Tag: Leadership

The leadership journey is often marked by resilience, determination, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. It takes unwavering dedication and profound commitment for someone to rise and achieve success, not only for themselves but also for the organisation they serve.

For MARKETECH APAC’s third Milestone Series article, we spoke with Peggy Koh, vice president of growth partnerships for SEA and Greater China at Adzymic, to share one of her greatest milestones — rising to her current position today to sharpen the company’s focus on SEA as its key region driving growth.

In this narrative, Koh shares her journey and experiences throughout her career, her leadership work, and her insights on driving growth for a small tech company.

Climbing higher and pushing forward

Before joining Adzymic, Koh handled several marketing and sales roles in other companies. Most notably, she served most of her career in the banking industry, having worked both in local and regional management roles at DBS Bank, Citi, and UOB.

Bringing with her everything she’s learned in her previous roles, she joined the creative dynamic management platform Adzymic in 2021, where she took on the role of head of growth and client success. Her responsibilities then include managing the company’s key global accounts, ensuring that they deliver successful campaigns, and driving further growth for its clients and the company.

It didn’t take long for Koh to earn herself a promotion, welcoming 2024 as the VP of partnerships for SEA and Greater China.

Her extensive background, having been both a media owner and a client, and her holistic understanding of the Southeast Asian market, where she had worked for so long, paved the way for her to develop strategies that were instrumental in positioning Adzymic in the key region.

Koh shared, “Every step in my career has led me to today. I cut my teeth doing online media sales for a small firm back in the early 2000s, when digital media was the complete underdog, and picked up the basics. Thereafter, a 12-year marketing career in the banking industry, managing both local and regional roles, was instrumental in letting me gain experience in the corporate world, understanding how decisions are made on the client side and also observing how corporate culture is built in global organisations.”

Leading Adzymic towards success

As the vice president of partnerships for SEA and Greater China, Koh oversees both sales and marketing roles. For her, both roles ‘naturally feed off one another’, which is why it’s important to ensure synergy between these two functions.

“In sales, whenever we clinch projects with notable brands, the marketing kicks in to craft case studies that tell our DCO (Dynamic Creative Optimisation) stories to foster more learning in the industry of our adtech application. We make it a point to be present at major martech events in all markets we are active in, to stamp our presence, and to showcase our client brand portfolio. This in turn increases our visibility to become a well-established DCO brand that’s born and bred in Asia, with keen Asian insights and understanding of how local business is done,” she stated.

Koh believes that her exposure to new markets has propelled the growth and development of her business acumen, negotiation skills, and understanding of different cultures. After only working in the Singapore market, she is now managing networks in six markets for Adzymic.

With this, from having two team members, she now handles a team of ten across SEA and Hong Kong for both sales and key account servicing. Her understanding of the role and the market is relevant in leading her teams to work towards achieving their objectives.

However, as they are still a relatively small tech company, Koh also knew that one of the challenges of being a leader is attracting and retaining talent. In a competitive market such as Southeast Asia, many talents would flock to bigger companies with more established names in the industry.

This is why Koh shared that she also felt grateful and fortunate to have found goal-driven and talented young people who are rendering their time and skills to support Adzymic’s goals across all of its key markets.

“I see it as my job to build up the Adzymic culture, one that is nurturing of our people’s talent and career skill sets, and I’d like our people to have a strong sense of belonging here as we truly value everyone’s hard work and contributions,” she added.

Staying ahead of the curve

Navigating the dynamic and competitive tech landscape is no easy feat for many who have tried to penetrate its intricate web of opportunities and challenges.

The global adtech market, in particular, is showing promising numbers, with an estimated growth of USD 1.4 billion by 2030. And the Asia-Pacific region is among the fastest-growing in this area, according to a report by MarketsandMarkets.

And Koh is confident that Adzymic is already well-positioned to capitalise on this projected growth rate.

She shared that the company is always looking for ways to stay at the forefront of the curve, making sure to offer solutions that answer the evolving needs of their clients, such as new ways to apply DCO techniques by harnessing data and focusing on mobile advertising formats. The company also recently launched its APX to bring high-impact skinners and mobile scrollers to Asian advertisers.

Furthermore, the company’s campaigns were able to successfully showcase Adzymic’s well-differentiated propositions for their Asian clients. Among their works, two that stood out the most are their campaigns for Income Insurance Singapore and Standard Chartered Hong Kong.

For Income Insurance Singapore, a client with advanced martech stacks, Adzymic DCO developed as many ad variants as their data insights could generate to consistently support higher performance with relevant messaging.

Meanwhile, for a client that embraces innovation and fresh approaches to advertising, such as Standard Chartered Hong Kong, Adzymic activated new and innovative rich media formats to meet their campaign objectives.

Furthermore, Adzymic currently boasts a strong brand portfolio and a client base. And so, one of Koh’s main jobs is to maintain and strengthen these relationships to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty.

She noted how Adzymic places great importance on their customer service, making it the centre of their organisation and their very DNA. For them, it’s important to employ a customer-oriented mindset, making sure they are doing their best for every client.

“Our adtech solution is dynamic, our tech team is innovative and imaginative, and our account managers are trained up to be conscientious and strong at managing projects and timelines. When you do something well, the results and the experience speak for themselves; trust is built, and then clients will naturally stay with you over the long run,” she continued.

Reflections approaching her third anniversary 

When asked what moment in her career is the most rewarding, Koh says it’s her time now in Adzymic as she was able to make the most impact in her workplace.

“It will be 3 years in a few weeks’ time. With Adzymic, it’s always felt intuitive, with a sense of constant growth and positive learning, and I’m really coming into my own at this juncture. It’s not a glamorous large corporate organisation, but it’s a place where I feel safe to learn, grow, and be empowered to contribute,” she said.

With an excited outlook on what lies ahead in her future, Koh simply ends with, “I’m excited to see where this path will take me! ”

This piece is published under MARKETECH APAC’s content series ‘Milestones’, which celebrates the different milestones and achievements of industry leaders across the Asia-Pacific region. Please reach out to [email protected] for more information.

Manila, Philippines – Deustche Bank has announced the appointment of Dino Siason as its chief country officer for the Philippines, as well as head of head of corporate bank in the country. His appointment is effective April 1, 2024, and is subject to necessary regulatory approvals.

In his new role, Siason will lead Deutsche Bank’s 1,500 strong platform in the Philippines. He will be responsible for the corporate bank and investment Bank, along with one of the bank’s two key service hubs in Asia-Pacific, serving critical back and middle office functions globally. 

Siason will replace Michael Chua, who is retiring after working in the banking industry for nearly 30 years.

Siason will report to Burkhard Ziegenhorn, head of corporate bank for Southeast Asia and Australia and Kaushik Shaparia, CEO, emerging Asia and chief country officer of India.

He brings more than 20 years of financial institutions experience to this role and spent nearly 18 years with Citibank in the Philippines, Singapore and the Czech Republic. Most recently, he was Citi’s head of treasury and trade Solutions for the Central Europe Cluster, based in Prague. 

Throughout his career, he has held a wide range of roles across credit, client coverage and franchise management, with a strong focus on enabling clients to become more global. Siason will relocate to Manila.

“We are proud of our 48-year history in the Philippines and committed to growing in this increasingly important market. We’re delighted that our strong platform has attracted high quality talent like Dino, and look forward to him leading our franchise from strength to strength in the Philippines,” Shaparia stated.

Meanwhile, Ziegenhorn commented, “Dino will play a leadership role in taking our Corporate Bank in the Philippines to the next level. His global client coverage and product expertise combined with his deep local market knowledge, will help further differentiate Deutsche Bank in the Philippines.”

He added, “We are thankful to Mike for his dedicated leadership with the bank; he hands over a strong platform poised for further success. We have built many trusted and valued relationships here over past decades, and I am confident that Dino will significantly enhance and grow these over the years to come.”

Singapore – Experience innovation company Valtech has announced two new senior hires to growth and consulting practice in Asia-Pacific. They include Florian Pihs as vice president of growth and Prem Varatharajan as vice president of strategy and consulting.

With Pihs and Varatharajan at the helm, Valtech is poised to enable leading brands to leap ahead of the competition and drive business value in the region through experience innovation.

Pihs, an industry leader with over 20 years of experience, joins Valtech to spearhead business growth across China and Southeast Asia. Based in Beijing for more than two decades, he specialises in business transformation for global companies looking to expand into China, as well as Chinese companies looking to scale globally.

In his new role, Pihs will focus on creating a unified and impactful go-to-market strategy for APAC, aligning Valtech’s offerings with the value delivered to clients. He will leverage marketing, demand generation, and partner alliances as key growth drivers, ensuring Valtech unlocks maximum business value for existing and new clients in the region.

Speaking on his new role, he said, “The opportunity to lead Valtech’s growth journey in APAC is truly exciting. This market has a huge potential for business transformation given its rapid digitalisation, making it fertile yet competitive for experience innovation. With Valtech’s ability to help businesses leap ahead through experiences that keep pace with shifts in customer expectations, it’s well-positioned to make a real difference in how businesses operate in APAC and how APAC customers experience the world.”

Meanwhile, Varatharajan, a strategy and consulting veteran, brings over 15 years of experience spearheading multi-market transformation programs for Fortune 500 clients. His expertise spans technology, experience, and capabilities-led programs, demonstrated through his successful track record at Wunderman Thompson, Deloitte Digital, and Publicis Sapient.

He will be aiding in shaping Valtech’s ‘Value Led Consulting’ offering in the region. With his deep understanding of Asian markets and the intricacies of marketing transformation, he will build and lead a robust consulting practice to drive strong business outcomes for clients.

“I am excited to join Valtech during a period of dynamic growth in APAC. The company’s focus on value and experience-led transformation aligns perfectly with my own,” he said.

Speaking on the appointments, Shannon Dix, regional managing director for APAC at Valtech, said, “I couldn’t be more excited to reunite with and welcome Florian and Prem to Valtech here in the region. They complement with our growth ambitions and reinforce our commitment of bringing best-in-class talents to help our clients transform their businesses.”

Meanwhile, Patrick de Moustier, managing director for APMENA at Valtech, commented, “Combining Prem’s strategic firepower with Florian’s growth expertise creates a formidable force in the APAC landscape. Their leadership will be instrumental in setting new standards for experience innovation and redefining best practices within APMENA.”

Singapore – The LEGO Group has announced new key leadership changes in the Asia-Pacific region, namely Claus Kristensen as the new senior vice president and Uma Ramanan as the new head of marketing. It is also worth noting that these changes also come with Eric Maugein stepping down from his role as regional president for the company in the region.

In his new role, Kristensen will oversee the APAC region and its newly reshuffled business units, aligned to growth priorities and its evolving landscape. His appointment took effect on January 1 this year, and he will report to Colette Burke, chief commercial officer at The LEGO Group and be part of the markets and channels leadership team. 

He joined the company in 2012 as the head of executive strategy and agenda and in 2016, moved to Sydney to become vice president and general manager of the Australia New Zealand Business Unit (BU). Under his leadership, the ANZ BU grew significantly and manifested itself as the biggest BU in APAC. 

In 2021, he stepped into his current role as vice president of APAC marketing and B2B e-commerce. Over the past two years, he has established the regional B2B e-commerce for The LEGO Group.

Speaking on his new role, Kristensen said, “I am honoured to have been appointed to lead the LEGO Group in Asia-Pacific, continuing the legacy of success established by Eric. The LEGO Group is such a storied company and has come a long way over the past 91 years – from a small carpenter’s workshop to a modern, global enterprise that is now one of the world’s largest manufacturers of toys.”

He added, “I am so proud to be part of this company and will be focused on working with the team to deliver a step-up in business performance as we empower more kids and adults around Asia-Pacific to unlock the power of creative play.”

Meanwhile, Ramanan will be responsible for accelerating the LEGO Group’s marketing strategy in the region. With over nine years of experience in the company, Uma brings a perfect blend of strategic vision and boundless imagination to the world of bricks.

She was promoted from her previous role as the APAC brand director in December 2023. Along with her team of brand managers, she led the charge to deliver APAC’s growth targets through integrated marketing and along the way inspiring millions of kids and adults in learning through play with LEGO bricks. 

Uma first began her LEGO journey in the UK/Ireland market as senior brand manager, before working her way up to become brand director and subsequently, global brand director for Asia, based in China.

The new leadership changes also come in line with the company implementing a new organisational structure effective from 1 January 2024 by introducing two new business units – India & Emerging Asia (IEA), and Singapore, Malaysia and Travel Retail (SMTR). 

“This change deepens our commitment to these markets and sets us up to accelerate growth by unlocking new possibilities with dedicated resources, synergies in tackling similar challenges, and continuous innovation to enhance our ongoing relationships with our partners. The change also signifies our continued commitment to drive growth in Asia-Pacific,” Kristensen also added.

These announcements come off the back of the company’s latest expansion in Travel Retail with its two new LEGO Airport Stores (LAS) at Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3 and Terminal 4. The company also recently invested more than US$1b with the opening of its sixth global factory and its first carbon-neutral facility in Binh Duong Province in Vietnam. 

France – Untie Nots, a leading Software as a Service (SaaS) company and a member of the Eagle Eye Group, has recently appointed Jean-Matthieu Schertzer as its inaugural chief AI officer. This appointment follows the company’s commitment to integrating AI solutions and its rapid adoption across the retail sector.

Schertzer, who has an extensive background in applied mathematics, is poised to lead the team in advancing the next wave of AI-powered customer marketing solutions.

He is set to work with Eagle Eye Group’s leadership team and, together, bring a heightened level of support for the design, development, and implementation of AI technologies, catering to retailers and brands on a global scale.

In this new role, he will also bolster customer connections and introduce widespread, multidimensional personalisation on a global scale. This initiative will empower retailers and brands to craft hyper-personalised omnichannel experiences and establish direct, one-to-one connections with their customer base.

Speaking about the appointment, Tim Mason, CEO at Eagle Eye Group, stressed, “Our decision to appoint a Chief AI Officer comes against a backdrop of retailers struggling to provide the personalised customer experiences that today’s consumers demand.”

“We are using AI to augment the Eagle Eye nervous system, which enables the real-time matching and delivery of offers and communications to individual customers, with a ‘brain’ that can create personalised offers dynamically, on the fly. Even if you have 10 million customers, no two will receive the same offer or be engaged in the same way. Jean-Mattieu will help us bring this vision to life,” Mason added.

Zyed Jamoussi, co-founder and president of Untie Nots, also shared, “AI is already used within retail, but its true potential has yet to be harnessed.”

“We see a future where predictive AI not only identifies opportunities and anticipates customer behaviours but also provides real-time insight, enabling brands to give customers the recommendations and promotions they need when they need them. Jean-Matthieu is helping our company—and our industry—realise that future,” he ended.

Talking about AI-powered personalisation, on the other hand, Schertzer said, “We stand on the cusp of a generational opportunity with AI and its applications in retail, among other sectors.”

“I firmly believe that the brands that can implement AI-powered personalisation will dominate the future. Still, they need partners like Untie Nots and Eagle Eye that are committed to innovation and have the infrastructure and industry-specific background to execute it,” he explained.

As the company positions itself into the next platform designed specifically to maximise the potential of their customer data and execute personalised promotions and marketing, Mason concludes, “We are working to place Eagle Eye as the go-to SaaS platform for retail brands worldwide looking to take their personalisation capabilities and loyalty scheme ROIs to the next level in the months and years to come.”

Singapore – Enterprise experience platform Medallia, Inc. has announced the appointment of Nick Martin as its new senior vice president (SVP) of international to support the platform’s growth.

Martin will be based in London and will spearhead the company’s commercial organisation across the EMEA and APAC regions, ensuring that it will deliver value and tangible business outcomes for its clients.

In his new role, he will be responsible for the integral parts of Medallia’s future go-to-market strategy, which include expanding its customer base, growing its existing customer relationships, and building up its partner networks.

Martin brings with him a wealth of experience, having a career spanning more than 25 years in the industry. He previously served as the head of retail for the CPG and travel industries at Google Cloud. Prior to his appointment, he also held the position of head of enterprise industries at AWS.

From all the previous experience in his portfolio, he focused on driving customer value and growth, breaking down internal barriers to drive business success, and delivering better outcomes within customer-focused organisations.

Joe Tyrrell, CEO at Medallia, said, “The experience Nick brings to Medallia is invaluable, and we are thrilled to welcome him into this pivotal role. With a strong focus on customer relationships, he will fit in well with our incredible international team, and his expertise and leadership will help Medallia continue to lead the customer and employee experience space throughout the world.”

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.”