Tag: Strategy Director

Singapore – Socially-led creative agency, We Are Social Singapore, has bolstered its creative and strategy teams with two new senior hires, Daniel Foo as creative director and Darcy Mitchell as strategy director.

Foo joins the agency after nearly three years client-side with e-commerce company Lazada. Reporting to regional executive creative director Omar Sotomayor, Foo is responsible for leading the creative team to deliver social-first, innovative, and effective work for clients.

Foo is a seasoned creative with more than 15 years of experience working at agencies including BBH, Grey Group, JWT and McCann on clients across industries including tech, banking, tourism and retail. 

“Joining We Are Social has been an extremely exciting opportunity. I am enjoying the chance to deep dive into a discipline that directly engages our audience, one where we get instant feedback on the work we do – it’s the now and the future of marketing,” Foo said.

Meanwhile, Mitchell has been charged with leading social strategy and planning for key client accounts and innovation projects. He reports to We Are Social Singapore’s head of strategy, James Honda-Pinder.

Mitchell joins after several years of consulting adtech and SaaS companies on brand positioning and content strategy. A British native, Mitchell brings a wealth of experience working across strategy, social, content and business development in both London and Singapore with agencies including Iris and Dentsu.

“I am delighted to join We Are Social – and with that, rejoin the world of social – because of my conviction in the agency’s mission and the creativity, clarity and innovation of the team driving it. I’m looking forward to working across our Samsung and innovation portfolio and collaborating across departments and offices to unlock new areas of growth both in and outside of consumer tech,” Mitchell stated.

Nai Yen Wang, managing director of We Are Social Singapore, commented, “Daniel and Darcy are both excellent additions to the team, adding the right firepower and expertise that we need to continue delivering market-leading strategic, creative and innovative future tech solutions for our clients to recharge their marketing mix. We are thrilled to have them join the agency.”

Singapore – In a slew of recent senior appointments in Asia, global brand and customer experience agency VMLY&R has appointed Saw Gin Toh as its new head of strategy for Singapore.

In her new role, Toh joins VMLY&R Singapore’s management team to lead and plan the development and growth of the strategy team, helping to grow business and building trusted connections with key clients and partners. 

Toh brings a mix of strategy and insights development across multiple categories and consumer segments, garnered from more than 20 years of experience with major networks and clients. She started out in strategic planning and insights for creative agencies before moving into communications, channel planning and insights on the media side. Most recently she was head of strategy consulting at Dentsu Consulting.

Commenting on her own appointment,Toh said, “I am constantly on the lookout for new opportunities to apply my knowledge, skill sets, experiences, and exposure in new areas of application. And VMLY&R, a leader in brand experience, customer experience and commerce, provides the perfect opportunity for me to do just that. As the lines between creative and media blur, there is an opportunity for us to offer integrated solutions to clients’ needs by focusing on commerce as the intersection point between business experience and customer experience.”

Meanwhile, Rhys Taylor, managing director of VMLY&R Singapore, said, “Strategy has always been at the heart of what we do at VMLY&R, so Saw Gin’s extensive experience makes her the ideal fit to head up strategy for Singapore, our regional hub.”

 “She has a strong track record in delivering growth for clients by helping them navigate ever more complex marketplaces, as well as having been recognised at regional and global awards as a game-changer, and for insights and research methodologies. She joins an already strong team of capability leads across our broader services — all with the focus of building connected brands for our growing client portfolio,” he added.

Her appointment is a part of VMLY&R’s ongoing strategy to fortify its regional hub in Singapore, as she joins a growing team of capability leads, built to ensure that services are optimized to best suit client needs through creativity, technology, data and culture.

Singapore – Global digital agency DEPT has appointed Diphaa Nair as its director of strategic alliances for APAC. As part of her remit, Nair will be working closely with India-based Tekno Point/DEPT team to expand the agency’s Adobe Practice globally. 

Nair comes from a strong technology background and was more recently with Adobe where she spent more than six years as the head of partners for South Asia. Prior to this, she worked with CA Technologies as a channel director and spent four years with MphasiS, an HP company.

Based out of Melbourne, she will report jointly to Vishnu Mohan, partner and chief growth officer at DEPT APAC and Evan Davey, founding partner of Two Bulls/DEPT to drive the commercial development across its set of offerings both in Australia as well as other parts of APAC region.

Commenting on her appointment, Nair said, “I am happy to join DEPT with its pioneering spirit and boutique culture. Both Two Bulls/DEPT and Tekno Point/DEPT have exciting, cutting-edge offerings with great potential in the industry. I look forward to working with Vishnu, James, Evan and the Tekno Point/DEPT leadership team to manage their Strategic Alliance proposition in APAC.”

Mohan also commented, stating, “Diphaa is joining the team at exactly the right time as we’re growing the APAC region and its full-service offering.”

He also added that Nair’s over two decades of experience in digital technologies, customer experience, and business transformation will help the company provide the tools businesses need to deliver pioneering digital solutions.

The appointment follows DEPT’s recent acquisition of the 500-strong Adobe DX specialist firm Tekno Point.

Sydney, Australia – Brand transformation company FutureBrand in Australia has appointed Jill Hale to the newly-created role of strategy director, effective immediately. This follows the company’s objective to bolster its team to deliver for its growing group of clients. 

Hale joins FutureBrand from The Contenders where she was a senior strategist. Prior to that, she was an independent consultant with Ginger and chief customer officer with Brande. She has also held roles with Interbrand and Yoke.

Speaking on her appointment, she said, “To say I am happy to be joining FutureBrand doesn’t adequately convey how much this opportunity means to me. On the one hand, I’m nervous, as this is a branding company I have looked up to and admired for well over a decade.” 

She added, “On the other, I feel immensely proud to be joining Rich’s team, made up of industry leaders like Victoria. I look forward to contributing everything I can to the transformational clients with whom FutureBrand works, while also continuing to learn and grow, as all strategists should.”

Meanwhile, Victoria Berry, head of strategy at FutureBrand Australia, commented, “What attracted us to Jill is the depth of her experience, combined with her belief that she still has more to learn and grow. That’s a combination that fits very well with our culture and ways of working. We see our team as a diverse group of experts who are continually learning to enrich the strategic insights and ideas we deliver for our clients.”

FutureBrand’s recent wins include Beca, Bush Heritage Australia, Golf Australia, Huddle Insurance, Open Money Group and TPT Wealth. FutureBrand has also secured an expanded remit with both Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC) and Funlab across its portfolio of brands.

Singapore – Media and marketing communications agency PHD has appointed Imogen Bourke as its strategy director for Asia-Pacific, where she will be responsible for the continuous development and elevation of the agency’s strategic product and capability roadmap within the region.

Bourke brings with her a blend of skills honed from 16 years of diverse roles across media, technology, and production organisations and expansive international experience having worked in London, Melbourne, and Beijing.

She was previously the head of strategy for PHD Hong Kong, where she was instrumental in supporting the success and growth of the agency – in new business wins, major account retention, and media creativity.

Bourke will also be guiding teams across the region to produce effective brand experiences that deliver business outcomes and positively inspire people, communities, and culture. In addition, she will also be charged with developing industry-first strategies and challenger thinking propositions to future-proof clients’ businesses and drive sustainable growth.

She will be reporting to James Hawkins, CEO of PHD APAC.

Speaking on her appointment, Bourke said, “I could not be more excited by this opportunity to expand my experience and expertise across the APAC markets. It’s a wonderful gig to work closely with the region’s best strategists and planners to champion and grow PHD’s market-leading product, and continue to cultivate a culture of creativity, innovation and collaboration that delivers unparalleled strategic thinking and solutions for our clients.”

Meanwhile, Hawkins commented, “Imogen’s media and strategic expertise paired with her ability to build high-performing teams will help to elevate PHD’s product offerings and drive business results for clients. I am confident in Imogen’s ability to be the driving force in uncovering marketplace opportunities and lead the best strategic planning team in the region.”

Singapore – Virtue, the creative agency by media company VICE, has appointed Zoe Chen, former senior strategist at advertising agency BBH Singapore, to be its new strategy director, aimed at bolstering its APAC strategy team.

In her new role, Chen will be drawing on the rich cultural insights of the Vice Media Group to work with its clients across the region, pushing the limits of creativity and driving agency growth. She will be based at Virtue’s Singapore regional hub, and will be the strategic lead for Japanese skincare brand Clé de Peau Beauté, for which Virtue is the global social media agency of record, as well as working on innovation projects for Diageo and Coca-Cola. Moreover, Chen will help lead Virtue’s soon to be launched internship programme.

During her previous stint at BBH in Singapore and London, she has worked with brands including Chupa Chups, Audi, Nike, Uber, and Jollibee, as well as United Overseas Bank, and Sentosa.

Commenting on her appointment, Chen said, “Joining Virtue and the VMG network feels like I’m coming full circle and getting first dibs on the most intriguing parts of culture. I’m excited to be at the intersection of strategy and culture to create work that contributes back to culture.” 

Meanwhile, Huiwen Tow, Virtue’s head of strategy for APAC, shared that Chen is a creative strategist at heart who has an innate interest in art, design and culture, and an insatiable curiosity about the world around her. 

“As we continue to grow in the region by building forward-thinking brands from the inside of a culture, her strategy experience and collaborative approach make her an ideal addition to our team,” said Tow.

In March, Virtue APAC has made a number of key appointments, namely Nuno Dores, the new associate creative director for Singapore, Hayden Scott, the new senior creative director, and Kartick Krishnamurthy, the new business director for India.

Hong Kong — Digital creative agency AnalogFolk has announced the appointment of Dixi Song, former senior strategist of Publicis Groupe, to be its new strategy director for Asia. Song will be responsible for bolstering the agency’s full-service offering for the market. 

At Publicis Groupe, Song was tasked with handling and leading the strategy for leading the company’s top-tier clients like Cathay Pacific and Under Armour. Song also holds extensive experience and expertise in the financial service business where she supported HSBC in its Asian wealth business.

Chris Ryan, managing director and partner at AnalogFolk Asia, commented, “360 customer experience planning is in increasing demand from our clients and Dixi brings that expertise to our team in Asia. She is fanatical about using data to help brands to become customer-first. She is an exciting new talent for us, not only adding another dimension to our team but also bringing a lot of energy to our culture.”

Meanwhile, Song shared her thoughts on her appointment, saying that as the world is looking forward to life beyond the pandemic, the company understands clients placing increasing emphasis on digital transformation and positive societal impact.

“AnalogFolk’s strong digital pedigree and its global ambition to be an agency of change was a key reason for my interest in working with them. I’m really excited to use my experience to build on our capability in Asia and to guide client strategy in this era of rapid change,” Song said.

This January, AnalogFolk also launched their new behavioural transformation consultancy ‘Mindworks Consulting’ to deliver augmented business outcomes to both marketing strategy and organisational design through applied behavioural economics.