Tag: Leadership

Singapore – Validus, one of Southeast Asia’s leading all-in-one SME business account and financing platforms, has announced the appointment of Anshul Johri as its group chief technology officer (CTO), effective 5 April 2023. 

Johri brings over 17 years of technology expertise in driving growth and scale for startups and large companies across various industries and is responsible for leading the technology strategy across the region to propel Validus into its next phase of growth.

Prior to joining Validus, Johri spent six years as head of engineering at Indonesian unicorn Traveloka, where he scaled its financial services products such as payment platform, digital wallet, buy now pay later (BNPL), insurance and wealth management. Anshul’s experience spans e-commerce, travel, and fintech industries across India and SEA countries.

“Anshul’s successful and varied experience at organisations ranging from bootstrapped startups to unicorns and Fortune 50 companies makes him an invaluable addition to our executive team as we continue to drive our ambitious technology plans forward,” said Validus’ Co-founder and Executive Chairman Vikas Nahata.

He added, “We are delighted to have him on board to infuse a new energy as we execute on our key technology initiatives to build, scale, and deliver best-in-class digital financial services for small businesses across the region.”

Previously, Validus and global financial services company Citi have established a US$100m securitisation facility to drive SME financing in Southeast Asia.

Sunshine Coast, Australia – Adtech company Cartelux has named Google’s previous advertising solutions architect, Mathew Pretel, as its new head of product. Pretel joins Cartelux to support the company’s next growth phase.

After expanding into the Americas at the beginning of the year and into Africa in the coming month, the adtech company now has a global reach and is adding new features to its advertising software that will ultimately allow it to expand into further categories besides its current focus on the automotive industry.

Prior to joining Cartelux, he was Google’s senior advertising solutions architect and the technical lead for a Google News Initiative-sponsored program that helped accelerate the digital maturity of publishers across APAC. 

He also worked as a product manager at the ‘next billion users program’, a Google initiative in emerging countries. Before that, Mathew was head of professional services for digital publishers in Australia and New Zealand.

Commenting on his appointment, Pretel said, “I am delighted to join Cartelux’s global team as Head of Product. Cartelux is by far the most innovative, value-adding, and cost-effective marketing solution I have ever seen. I am excited for our journey and the expansion that is ahead of us.”

Joshua Williams, founder and CEO of Cartelux, remarked, “We are excited to welcome Mathew to our team. His extensive expertise and passion will facilitate our continued innovation and enable us to further enhance our product offerings. By leveraging his support, we are committed to revolutionising the way brands and their retail networks approach advertising through our streamlined digital advertising solutions for local showrooms.”

Sydney, Australia – Full-service independent agency Enigma has announced the promotion of Matt Dawe to creative director. In the new role, he will be reporting directly to the agency’s Executive Creative Director Tim Brown.

Dawe joined Enigma in 2012 as a copywriter and has been an integral part of driving Enigma’s creative output across all disciplines, producing notable campaigns for Newcastle Permanent, UniSC, Kennards, SunRice, UON, SYD Airport, NEXT Group, and Newcastle Knight. 

He’s also had his work recognised at the AWARD Awards, Sirens and the Effies, as well as being recognised as a Top 20 Creative by the industry. Prior to joining Enigma, Dawe earned his creative stripes at Droga5 and Peach.

Commenting on his appointment, Dawe said, “When I told my mum, she thought I’d been demoted. And it’s fair enough. My old title sounded way more impressive. I’ve loved being part of Enigma as we’ve grown into a truly national business. Being based in Newcastle, the greatest city in the world, I’ve always believed that great work can happen anywhere.”

He added, “Getting the chance to step into the CD role here is massively exciting. We’ve got some huge things in the works and I can’t wait to rip in.”

Brown also commented, “Matt is truly a unique person in our industry, not only does he have a brilliant creative mind he is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet and truly cares for people and his client’s business problems.”

Brown added, “He doesn’t rest until he finds the smartest, actionable solution to any problem and we are thankful he is on our team. This is a well-deserved promotion for a damn fine creative and I’m looking forward to him playing a big role taking the agency’s creative offering to the next level.”

After spending the last two years as Associate Creative Director, Dawe says he is excited to take the training wheels off and play a lead role in taking the agency to new creative heights.

Recently, Enigma has also appointed Dean van der Merwe as design director and Bianca Holtsbaum as the new senior business manager for its specialist property marketing division, Property & Place (P&P).

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – IPG Mediabrands’ Mediabrands Content Studio (MBCS) has announced new key leadership changes in Malaysia through its ‘Creative Leadership Council’.

Andrew Shee has been appointed as executive creative director of MBCS. The 19-year creative veteran joins the agency from his eight-year stint in China, where he was awarded a multitude of accolades. He was most recently a senior creative director of Dentsu Next in Shanghai.

Internally, MBCS has also promoted Ahmad Nazril Ibrahim to executive creative director. Ibrahim has played an integral role in shaping the creative content of key client PETRONAS and will continue to build on the cultural nuances influencing homegrown businesses in Malaysia.

Working alongside Shee and Ibrahim are award-winning consultant executive creative director Mun Tuck Wai, and executive creative director Kevin Le. Tuck Wai and Le have been with the agency for seven years and will continue to lend their expertise and creative guidance on a group level across all capabilities including branded, original, social, and performance content.

Stanley Clement, chief executive officer of MBCS Malaysia said, “In this world of disruption and contradictions, our readiness to innovate, adapt and change is what will keep us poised for the creatives of tomorrow. How we engage, how we communicate, and how we move people with the content we create – that’s the true test of communications of today, as we strive to drive innovative storytelling for our clients.”

He added, “We are carefully curating our Creative Leadership Council and bringing together the best minds of the industry with a mix of modern, traditional, data, storytelling, and long and short form content. They have a host of awards recognising their talents and creative work under their belts, and I’m excited to see how they work together to harness the best of our people’s potential. The Council and our teams will continue to fuse our unique proposition of intelligence and an insights-led, data-driven content practice to connect brands with people in the most compelling and personalised way.”

Australia – Multinational insurance company Insurance Australia Group has announced the appointment of Michelle Klein as its new chief customer and marketing officer, where she will be leading the newly formed customer experience and marketing division.

Klein will be returning to Australia from the United States, after spending almost a decade at Meta where she was most recently vice president, global business and product marketing.

With a career spanning 25 years and five continents, Klein has worked with iconic brands including Diageo, British Airways, Orient Express and Armani. She has also led cross-functional teams to transform brand perception and drive business results to achieve double-digit growth.

At IAG, Klein will be responsible for its marketing and brand portfolio strategy for all brands across IAG’s Direct and Intermediated Insurance divisions, including NRMA Insurance, ROLLiN’, CGU and WFI brands. In the role, she will utilise deep customer and community insights, while leveraging brand strengths, to improve the overall customer experience to better connect with and reach more Australians. 

Commenting on her new role, Klein said, “After spending almost a decade of my career focused on building community and bringing people closer together with Meta, I’m looking forward to this next chapter in helping make the world a safer place with IAG.”

“Through its iconic and trusted brands, IAG helps millions of people across Australia protect what matters most, providing invaluable safety and peace of mind. This decade must be transformational – one where we focus on a safer future and IAG’s people have worked tirelessly to provide support to people during crises,” she added.

IAG’s Direct Insurance Australia Group Executive Julie Batch also remarked, “Michelle is renowned internationally for her innovative solutions to redefining the role of brands to deliver business results.”

Batch added, “It is a testament to the strength of IAG and our portfolio of brands to attract someone of Michelle’s calibre to our team. She brings to the role extensive experience in B2B and B2C marketing, customer experience, and product development, which will be invaluable in supporting the delivery of our strategy.”

Sydney, Australia – Digital experience management platform Sitecore has appointed Gus Quiroga as its new area vice president for Australia, tapping the experienced technology leader to help companies to accelerate their growth via content, data, and online commerce. 

The appointment of Quiroga will add significant experience in the technology-based customer experience market, and enable businesses to exceed the constantly changing experience expectations of customers and citizens across all digital channels.

In the new role, Quiroga will be responsible for driving the overall sales and strategy and growth for Sitecore in Australia, working closely with key technology alliance partners, and ensuring that the company’s suite of software delivers for businesses. 

Prior to joining Sitecore, Quiroga was general manager APAC and financial services VP for the Mobiquity division of software services firm Hexaware Technologies. He was also formerly director of Microsoft’s Azure Data and AI business unit. 

Quiroga has also worked for IBM as head of cognitive applications in its financial services and retail business, where he led the sales and customer services team for blockchain, AI, data analytics, campaign automation, supply chain automation and cognitive analytics software.

“Sitecore has a tremendous history in content, and they have taken it to another level in recent years by making acquisitions that make them a powerful force across customer experience and digital commerce,” said Quiroga.

He added, “My career has been about working with customers to improve their brand experience, and I am looking forward to making an impact for enterprises in Australia.” 

Joey Lim, Sitecore’s president for Asia-Pacific and Japan, also said, “Gus has tremendous implementation skills and understands the challenges that all brands have in needing to move at speed and scale to achieve their business growth objectives.”

Lim likewise remarked that the Sitecore team believes in Quiroga’s ability to tackle complex business and technology challenges and translate them into significant customer experience outcomes that would benefit brands in Australia. 

Quiroga’s appointment follows Sitecore’s launch of its XM Cloud Components, which was aimed at empowering brands to deliver seamless and personalised customer experiences.

Singapore – Global marketing services company McCann Worldgroup has appointed Valerie Madon as its new chief creative officer for the Southeast Asian region. She will be reporting to Nick Handel, president of McCann Worldgroup SEA.

Madon brings with her over 20 years of experience across brand-building and integrated creative solutions for major brands such as Zespri, Caltex, Hewlett-Packard, Procter & Gamble, Singapore Airlines, and HSBC, amongst others. In the new role, she will be tasked to head the creative teams across Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong, as well as assuming the additional responsibility of Chair of McCann Worldgroup’s APAC Creative Leadership Community (CLC).

Prior to joining McCann, Madon was the director of creative shop for SEA and emerging markets at tech giant Meta. She also held senior creative roles at agencies VMLY&R and Havas Group.

She has also made her mark judging at awarding bodies such as Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, London International, Effies, Golden Drum, Spikes Asia, Adfest, and more.

Commenting on her appointment, Madon said, “This opportunity represents the perfect storm of my creative ambitions – to reunite with Nick Handel again, as a leader who believes in the value of a creative partner, and to join the network that created ‘Fearless Girl’, one of the most inspiring pieces of work that went beyond advertising to become a meaningful part of people’s lives. I’ve always felt blessed in my career but this invitation to work and learn from so many of the creative greats within McCann Worldgroup is extra special.”

Prasoon Joshi, chairman of McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific also commented, “The addition of Valerie to our organisation marks a significant development. Her extensive experience and innovative creative approach will add a fresh dimension. She is a keen observer of the evolving media landscape and latest technologies, which will further drive our creative excellence and strengthen our creative leadership in the region.”

Meanwhile, Nick Handel, president, McCann Worldgroup Southeast Asia, remarked, “I am thrilled that Valerie has joined our McCann Worldgroup Southeast Asia family. With her vision and expertise, she will make a significant contribution to our ambition of being the irrefutable leader in the business of creativity. And what’s more, I believe that she will be an excellent team leader and mentor to our people.”

Madon joins in mid-May and will be based in the network’s regional headquarters in Singapore.

Melbourne, Australia – Social change agency Think HQ has made three new senior appointments as it continues to grow its team, all hailed from creative agency Marmalade after it closed its doors at the end of 2022.

Joining Think HQ are Lisa Gumbleton as head of creative strategy, Sam McCarron as head of art, and Nadia Ladson as an account director. The three are expected to bring understanding of the unique and considered requirements of Think HQ’s clients in the market.

Think HQ’s founder and managing director, Jen Sharpe, said it was striking how quickly the trio had slotted into the agency, which works solely on projects that lead to positive social impact.

“Frankly, the work we do is idiosyncratic enough that we’re often training social change communicators up on agency people, or agency people on social impact work. Marmalade worked on a similar wicket to us, so we have the rare opportunity of finding a crop of incredible operators who understand what we’re working on here,” she said.

Prior to joining Think HQ, Gumbleton was partner and director of client service and planning for 16 years before joining Think HQ, which she described as a ‘unique and exciting agency’. 

“There’s no agency in Australia like Think HQ, where so many aspects of audiences and communication come together. Jen has assembled an extraordinarily talented team. I’m excited to be at an agency that puts people and values at the centre of everything and delivers this through insightful work,” said Gumbleton.

McCarron also commented on his appointment, stating, “This is an amazing opportunity and challenge to bring a new creative perspective to Think HQ, working with a passionate, values driven team of people on clients that make a genuine difference in the community,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ladson, with four years as an account director at Marmalade, sees her work as an opportunity to ‘make the world better’. “Working closely with Lisa and Sam for the past three years at Marmalade, I’ve been lucky enough to work on great projects with social impact. I’m excited to expand on this at Think HQ and it’s a genuine delight to be working with two of the best again so soon,” she said.

This follows the appointment of Michael Knox as Think HQ’s executive creative director.

Shanghai, China – BBDO in Greater China has announced key leadership changes in its team following the news of Leong Wai Foong, current chairman of BBDO Greater China, stepping down from his current role to pursue music-related opportunities.

The key changes include Arthur Tsang, current chief creative officer of BBDO China as new chief creative officer of BBDO Greater China; Nicole Ma, current chief creative officer at BBDO Shanghai as new chief creative officer of BBDO China; and Kevin Jin, current executive creative director of BBDO Shanghai as new chief creative officer at BBDO Shanghai.

Foong joined BBDO Greater China in 2006 and has since then been instrumental in growing the company into one of the leading creative agencies in the region. He has been a creative visionary who has driven BBDO Greater China’s success and shaped the company’s creative vision. Throughout his time with the company, Leong has played a key role in developing innovative advertising campaigns that have received recognition and awards at various international award shows. 

“It has been an honor to lead such a talented and dedicated team at BBDO Greater China. But after 29 years in the advertising industry, I feel it is time for me to pursue my passion as a musician and composer. I am confident that the talented team at BBDO Greater China will continue to lead the way in innovative and effective advertising solutions,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Tze Kiat Tan, CEO of BBDO Asia, commented on the change, saying, “When I told Andrew Robertson about this news, he said, ‘it’s the end of an era’ I couldn’t agree more. Its been 17 years. He’s been a partner to count on, had a big impact on my career, and a great friend I’ve enjoyed many laughs with. BBDO won’t be the same without him. Leong has made a significant impact on BBDO Greater China and the advertising industry as a whole during his time with us. We’re grateful for what he’s done, but we’re also excited for what he’s going to do next.” 

Australia – Organic Search (SEO) specialist agency dedicated solely to eCommerce, Megantic, has announced the appointment of Rick Pantas as strategic partnerships manager and the promotion of Jeremy Hanger to the newly created role of general manager. 

Their appointments are set to scale Megantic’s presence in the region, supplying much-needed expertise in an environment where digital and SEO growth continues to surge.

Hanger, formerly Megantic’s director of marketing, sales and partnerships, has played a key role in growing the company’s service and mid-market and enterprise offerings whilst establishing new projects and processes that have enhanced the performance of the team, client experience, and results. In his new role, Hanger will be responsible for continuing to develop and deliver best-in-class eCommerce service and results for Megantic’s clients. 

Commenting on his appointment, he said, “I’m both grateful and delighted to have an opportunity to help support what is a really unique offering in digital and, more specifically, eCommerce. The demand for online specialists with deep technical knowledge has fuelled not only our growth but our appetite to continue to deliver best-in-class products, service and results for our clients.”

He added, “Digital continues to evolve at a rapid pace, and we’re ensuring we have the most passionate and skilled teams. Together with the establishment of a continuous improvement team and a robust training development function, I’m confident that our team will continue to flourish and reach new heights.”

Meanwhile, Pantas was formerly the SEO director at StudioHawk. In the new role, Pantas will be instrumental in identifying and cultivating strategic partnerships with companies that will not only drive growth but also propel Megantic toward achieving its ambitious goals.

On his new role, Pantas said, “I’m thrilled to be joining the Megantic team as I have always admired and respected the company’s approach to SEO. In the current landscape, which is experiencing unprecedented levels of online shopping, there has never been a more exciting time to be a part of the eCommerce industry.”

Pantas likewise shared that he looks forward to aiding in Megantic’s continued success whilst partnering with companies that share the agency’s aspiration for providing the best level of service and performance possible.

Zan Ristov, co-founder and continuous improvement manager at Megantic, also commented, “After 10- plus years of focusing exclusively on SEO for eCommerce businesses with operations in Australia, Europe and North America, Megantic continues to grow and be recognised as a global leader in helping online retailers increase their revenue through organic search.”

Ristov also shared that Hanger’s promotion and Pantas’ appointment continue the agency’s growth with their deep understanding of its business, customers, and industry.

“At Megantic, our commitment to continuous improvement is reflected in everything we do, including our focus on career development and learning. As Co-Founder and Continuous Improvement Manager, I’m proud to say that we prioritise our team’s growth by providing them with the latest tools and technology, such as GA4 (Google Analytics 4), to deliver outstanding results for our clients,” he added. 

Megantic offers technical SEO services, solutions and results to meet the needs of a broad range of eCommerce clients, including Repco, The Good Guys and Forty Winks. During this prosperous period of growth, Megantic, recently named Global Agency of the Year, has expanded into Canada and instituted two mentorship programs with Deakin University and Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School.