.

Heathfield brings over 16 years of industry experience to the agency, having excelled in strategic and client leadership roles across Asia prior to joining Assembly. He has a history of groundbreaking work, including the Volkswagen ‘Deep Fake’ campaign in China, and he served as global brand marketing lead at HP in California, where he spearheaded branding and growth initiatives for HP’s gaming division.

Speaking about his appointment, Heathfield said, “I am thrilled to join Assembly during such a transformative phase. The opportunity to shape and expand Assembly’s capabilities in brand strategy, creativity, and cutting-edge media planning, is incredibly exciting. My ambition is to pioneer the agency of the future where tech, innovation and creativity converge to deliver solutions that exceed client expectations and redefine industry standards.”

Meanwhile, Brosgill commented, “We are delighted to welcome Jordan into our leadership team. This newly formed role is testament to our commitment to deliver true brand performance, shaping connected consumer experiences that create real business impact. Jordan’s wealth of experience, unwavering passion, creativity, and innovation will undoubtedly propel our business and our clients forward. I’m excited for what’s to come.”

Singapore – Multinational tire manufacturer Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company has announced an expansion to Natalja Voronova’s role at the company, making her the new regional marketing director for ASEANZ, adding ANZ to her scope.

In an exclusive conversation with MARKETECH APAC, Voronova stated that her new role consolidated ASEAN and Australia/New Zealand (ANZ) into 1 cluster with a total scope of 8 markets, which is strategically important and well-positioned to capitalise on the broader growth opportunities for Goodyear in Asia.

“Australia is a very exciting addition, being one of the biggest markets in ASIA with developed carpark and strong Goodyear brand equity. It presents great opportunity for us to promote cross-country collaboration, best practice sharing and stronger marketing synergies within the cluster. I’ll be working closely with regional and ANZ country leaders to reinforce demand generation programs, identify new business growth opportunities and build stronger marketing capabilities within this extended scope,” she explained.

Key milestones and points for regional growth

Voronova first joined Goodyear as the regional marketing director for ASEAN and Korea in March this year, where she also highlighted significant progress against marketing growth strategy for this year.

“As a first step, key strategic priorities have been identified and aligned across the region. We have sharpened Goodyear brand positioning in ASEAN with stronger product offering and communication that has been successfully vetted with consumers and retailers. Big focus has also been on execution excellence,” she said.

She also added that their team has developed marketing guidelines with clear KPIs alongside content toolkits for local marketing organisations to drive measurement mentality and enable consistent high-quality execution. 

“Consumer centricity and strong collaboration with our business partners has been a key enabler for business growth,” she said.

When asked about her key objectives in her expanded role, she said, “Our focus will remain on driving key strategic product lines with end-to-end executional excellence, starting from product availability, visibility in point of sale, communication with a clear and superior proposition and driving consumer conversion. We will be working closely with our retail partners to ensure they have the right support in terms of product training, educational materials and after-sales service.”

Blending sustainability and customer-centricity

When asked about one of the prime marketing trends the manufacturing scene is at the forefront of, Voronova shares how sustainability will continue to impact the way they market their products.

“At Goodyear, we define sustainability as responsibly balancing environmental, societal, and financial demands without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. It is an integral part of our business strategy, including multiple initiatives such as the launch of EcoReady tyres – made with sustainable materials, reduction of tire weight and rolling resistance which offers the double benefit for the environment as well as consumers with longer tyre lifespan,” she said.

She also noted the continued rise of electric vehicles in the region, where she said, “Whilst in ASEANZ this segment is still relatively small, it presents big growth opportunity. Goodyear was one of the first tire companies to recognise the structural differences between electric and regular ICE vehicles and their interaction with a road, introducing ElectricDrive product innovation, tailored specifically to electric vehicles. We are very excited about the future opportunities that electric vehicles will bring.”

Moreover, she also stated that consumer centricity with data-driven marketing initiatives will play a key role in accelerating business growth.

“Once we have identified full consumer journey with its touchpoints and needs, now we have an opportunity to provide a truly customised communication and service for each consumer with a help of AI – and do it in a cost and time-effective manner. I’m personally very excited about the opportunities that AI brings to drive business efficiencies, but also how it can help us to unleash creativity,” she said.

“Generative AI has already reached maturity when it comes to static images and is fast evolving in the video space. In Goodyear, where we obsess about our consumers and retailers, we’ll leverage new technologies to serve them even better at every touchpoint,” she concluded.

Singapore – AIA Singapore has announced the appointment of Afees Ashroff as its new chief technology officer with immediate effect, and he will report to Wong Sze Keed, chief executive officer at AIA Singapore. 

Ashroff is a highly experienced leader with a wealth of experience spanning over 20 years in both banking and insurance sectors. He has been with AIA Singapore since 2018 and has a profound understanding of the organisation, where he was most recently head of digital technology. 

With his new appointment, Afees will continue to focus on enhancing customers’ digital experiences by developing and implementing world-class, cutting-edge technology strategies aligned to deliver AIA Singapore’s vision and business priorities as a customer-centric leading life insurer.

Afees will succeed Peter Lee who has decided to step down to take some time to focus on personal matters.

Speaking about Ashroff’s appointment, Sze Keed said, “I am delighted to welcome Afees to the leadership team as chief technology officer. I am confident that Afees will be a strong addition to my management team and will continue to drive AIA Singapore’s digitalisation agenda across our organisation to deliver the best service experience for our customers. More importantly, with Afees’ appointment, AIA Singapore remains committed to our people-first culture; where talent development and internal mobility will ensure we give the best opportunities to our people.”

She added, “I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Peter and his efforts in steering the team. Peter is a highly respected industry veteran and will be fondly remembered for his positive influence in creating a cohesive culture within the technology division and we wish him all the very best in his future endeavors.”

Singapore – Adobe has announced the promotion of Keith Eadie as its new general manager for Asia Pacific (APAC), where he will oversee and drive the company’s business operations across the dynamic market.

Eadie joined the company almost seven years ago through the acquisition of TubeMogul, where he was the chief marketing and strategy officer. At Adobe, he has led several divisions, including Adobe Advertising, Adobe Analytics, and Adobe Sign. 

In 2022, Eadie moved to Singapore to lead international product marketing for Adobe’s Digital Experience business. He most recently served as Adobe’s vice president of digital experience strategy and GTM for APAC and Japan. His expertise combines product and marketing innovation with strong business acumen and a passion for bringing people together to drive growth.

As the new APAC general manager, Eadie will report to Stephen Frieder, chief revenue officer of Adobe Enterprise.

Frieder said, “Keith Eadie is a transformational business leader with a track record of driving success across teams and value to our customers. Under Keith’s leadership, I’m excited to see the APAC region continue to build on its strong growth trajectory.” 

Also speaking on his promotion, Eadie shared, “As the digital economy continues to expand, and in the era of generative AI, business leaders across APAC are looking to deliver next-generation experiences for their customers. I’m excited for the opportunity to lead an exceptional team and to work with our customers and partners to empower them to drive experience-led growth.”

Manila, Philippines – Commercial banking company UnionBank has announced the appointment of Ana Aboitiz Delgado as its new president and CEO, effective on January 1, 2025.

Prior to assuming this role, Delgado is widely credited for leading UnionBank’s digital retail banking innovations such as the digital bank branch model and UnionBank Online.

She will be taking on leadership of UnionBank of the Philippines from Edwin Bautista, current president and CEO, whose 27-year career saw UnionBank go from becoming the front running digitised bank in the country to setting it on a path to become a retail bank leader.

Delgado joined UnionBank as a management trainee in November 2003. Over the course of her career, she led the business development of SME Banking and Retail Consumer Finance, which included credit cards and loans.

She was likewise tasked to lead the design of the customer experience across the Bank’s physical and digital touchpoints that will differentiate UnionBank from other traditional banks.

Delgado also expanded her role to head the bank’s Institutional Banking business on top of heading customer experience and digital channels and serving as a director of the UnionBank board and as chairman of the CitySavings Bank board.

Talking about the appointment, Erramon Aboitiz, chairman of the UnionBank Board of Directors, said, “We are looking forward to taking UnionBank to greater heights with Ana at the helm. Her experience and expertise will allow her to lead the Bank’s continued digital transformation which was started by Edwin and has put UnionBank on an accelerated road towards its aspiration to be a great retail bank.”