Tag: Leadership

Singapore – Carro, an AI-driven used car marketplace based in Singapore, has announced the promotion of Katherine Teo as its new chief marketing officer, moving beyond her recent role as the regional head of marketing for the company and its subsidiaries across Asia-Pacific.

In an exclusive conversation with MARKETECH APAC, Teo shared her continued plans for the marketing and branding efforts for the company.

“I will continue to drive strategic marketing and branding efforts for the Carro Group, with a focus on strengthening synergy across our ancillary businesses, such as for insurance, our after sales arm Carro Care, and Genie Financial Services,”

She also added, “We are prioritising new, emerging markets such as Japan and Hong Kong, and our ancillary businesses in finance, insurance, and after sales. “

It is worth noting that Carro had recently acquired Beyond Cars, a Hong Kong-based user cars buying and selling platform; as well as marking its expansion into Japan with a partnership with SoftBank back in 2022. Moreover, Carro had also announced an investment with production house Driven Communications, and even received funding from DRB-HICOM for its Genie Financial Services.

When asked about her learnings that she will bring to her senior role, Teo said, “Continue to foster a culture of creativity. 
It’s really simple: we want to make great ads that people want to see. We want to continue to put out quality campaigns that are rooted in strong consumer insights. And to do so, I believe in cultivating an honest, open team that can sprout radical, refreshing, and fun ideas. After all, our marketing campaigns are a culmination of many minds put together.”

Under her recent marketing role at Carro, the company has seen multiple marketing campaigns that she oversaw, including its first regional brand film alongside TBWA\Singapore, as well as the launch of multiple short drama series in its regional markets to celebrate Carro’s eighth anniversary.

Teo also added, “We should be marching to the beat of our own drum. 
Trends come and go, especially in the digital space and social media. As APAC’s largest online used car ecosystem and market leader, I believe we should always explore and do what works for us.”

When asked about the particular marketing challenges for the used car industry in the region, she explained that with more platforms bringing more unique selling points (USPs), there is a challenge for brands in the space to come up with new ways to stand out from diverse markets.

“More and more used car marketplaces are starting to communicate the same USPs. Soon, there will appear to have no clear point of differentiation to the consumers. This is a unique challenge because we’ll need to find a way to stand out and help customers know us, like us, and choose us,” she stated.

Part of Carro’s selling point is the assurance to its customers that the pre-owned cars are certified by the company’s in-house inspectors, making sure that the cars pass up as good as new.

“We’ll start to see more offering of certified pre-owned cars. As the industry leader, our focus remains on offering Carro Certified cars that are as good as new. As trust and transparency continue to be the main thrust of the industry, we will continue to ensure that our customers’ trust sit at the heart of all that we do. Beyond just Marketing, the company will continue to invest in technology, data, and talent that go into building quality products and a Carro Certified car that is as good as new,” she concluded.

Singapore – Jaren Loy, currently the head of digital growth (grocery) at FairPrice Group, has announced that he will be undertaking new duties in his current role at the company, more specifically focusing on the company’s retail media strategies.

In an exclusive conversation with MARKETECH APAC, Loy noted that he will take charge of spearheading strategic initiatives for FairPrice Group aimed at enhancing the efficacy and reach of their retail media endeavours.

“This will encompass orchestrating the implementation of data-driven advertising strategies, cultivating synergistic partnerships with key stakeholders, overseeing the optimization of advertising channels, and fostering innovation to stay ahead of industry trends,” he explained.

When asked about the specific strategies he will focus on, Loy said he is particularly eager to prioritize the development of innovative advertising solutions that capitalize on FairPrice Group’s extensive first-party data assets. 

“By leveraging this data, advertisers can create highly personalized and relevant campaigns that resonate with our customers,” he added.

Prior to leading FairPrice Group’s digital growth for its grocery division, he also lead the company’s omnichannel and O2O marketing strategies. It is worth noting that during his time as lead of omnichannel marketing at the company when FairPrice Group announced a partnership with The Trade Desk to provide brands on The Trade Desk’s platform with insights on the impact of their digital advertising campaigns across offline and online sales channels.

“Drawing from my experience in growth and omnichannel roles at FairPrice Group, I intend to bring a strategic focus on maximizing the value of our first-party data in the new advertising landscape. This includes identifying key customer segments, refining targeting algorithms, and optimizing ad placements to deliver maximum impact for advertisers,” Loy said when asked on his reflections from his previous positions at FairPrice Group.

When asked about current challenges on the retail media landscape, he said, “I think one of the main challenges and opportunities for marketers lies in adapting to a cookie-less environment. By leveraging FairPrice Group’s robust first-party data ecosystem, advertisers can overcome this challenge by directly targeting relevant audiences based on real-time insights and behavioral patterns.”

He also added that with the industry’s current movement towards first-party data, he adds that as an industry leader, FairPrice Group is committed to staying ahead of the curve in the evolving retail media landscape. 

“In 2024 and beyond, we anticipate a shift towards more privacy-centric advertising solutions, which aligns with our focus on safeguarding customer data and delivering a seamless, personalized shopping experience. Through strategic investments in data analytics, technology infrastructure, and partnership development, FairPrice Group aims to empower advertisers to thrive in this new era of digital marketing,” he concluded.

Hong Kong – Global insurance company Sun Life has recently appointed Philip Chau as its regional director of marketing performance and operations for Asia. In his new role, Chau will drive Sun Life’s marketing strategy and performance excellence across all Asia markets, as well as maximize marketing return on investment.

“It will be looking at the holistic end to end customer funnel from brand awareness, to lead generation, to lead nurturing, all the way to conversion,” Chau told MARKETECH APAC when asked about his specific strategies for Sun Life in his new role.

Prior to joining Sun Life, Chau was most recently the vice president and group head of marketing at Regal Hotels International, and oversaw a team of up to 30 members owning the end to end overall marketing strategy of the company both at group level and of all 17 hotels across Hong Kong and China. In that previous role, he managed all key marketing functions for the hotel brand across PR, communications, branding, partnership, digital marketing, CRM, loyalty program, creative, design, customer insights and analytics.

He had also previously held other marketing roles throughout the years including with Great Eagle Holdings, Blue HK, and Aviva.

When asked what learnings from these previous leadership experiences–more specifically from Regal Hotels and Great Eagle Holdings–Chau told MARKETECH APAC, “Both of these experiences provided me with valuable insights and strategies in introducing and delivering marketing innovation within a complex multi-BU organization. The key is to have both the technical know-how (martech and marketing analytics) as well as a strategic approach (change management and education).”

Speaking on his opinion regarding performance marketing this year, Chau told MARKETECH APAC that with the tightening of budgets, marketing ROI will be a key challenge.

“More than ever, marketers will be challenged to show immediate ROI, even in branding campaigns. These is also an opportunity for marketers to rethink and upgrade their marketing performance frameworks, to better track, optimize, and maximize the return of their marketing efforts,” he said.

He also added, “In my view, it will be establishing a truly holistic marketing performance measurement framework across all channels, all content, and all campaigns. It is about understand the true drives and levers that allows you to create real impact and real ROI.”

Chau’s appointment comes recently off the appointment of Mahima Tankha Marwah as Sun Life’s new chief client experience and marketing officer for Asia. In that role, she will lead Sun Life Asia’s marketing strategy, brand development, philanthropy activities, client listening and measurement and the development of new solutions to enhance client propositions.

Singapore – B2B full-service marketing agency Green Hat has announced its expansion to Singapore with a new office and the appointment of Shawn Low as the new Singapore director to spearhead the agency’s growth across APAC. 

Green Hat’s expansion to Singapore comes as more of its global clients seek representation in the APAC region. 

As part of BBN International, a global network of 30 B2B agencies, this expansion allows Green Hat to provide the group with greater APAC coverage and, at the same time,the agency can provide its clients with global support through the BBN agency network. 

Among the agency’s current clients are Nestlé Professional, Korn Ferry, NEXTDC, and Workday.

Meanwhile, leading the agency’s APAC growth is the newly appointed Singapore director, Low, who will also take on the additional role of global account director for Green Hat’s long-term client, Korn Ferry. 

A former head of content and social for Australasia in Green Hat, Low is a multi-channel digital native who has worked in start-ups, B2B, and B2C in Australia, London, Singapore, and APAC. 

He re-joins Green Hat after nearly three years of serving as head of social and digital at Grey Group Singapore, part of WPP. Low has also held leadership roles at King Content and Immedia in Singapore. 

Stuart Jaffray, managing director at Green Hat, said, “Singapore is a key part of Green Hat’s growth plan, with an increasing need from our client portfolio for us to have talent on the ground in the market. It’s great to be able to welcome Shawn back to Green Hat to lead our expansion in the region. He knows Green Hat well and has great connections in the Singapore market.”

Also speaking on his appointment, Low shared, “Singapore’s the APAC hub for many global businesses and clients. Green Hat’s proposition is to help our clients rethink B2B to implement effective account-based marketing (ABM) programs, conduct strategic work that builds key brand and messaging frameworks, and develop robust content strategy and demand generation programs – there’s collectively so much experience we can bring to the table. I’m excited to be delivering and implementing best-practice B2B marketing for our APAC clients.”

Shanghai, China – Global prestige beauty retail brand Sephora has officially named Xia Ding as its new managing director of Greater China to lead its next phase of growth and success. 

In her new role, Xia Ding will be based in Shanghai and will report directly to Alia Gogi, president of Asia for Sephora. 

She will lead Sephora’s business in Mainland China and Hong Kong SAR, spanning around 350 stores with two e-commerce websites and a robust ecosystem of digital platforms and apps. 

Xia Ding brings with her an extensive background in leadership. Prior to joining Sephora, she spent five years serving as the vice president and general manager of e-commerce for Asia Pacific and Latin America at Nike. 

During her two decades of tenure at HanesBrands Inc., Xia Ding was heavily involved in corporate strategy and led its expansion into China. In 2015, she was appointed the vice president of retail service at Nielsen in China and subsequently joined JD.com as the president of JD Fashion, where she was responsible for driving the fashion business covering apparel, shoes, sportswear, bags, and jewellery. 

Commenting on the appointment, Gogi said, “Xia Ding is a quintessential leader with a wealth of experience in running businesses, digital transformations, and strategic business development. I am confident that her skills set, knowledge of brick & mortar retail, expertise in digital and e-commerce, as well as her proven track record in building and sustaining profitable businesses will take Sephora Greater China into its next phase of growth and success.” 

Meanwhile, Xia Ding shared, “I am thrilled to join Sephora at a time when the prestige beauty market in China is on the cusp of its next phase of growth. Sephora’s allure lies in its powerful curation capabilities, strong culture anchored in purpose and DE&I, and an incredible ability to offer beauty enthusiasts an ever-evolving retail experience.” 

Sydney, Australia – Regional technology public relations agency The PR Group has announced the appointment of former TechCrunch senior reporter Catherine Shu as its new director of content and media. 

In her new role, Shu will be based in Taiwan and will work closely with the VC and technology ecosystem. She will oversee the content services offered by the PR Group and is expected to play a key role in the agency’s growth across Southeast Asia. 

Prior to her appointment, she spent twelve years as a senior reporter at TechCrunch, where she extensively covered startups of various types and sizes, as well as breaking news from Asia and the United States. 

Shu gained recognition in the industry for her insightful analysis pieces on the Asian tech sector, effectively contextualising different markets, sectors, policies, and trends for global audiences. Additionally, her work has been featured in esteemed publications such as the New York Times, Barron’s, and the Wall Street Journal.

With this appointment, Shu will now be part of The PR Group, which has offices in Melbourne, Sydney, and Singapore and has supported the growth of some of the most innovative companies in tech across B2B and consumer, including Accenture, Rippling, Dropbox, Square, GoFundMe, Deliveroo, Temple & Webster, Fiverr, Indeed, RMIT, Domain, Etsy, SEEK, Nextdoor, and Zoho.

Caroline Shawyer, CEO and co-founder of The PR Group, said, “Catherine’s deep knowledge of the Asian region combined with her networks will enhance our ability to help global technology companies tap the immense growth opportunities that Southeast Asia affords while also supporting regional companies to expand into new markets.”

“Increasingly, we are seeing more companies turn to us for help in building their content hubs to drive deeper conversations across channels and audiences. Catherine will play a key role in growing this offering and enhancing our ability to help clients tell compelling stories with impact. We’re delighted to have Catherine onboard and look forward to further cementing our position as a leading technology PR partner for the best and fastest-growing companies in APAC,” she added. 

Also commenting on her appointment, Shu said, “I have worked with The PR Group’s team for over a decade now and have always been impressed by the calibre of their client base and the company’s approach to storytelling. When they approached me with the opportunity and outlined their vision for the region, it was something I knew I wanted to be part of and will allow me to continue to build upon my deep connections with startups and VCs. I am excited about the opportunity ahead.”

Singapore – Technology and data platform Channel Factory has announced the recent appointment of Kartik Mehta as its new head of Asia – growth markets amidst the company’s goal of expanding growth in India and Southeast Asia this 2024.

In his new role, Mehta will be solidifying Channel Factory’s position in emerging markets, whilst aiding Channel Factory’s sustained global growth through enhancing and localising its global strategy. 

He was most recently Silverpush’s chief revenue officer and chief operating officer, where he played a pivotal role in establishing and growing the global business from its inception in 2017. Under his leadership, the company expanded its footprint to over 15 geographies, achieved double-digit million-dollar earnings, introduced new revenue streams through programmatic partnerships with the likes of IrisTV and Pubmatic, and garnered multiple industry awards. 

Since 2013, Mehta has gained invaluable experience across technology sales with his most notable achievements centering around market expansion. This includes launching and building out emerging markets in Asia/Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa for the likes of Vserv and YouAppi, as well as the expansion of Silverpush into North America and the UK. 

Prior to this extensive experience in technology sales, Mehta spent over a decade in global advertising agencies such as JWT, Ogilvy and Cheil. He is also a sought after speaker, having appeared at the likes of iMedia and MMA, so this role is the perfect culmination of over 20 years’ of strategic experience relevant to Channel Factory.

Speaking on his new role, Mehta said, “Channel Factory has undergone some really impressive growth over the past few years, but there are still so many opportunities ahead to expand upon this. It’s the opportunity to implement new strategies across emerging markets in order to drive growth that pushed me to join Channel Factory. I’m looking forward to taking this exciting challenge head on, and seeing, in real-time, the impact our team can deliver in these markets.”

Meanwhile, Robin Zieme, chief growth officer at Channel Factory, commented, “Advertising is one of only a handful of industries that is seeing continued and sustained growth in emerging markets, despite macroeconomic pressures. As such, it’s important that you seize the opportunities with many companies vying for dominance.”

He added, “Having Kartik join our global management team, with his impressive experience in expanding businesses into emerging markets, will enable Channel Factory to identify and grab as many opportunities as possible across India and Southeast Asia. I look forward to having Kartik elevate our global strategy in order to drive the greatest growth possible.” 

New York, USA – Ogilvy One announces new multiple global leadership and launches next-generation services targeted at cultivating more partnerships through purposeful design. Ogilvy uses a strategy to develop partnerships that deliver business, brand, and customer value, guided by creativity, powered by data, and augmented by AI.

Ogilvy One has named Kent Wertime as its global CEO. Roberto Fara continues to serve as Ogilvy Spain’s chief creative officer in addition to taking on a larger role as Ogilvy One’s global creative experience lead. Other notable hires include Mauro Caggiano (LATAM), Jason Davey (AUNZ), Ravi Pal (CTO), Ab Gaur (APAC & CEO of Verticurl; global chief data & tech officer, Ogilvy), Rajesh Midha (NoAm), and Clare Lawson (EMEA & chief client officer). 

Wertime has been with Ogilvy for almost 25 years. He led Ogilvy One in Asia before moving on to take on various leadership positions. He will continue to serve in his current role as Ogilvy APAC’s co-CEO. 

Devika Bulchandani, global CEO of Ogilvy, said, “When David Ogilvy first started talking about direct marketing decades ago, he recognized that some of the most effective marketing isn’t just directed at your target audience, it speaks to them on a personal one-to-one basis. Now we take that to a new level with a fresh leadership team for Ogilvy One and a commitment to designing relationships based on ideas that create enduring value exchanges between consumers and our clients’ brands.” 

Speaking about his appointment, Wertime said, “Over the last decade, companies invested heavy in technology, but that alone is not the solution. In today’s hyper-commoditized world, brands need to design relationships that create differentiation and relevancy with their consumers. That’s where the exponential power of creativity plays a vital role.” 

He added, “Today’s consumers, choose their points of interaction with brands, from discovery to purchase, and dictate more of the relationship. With a deep understanding of brands and full dimensional view of consumers coupled with award-winning creativity and a strong data and technology backbone, Ogilvy One is uniquely positioned to design valuable relationships for brands that are impactful, relevant, and enduring.”

Australia – Digital marketing and automation platform Constant Contact has appointed Gerard Smith as its new APAC head of partnerships, shortly after the recent appointment of Sam Whitmore as its new APAC head of commercial.

In their new roles, both Smith and Whitmore will be supporting the company’s commitments to rapid growth and the support of small businesses across the APAC region.

These appointments also follow Constant Contact’s recent designation of their new vice president for APAC.

Smith joins from WP Engine where he held the role of APAC head of agency partnerships. In that role, Smith was responsible for fostering greater growth among digital marketing, web development, e-commerce, and media agencies across the region, and engaging and growing the company’s reseller community.

Based out of Constant Contact’s regional headquarters in Brisbane, Smith will focus on providing support to the hundreds of resellers currently driving new business across Australia and New Zealand.

Whitmore on the other hand, held numerous executive roles at Salesforce in the United Kingdom, largely focused on SMB customers, most recently as the regional vice president for the travel, transport and hospitality industries.

Speaking on his appointment, Smith said, “I’m excited to join Constant Contact and look forward to unlocking new growth opportunities and fostering stronger collaboration with our partners across the APAC region.”

Talking about her appointment as well, Whitmore also mentioned, “I’m thrilled to have joined Constant Contact in APAC at this exciting phase and to be driving strategies that will support our customers and their own growth journeys.”

Meanwhile, Renee Chaplin, vice president Asia Pacific, Constant Contact, commented, “Our agency partners continue to be important drivers of expansion and we intend to double down on our commitment to them in-region to help their businesses be more successful in 2024. Bringing Gerard Smith on board as our APAC Head of Partnerships further demonstrates how important this region is to Constant Contact.”

“To add, Sam Whitmore is a commercial powerhouse and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to bring her on board to lead our customer success, customer support and inside sales functions for Constant Contact in APAC,” added Chaplin.

Singapore – PubMatic has announced that Peter Barry will be returning to Australia to serve as its vice president for addressability and commerce media for Asia-Pacific. He was previously based in New York as PubMatic’s global vice president for addressability and commerce.

Barry will report directly to Jason Barnes, chief revenue officer for APAC at PubMatic.

In his new role, he will be responsible for rolling out PubMatic’s commerce media solution, Convert, across the APAC region. Convert provides retailers, brands and advertisers with a unified audience monetisation and acquisition platform to maximise the reach and revenue of commerce media, one of the fastest-growing media channels. 

In addition to this, Barry will be responsible for working with publishers, advertisers, identity vendors and industry bodies to ensure PubMatic’s customers are maximising addressable opportunities across their businesses as signals shift and regulations change.

During Barry’s time in the U.S., he led multiple cross-functional teams, helping PubMatic’s partners to execute against addressability strategies to drive monetisation today, as well as future proof of their business. He helped launch the Convert platform in 2023, opening up a new set of opportunities for PubMatic and its customers. Prior to that, Barry was PubMatic’s regional director for Australia and New Zealand, leading the rollout of the company’s Addressability Suite across the region and working with data and APAC identity partners.

Speaking on his new role, he said, “I am excited to work with PubMatic’s APAC team again to drive the addressability and commerce media businesses across the region. I’ve learnt a lot from my time in the US, and now I’m looking forward to ensuring PubMatic’s customers make the most of both the onsite and offsite opportunities through our Convert product.”

Meanwhile, Barnes commented, “We’re delighted to see Peter return to APAC following his time in New York. His wealth of experience is invaluable and I look forward to seeing how his expertise impacts our ever-expanding commerce media offering in the region.”