Tag: Leadership

Tokyo, Japan – Tech giant Microsoft has appointed Miki Tsusaka as its new president for Microsoft Japan. In her new role, Tsusaka will lead the company’s engagement with its customers and business partners, and be responsible for all its product, solution, service, and support offerings in Japan.

She will be reporting to Ahmed Mazhari, president of Microsoft Asia. Mazhari previously served as the interim president of Microsoft Japan prior to Tsusaka’s appointment.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Tsusaka was previously a senior partner and managing director at management consulting company Boston Consulting Group (BCG). During her time at the company, she led the company’s expansion of service areas and established strategic consulting groups specialising in marketing, sales, and pricing strategy development.

Speaking on her new role, she said, “I am delighted to be appointed president and representative director of Microsoft Japan. I decided to join Microsoft because I believe in the company’s mission of empowerment and its tremendous growth potential in Japan. I look forward to working with the experienced leadership team, employees and partners to help solve our customers’ challenges and accelerate the digital transformation of Japanese society.”

Meanwhile, Mazhari commented, “We are extremely excited to welcome Tsusaka-san to Microsoft Japan. She has over 30 years of consulting experience working with clients in a wide range of industries both domestically and internationally. I am confident that her robust global experiences in supporting business transformation will propel Microsoft Japan’s proposition to the next level as a leader of Japan’s technology industry.”

Singapore – Programmatic consultancy Bidmath has announced the promotion of Rakesh Singh as regional managing director and Jaa Thisirak Pitayagulsarn as country manager for Thailand. 

Both will play a significant role in driving the integration of digital and data-driven marketing initiatives in Vietnam and Thailand, enabling client development through an agile approach to an ever-changing media landscape.

Singh is a veteran digital marketing and transformation leader with over two decades of experience working with a wide portfolio of brands and global media agencies like GroupM, Omnicom, Publicis and Havas with more than 15 years in leadership roles.

Speaking on his appointment, he said, “The future belongs to businesses and brands that can rapidly scale and embrace data-driven digital marketing approaches. As a result, they are collaborating more closely with new-age digital transformation agencies like Bidmath, which is one of the few agencies where a team of data evangelists in the form of data scientists and digital media planners work together to meet the brand’s digital transformation goals. It’s an honour and privilege to lead a team of highly talented and qualified digital marketing experts, data scientists and analysts.”

Meanwhile, Pitayagulsarn has over 13 years of experience with a demonstrated history of leading automotive, FMCG and e-commerce/CRM initiatives at the advertising agencies Wunderman Thompson and Ogilvy. In her previous venture with Google, she drove Thailand’s digital maturity by helping transform clients’ businesses to meet their desired goals.

“The advancement of technology and the digital transition have altered how Thais consume media and adjust to volatile ways of life. It rose to prominence during the pandemic. We are well aware that traditional media cannot meet all of the needs of today’s consumers, which urges brands to become more resilient, participate, and add value. Thank you to all of our clients for your continued support and partnership,” she added.

Pitayagulsarn also added, “Personally, I am looking forward to collaborating with our talented teams to drive digital maturity and step change growth in the way we serve our customers and clients. It is a pleasure to contribute to our clients’ businesses transparently with a data-driven approach in the rise of the performance marketing era.”

Nate Acton, chief strategy officer at Bidmath, commented, “We are thrilled to announce the promotion of both Rakesha and Jaa. Their exceptional leadership skills, creativity, and deep understanding of our company, people, and industry make them ideal candidates to continue expansion across the region. I would also like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the entire team, who have played a vital role in building the agency’s footprint in Asia Pacific.” 

Shanghai, China — Marketing and communications network WPP has brought in industry veteran Caroline Slocombe to lead OpenX, the entirely new offering created for The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) that carries an integrated agency model comprised of creative, media, social, data, tech, PR, and commerce experts from across WPP.

In her new role, Slocombe will be overseeing the relationship of TCCC and its portfolio of iconic brands across all WPP’s agencies in Greater China. 

For 25 years, Slocombe has built her strong working experience with agencies. From directing multi-market and multi-functional teams, she has served for some of the world’s biggest CPG and FMCG brands. 

She was previously an executive director for Red Fuse Communications in APAC where she drove growth for a portfolio of over 10 brands across 15 markets. She was also a general manager in LOWE, currently known as MullenLowe Profero, in Hong Kong where she oversaw office operations and manage the Johnson & Johnson business across APAC.

Considering China as an important part of growth and innovation, Laurent Ezekiel, global CEO of OpenX from WPP & WPP CMO said that Slocombe will be an asset for supporting the company’s transformation in the country. 

Commenting on Slocombe’s appointment, Chris Reitermann, chief executive officer of Ogilvy Asia & Greater China added, “Her strategic marketing understanding, combined with her extensive experience in the region — having worked in Asia for more than two decades — made her an ideal fit for this vital role within the OpenX from WPP framework, which is all about delivering giant ideas that create giant value for The Coca-Cola Company.” 

Meanwhile, Slocombe commends The Coca-cola Company for its portfolio of iconic brands and recognizing its global success. 

She added, “Being able to help lead their marketing transformation agenda forward in this part of the world, which is so vibrant and innovative, is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I couldn’t be more excited to be working with all the talented experts that make up the OpenX from WPP team and together push the boundaries of possibility.” 

Sydney, Australia – London-based adtech data and location firm Blis has made a number of appointments and promotions to expand its operations in Asia-Pacific, specifically in the markets of Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. Amongst the notable leadership unveiled is the announcement of Donald Saw as its new country manager for New Zealand.

Saw’s role is expected to charge efforts forward in meeting the increasing demand from advertisers in New Zealand. He will leading the company’s sales and operations across the country. 

For leadership targeted at the whole of APAC region, meanwhile, Blis has named Lupe Prada as head of marketing and Clarie O’Mahony as head of client services. Prada will lead marketing initiatives in APAC while O’Mahony is tapped to be in charge of the client services team in the region.

In addition, Scott Mathison is the newly appointed sales manager for Queensland and Western Australia. 

Commenting on new appointments, Emma-Jayne Owens, managing director at Blis APAC, said that she’s delighted for their new hires as they continue to grow across the APAC region over the past few years.

She added, “They join Blis to drive our ambition for an even stronger team within each of our markets, where their combined local knowledge, expertise in client service and growth marketing allows us to provide solutions to help our clients’ businesses grow.”

Mumbai, India – Influencer marketing agency Barcode Entertainment has announced the appointment of Ajay Kulkarni as its business head, where he will be bringing his diversified experience in revenue, brand management, communications, and marketing, amongst others.

In his new role, Kulkarni is expected to bring seamless processes to the agency, as well as help grow its businesses with the aim to make the company one of the most prominent players in the social commerce, influencer marketing, and content space.

Prior to joining Barcode, Kulkarni led the content and strategic partnerships at TikTok (ByteDance) for South Asia and was assistant vice president for international business at Times Network. He has also worked with notable organisations in India such as Star India Pvt Ltd, Tata Teleservices, and Times Group.

Speaking on his appointment, Kulkarni said, “I am delighted to be part of the immensely specialised and talented team at Barcode Entertainment. The rapid rise of influencers and the creator economy at large is a force to reckon with in today’s digital landscape.”

He also added that he believes Barcode is well-positioned to be the leading company supercharging the influencer marketing, content, and live commerce space.

Rahul Khanna, co-founder of Barcode Entertainment, also commented, “We are immensely happy to have Ajay on board as the Business Head at Barcode. Having experienced growth at a lightning-fast pace, we are setting our sights on leveraging this growth momentum and scaling new heights to be the next big thing in the influencer, content and live commerce space.”

Founded in 2019, Barcode Entertainment helps various brands connect and collaborate with more than 20,000 macro and micro-influencers across the country.

Singapore – Brand and customer experience agency VMLY&R has appointed Rhys Taylor as its new managing director for Singapore. He will be reporting to Hari Ramanathan, CEO of VMLY&R South and Southeast Asia and Japan.

In his new role, Taylor will be overseeing VMLY&R’s SG’s sales, account management, and revenue generation. 

Prior to joining VMLY&R, Taylor was managing director for Asia Pacific at marketing and advertising agency dentsu international. He also has 14 years of industry experience working in senior leadership roles at Wunderman and financial services company Saasu, amongst others.

Speaking on his appointment, Taylor said, “VMLY&R stood out because its culture is built around an attitude of innovation and connectedness; and I’m incredibly excited to get to know and work closely with everyone who has been a part of its success so far and look forward to building more with our clients in 2023.”

Meanwhile, Ramanathan also commented, “Rhys’ background in strategy and CX makes him the ideal leader to take Singapore to the next level, complementing our full suite of capability leaders, and helping us to build connected brands for our growing portfolio of clients via our cutting-edge Commerce, Experience, Technology and Creative offering,”

Taylor’s appointment is part of VMLY&R’s strategy to strengthen its regional flagship operation and emphasise its focus on commerce as the intersection point between business experience and customer experience. 

VMLY&R Singapore also launched its global commerce accelerator programme last September in partnership with the Singapore Economic Development Board.

Bangkok, Thailand – Food and grocery delivery platform foodpanda has appointed Ann Suwanjindar as its new director of marketing for Thailand. 

In her new role, Suwanjindar will be bringing her more than 20 years of experience in digital marketing, social media strategy, brand strategy, media planning, and go-to-market strategy, amongst others.

Prior to joining foodpanda, Suwanjindar was a Mastercard advisor for APAC at Mastercard. She was also previously the country manager for the Stockholm-based e-book and audiobook subscription service platform Storytel. 

Moreover, she has also held leadership roles at companies such as Facebook, McKinsey & Company, Siam Commercial Bank, American Express, IBM, Pfizer, and McCann Worldgroup.

The appointment follows the one-year anniversary of foodpanda’s brand ambassador Pau-Pau.

Singapore – Raushida Vasaiwala, the former general manager for Celtra, has been named by adtech Silverpush as its new vice president for Asia-Pacific. Vasaiwala announced the change through a public post on LinkedIn.

“Being an advocate of value-based selling, I wanted to ensure I’m a part of an organisation that solves real marketing problems especially in a diverse region like APAC with a true product market fit,” she said.

Vasaiwala’s experience working with Celtra started off in 2017 when she was appointed as the director of business development for India and Southeast Asia. She was then promoted to the role of general manager in 2018. During that time, she had been responsible for overseeing the company’s business and product adoption through strategic partnerships with brands, publishers, media, and solution providers.

In the past, she’s also held roles in privacy-led data intelligence platform Near and corporate law firm Al Tamimi & Company.

During an exclusive interview for MARKETECH APAC’s Empowered Women 2022’s series, she explained her desire to continue her trajectory in the marketing and tech industry. 

“I grew up in a family of businessmen so entrepreneurship quite comes akin to my nature. So there was this constant internal push of leading business that would help me pursue my varied passion in advertising, brand communication, art, and technology,” she said.

New Delhi, India – India’s flag carrier airline Air India has appointed Ronit Baugh as its new lead of corporate communications.  Baugh made the announcement through a public LinkedIn post on January 9. 

In his new role, Baugh will be bringing his experiences as a communications specialist in various sectors, as well as his expertise in devising communication strategies, driving campaigns, and leadership.

“It thrills me to be joining the global airline at a time when it stands on the cusp of transformational change. As a communicator, it is this story of what is, arguably, one of the most challenging turnarounds in aviation history, that I am most excited to tell,” the post read.

Prior to joining Air India, Baugh was head of corporate communications at airline Jet Airways. He also held the communications and public affairs lead for India at the Oxford University Press.

Air India has also previously appointed Campbell Wilson as its chief executive officer and managing director in May last year.

Singapore – Former chief client officer for Merkle and dentsu CXM APAC Krishnan Menon has been named the new president of experience at Ogilvy Asia. In his new task, he is tasked to bring together Ogilvy’s capabilities across customer engagement, commerce, CRM and loyalty, new realities and digital innovation into an end-to-end experience offering.

He will be working closely with Genevieve Tan, general manager of Verticurl, Ogilvy’s marketing technology arm in APAC.

During his stint at Merkle and dentsu CXM, he was tasked with nurturing and growing client relationships with a focus on helping world-class brands deliver customer experiences. He also served as chief client and growth officer for Wunderman Thompson APAC. His first stint for Ogilvy was from 1997 until 2007 across various roles culminating as the head of Ogilvy Action in South India.

Speaking on his new role, he said, “I am really excited and happy to be back in Ogilvy. It is like homecoming for me. The incredible depth of talent and expertise stretching from advisory to delivery across gamut of CX services, paired with the indisputable creative and brand leadership at the core, makes Ogilvy’s Experience offering unique in the market. I can’t wait to get stuck in.”

Kent Wertime, CEO of Ogilvy Asia, said, “Crafting unforgettable physical and digital experiences has never been more critical than today, and we are thrilled to have someone of Krishnan’s caliber join us to help clients in this space. Having previously worked with us in India for close to a decade, Krishnan understands Ogilvy’s legacy of unmatched creativity, and the possibilities that it offers to unlock growth for clients across industries, at the intersection of data, culture and technology.”

Meanwhile, Ab Gaur, Global CEO of Verticurl, commented, “Consumer demand for personalized experiences that use deep, accurate insights and timing, powered by technology and data is at an all-time high. Having worked with Krishnan in his earlier roles within WPP, I believe he has the right combination of skills to propose the optimum solution mix to help brands take their experiences to the next level, engaging with their audience in a creative way and leveraging our clients’ existing technology investments.”

In addition to Menon’s new appointment, Sheilen Rathod, who previously headed Ogilvy’s experience arm in Asia since 2020, will transition into a new position as chief growth officer in Asia. In this newly created role, he will be focusing on strategic growth initiatives across the region and initially focus on several China-specific projects.