Tag: Leadership

Seoul, South Korea – Advertising agency BBDO in South Korea has recently announced the appointment of Junhwa Jung as its newest executive creative director. This strategic move aims to elevate the agency’s presence in the dynamic creative landscape, focusing on infusing his expertise into the industry.

Jung boasts a rich portfolio as a creative director, leaving an indelible mark on global and domestic brands. With over two decades of experience, he has even cultivated collaborations with Korean artists and forged diverse partnerships.

Previously recognised as one of the country’s top creative directors, his influential role in crafting advertising narratives extends to renowned brands such as Samsung, Nike, Levi’s, Amore Pacific, SK Telecom, Yuhan-Kimberly, and Outback Steakhouse.

Apart from this advertising prowess, he has also ventured into the tech realm, establishing a tech agency committed to projects involving augmented reality platform development and digital human initiatives using real-time 3D technology.

Following the said appointment, Jang-Yong Kim, CEO at BBDO Korea, shared his enthusiasm, saying, “We are delighted to welcome Junhwa Jung as our new ECD. With his exceptional talents and passion for unconventional creativity, we are confident that he will lead BBDO Korea to new creative heights.”

In his newfound role, Jung is poised to imbue a novel approach into the company’s advertising initiatives, showcasing his remarkable copywriting skills and innate capacity for unconventional thinking.

Singapore – Rohan Chandhok, who has served as the head of global integrated field marketing at the omnichannel communications platform MessageBird, has announced his departure from the company. At the time of this writing, he had been with the company for over a year.

Rohan has been an active proponent of building communities, connecting people and facilitating peer learning, rather than executing conventional field marketing programs.

In a recent LinkedIn post, he has expressed his gratitude to those who have supported him and his value-based ideas in his role.

He goes on to express his gratitude to customers, senior executives who joined this community and the APAC team at MessageBird.

He joined MessageBird back in 2022 as its head of marketing for Asia-Pacific and grew to take on a global mandate shortly after. Prior to joining MessageBird, Chandhok was with Oracle, where he held various directorial roles related to marketing, customer experience, and marketing cloud (SaaS) for JAPAC. He had been with the company for over five years.

He also held senior and leadership roles at the IT company Dimension Data and media company IDG Media. Overall, he brings with him 20+ years of experience in the fields of B2B marketing, data-driven digital marketing, and media relations, amongst others.

Singapore – As a key to further advancing the leadership across the region, S4Capital’s digital operating arm, Media.Monks, has appointed Matthew Godfrey as the new executive vice president and head of content for the APAC region.

Having more than 15 years of experience, Godfrey has an extensive background in innovation and creative business management, bringing together the company’s entrepreneurial drive as well as the capacity to develop its aspirations.

For this role, he aspires to position the company towards a new era, introducing “We Are Now” mission, an initiative aimed at driving industries forward, charting a course toward ambitious outcomes, and enabling clients and individuals to unlock their complete growth potential.

He also intends to leverage creative innovation and cutting-edge technology for a more efficient delivery scale, impact, and among APAC’s leading and fast-moving brands. 

Initial plans for his term include the company’s expansion into key markets such as China, Australia, Japan, Korea, and Singapore, which will be supported by content excellence hub offices in Malaysia and India.

Following this remarkable feat, Matthew shared his enthusiasm about this role, stating, “The content industry is now at a very dynamic time. As global leaders in AI, social media, and all digital platforms, Media.Monks is ideally placed to help APAC brands create and orchestrate powerful and efficient communication solutions. The opportunity for innovation has never been greater, and I’m excited to help APAC clients gain a competitive advantage by accessing our incredible talent.”

On the other hand, Bruno Lambertini, co-CEO, content, at Media.Monks, also stressed the importance of Matthew’s appointment, saying, “Matt has everything we are looking for as we reshape our leadership structure at Media.Monks in APAC. With an extensive background in the region and a wealth of knowledge based on his experience in the market, we are confident Matt is the right person to drive the business forward, fostering our client relations.

“He will add a lot of value to our vision, especially when it comes to the single P&L and single brand, along with our mission to shift industries forward by reshaping how businesses interact with the world,” Lambertini concluded.

With this appointment, Godfrey will work with Kenny Griffiths, the managing director of APAC of data, digital, and media, in which they will connect a single global P&L model to the next level in APAC.

Singapore – The World Wide Fund for Nature-Singapore (WWF-Singapore) has announced that Vivek Kumar will take over the role of the organisation’s chief executive officer role from R. Raghunathan, who held the role for more than three and a half years. The transition officially takes happen on January 1, 2024.

Kumar brings a wealth of diverse leadership experience spanning over two decades, including notable tenures at multinational corporations, and in Singapore’s public sector. Vivek was previously an assistant director-general at the National Trades Union Congress and a board member of Labour Movement entities such as NTUC Link. 

He has also served as a board member at Enterprise Singapore, Infocomm Media, Development Authority and Assurity Trusted Solutions (a wholly owned subsidiary of GovTech Singapore).

Kumar joined WWF-Singapore back in 2021 as its chief marketing and communications officer and was promoted to the role of chief marketing, communications and fundraising officer in February this year. He is also the architect of the inaugural WWF Global Earth Hour Summit 2023.

Speaking on his new role, he said, “WWF-Singapore strives to bring people together to act for nature and our shared well-being. This purpose is more relevant for our planet today than perhaps ever before. It is an honour to be designated to lead a team of talented and dedicated fellow Pandas at WWF-Singapore. We will work with our donors, supporters, corporate partners, and policymakers to create a sustainable future for all of us.”

Meanwhile, Hsieh Fu Hua, chairman of the WWF-Singapore board, commented, “The Board appreciates Raghu’s dedicated service to the organisation. Under Raghu’s leadership, the organisation navigated the challenges posed by the pandemic and achieved growth in local conservation efforts and community engagements. We are confident that the organisation is poised to achieve an even greater impact under his successor, Vivek, and his team.”

Singapore – Sebastian Graham, most recently the director of native for APAC at Yahoo, has been appointed by Taboola as its new director of agency development for Asia-Pacific. 

In the newly created role, Graham will be responsible for establishing Taboola’s APAC agency development team, while also creating further partnerships between Taboola and agencies, brands, and technology partners, to support and improve client success with native advertising.

Graham comes to Taboola approaching 20 years’ experience working in senior agency, marketing, media and tech roles across ANZ and APAC.

Prior to his role at Yahoo, he led group performance and technology for Bohemia Group and was also the performance director for UM Australia.

For Taboola, agency success is a focus for Taboola, which recently announced momentum and new technology to support them. This includes recent momentum for Taboola’s generative AI technology, which has been used by more than 3,500 clients around the world to generate content and copy for ad creative, such as titles, images and descriptions. 

In addition, Taboola has made significant advancements in its performance advertising-focused bidding technology, called ‘Maximize Conversions.’

Manila, Philippines – Alodia Gosiengfiao, one of the co-founders of SEA-centric esports and video gaming-oriented entertainment agency Tier One Entertainment, has announced her departure from the agency. At the time of this writing, she has been with the agency for over six years.

In a Facebook post, she stated that her departure from Tier One Entertainment was due to their visions and values not being aligned. Despite this, she has stated that the journey she has shared with the company has been both challenging and rewarding.

“I am grateful for the experiences, relationships, and accomplishments we’ve achieved together,” she stated.

Meanwhile, a separate post from Tier One Entertainment stated that they all wish her the best in the next chapter and hope she finds a new endeavour.

“There is no reality where Tier One Entertainment would have reached the heights we have reached without you. You are an unwavering beacon of excellence and continue to be an inspiration to cosplayers, content creators, and our industry as a whole. we are truly grateful for the time and dedication you have given us over the years. In the Philippines and around the world, you are undeniably one of one,” the company stated.

Tier One Entertainment was founded alongside Gosiengfiao, esports player Tryke Gutierrez and entrepreneur Brian Lim back in 2017. It received funding from Warner Music Group and Gobi Partners back in April 2021, with some of the funding used to expand to the Japanese market in October that year. It had also previously signed advertising partnerships with GroupM and Admazing Co., as well as a content creator monetisation partnership with Bent Pixels Asia.

Gosiengfiao’s departure from the company comes recently after Tier One teased its ‘Esports Arena’ as part of its e-sports school course partnership with Lyceum of the Philippines. Other recent ventures by the company include a Web3 incubator programme ‘ALLIANCE‘, and its merchandise brand BLCKBOX, with a brick-and-mortar store launched in December last year.

Singapore – Yahoo has announced the appointment of Sona Iliffe-Moon as its new chief communications officer globally. She brings over 20 years of experience leading strategic consumer, crisis, and corporate communications for iconic brands including Facebook, Instagram, Nestle, Toyota, and, most recently, Lyft.

In her new role, she will be reporting directly to Jim Lanzone, CEO of Yahoo; and will guide all aspects of Yahoo’s global communications strategy, overseeing corporate, consumer, and internal communications.

Moreover, she will promote innovation across Yahoo’s products and demonstrate the brand’s evolution, leading end-to-end communications that help consumers, partners, and employees connect with Yahoo’s mission, and will partner closely with Yahoo’s marketing to tell integrated stories at the intersection of earned and social.

Prior to joining Yahoo, Iliffe-Moon served as vice president of communications and a member of the executive leadership team at Lyft. She was responsible for communications across corporate, consumer, and policy as well as direct-to-consumer storytelling through brand social and content.

She also previously drove communications at both Facebook and Instagram, launching key products and programs including Instagram’s IGTV, Instagram Stories, Facebook Dating, Facebook Marketplace, Facebook Communities Summit, amongst others. She additionally oversaw communications across Nestlé’s beverage and international divisions, and spent nearly nine years at Toyota driving corporate and marketing communications.

Speaking on her new role, Iliffe-Moon said, “Yahoo was a huge part of my introduction to the internet, and today it remains a highly trusted guide with potential to play an even more meaningful role in people’s lives. I’m thrilled to join Jim and the rest of the executive team to help tell the story of what’s next.”

Meanwhile, Lanzone commented, “Sona has a proven track record in elevating influential brands, and we look forward to welcoming her to Yahoo at a pivotal inflection point in the company’s history. As Yahoo charts a new path forward and our story continues to unfold, Sona will be instrumental in shaping our narrative and sharing it with the world.”

Washington, USA – Microsoft has announced that long-time chief marketing officer Chris Capossela is leaving the company after 32 years of being with the company. This comes after a recent slew of changes in Microsoft’s marketing leadership.

In a communication by chief executive officer Satya Nadella, he said that through the years Capossela has been with the company, he has shown a terrific job as their CMO driving revenue and brand love for the company.

“The numerous accolades Microsoft continues to receive in terms of brand recognition and marketing awards are impressive and a testament to the strong team he has built. Chris and I have been working on his succession plan for some time, and as this new era of AI is upon us, we’ve decided this is the right time to put that plan into action,” he said.

Capossela joined Microsoft back in 1991, and had his first senior role as the director of business operations for EMEA back in 1999. His first senior marketing role was being the corporate vice president of office marketing in 2003, and was then elevated to the role of chief marketing officer in 2011. He then served as both CMO and executive vice president from 2014 up until this year.

“After 32 years of dedicated service to our company, employees, and customers, Chris is leaving Microsoft. Over the many years we’ve worked together, I’ve known and respected Chris as a leader who has exemplified a complete, unwavering commitment to our mission and our culture,” Nadella said.

The CEO has also announced that Takeshi Numoto is being promoted to executive vice president and chief marketing officer, as well as Yusuf Mehdi promoted to role of executive vice president and consumer chief marketing officer.

Asia Pacific – Global digital experience analytics company Contentsquare has announced the appointment of Jean-Christophe Pitié as its new chief marketing and partnerships officer to lead the marketing organisation and partnerships.

In his new role, Pitié will lead the company’s global marketing initiatives, focusing on strengthening the brand and driving customer demand in markets around the world. He will take the helm of the marketing organisation and oversee strategic partnerships.

Pitié will also be responsible for identifying, nurturing, and enhancing strategic alliances with key partners. He is expected to grow Contentsquare’s rich partner ecosystem worldwide.

With a solid track record of leading global companies through their digital growth and transformation journeys, Pitié brings with him an expansive portfolio of scalable and world-class demand generation strategies.

Prior to his new appointment, he spent more than two decades at Microsoft, where he played a key role in Microsoft’s journey to cloud-based solutions. He was involved in the launch of Office 365 for consumers and Microsoft 365 for businesses.

Additionally, Pitié also led Microsoft’s digital stores division at the company’s global headquarters in Seattle. More recently, he served as chief operating officer at Microsoft France, where his duties included executing Microsoft’s go-to market and strategy within the French market.

Jonathan Cherki, CEO and founder of Contentsquare, said, “We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Jean-Christophe to the team. Not only does he have an impressive track record of bringing innovative technology to market, he also embodies our company values and puts his team first with everything he does.”

“Contentsquare is at an exciting stage of its journey, and Jean-Christophe’s deep expertise in tech will be incredibly valuable as we continue to grow. We couldn’t think of a better person to activate our brand vision and partner strategy,” he added.

Speaking on his appointment, Pitié also shared, “Having access to a holistic understanding of customers is critical in today’s business landscape, and Contentsquare is leading the way when it comes to customer experience insights. I’m thrilled to join the company at this exciting moment in time and to help bring its unique insights to more teams.”

Singapore – Multinational banking and financial services corporation OCBC has announced key leadership changes amidst the group’s ASEAN-Greater China strategic thrust gathering momentum this year.

Wang Ke, currently CEO of OCBC Wing Hang China, will assume the role of head of Greater China, succeeding Tan Wing Ming. With Wang’s appointment, Ang Eng Siong, currently deputy president and head of corporate banking at OCBC Wing Hang China, will step up as the acting CEO of OCBC Wing Hang China.

Wang joined the OCBC Group in 2012 as the Head of IT in China and expanded his responsibilities to include operations in 2014. He was appointed the head of Pearl River Delta region in 2017, then assumed the position of CEO of OCBC Wing Hang China in 2019. Under his leadership, critical technology infrastructure and capabilities were built up, and the business deftly steered through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Ang has been with OCBC since 2009. He spent 6 years in Singapore in various roles across risk management, finance and business development. As part of OCBC’s talent development programme, Ang moved from Singapore to China in 2015. He was appointed China’s chief risk officer in 2018 and head of corporate banking in 2022.

Helen Wong, group CEO of OCBC, said, “I am pleased that our deep internal talent pool has provided the best candidates for these senior Greater China appointments. It affirms our commitment to nurturing homegrown talent and providing avenues for career progression and mobility. Wang Ke and Eng Siong are valuable contributors to the OCBC franchise. I am confident that, in their expanded roles, they will further advance OCBC’s strategic priorities in Greater China.”