Tag: Vice President of Marketing

Singapore – Global payments platform, Airwallex has announced the appointment of Andrew Balint as vice president of marketing for APAC (ex-China). Based in Sydney, his appointment takes effect immediately.

With 25 years of experience, Balint has held senior roles at Afterpay, amaysim, Ola and Optus. Most recently he was the vice president of marketing for ANZ & APAC at Afterpay for four years, leading the buy-now-pay-later platform’s marketing efforts across brand, growth marketing, product marketing and customer experience.

His remit includes overseeing brand strategy, growth marketing, integrated campaigns, content and partnerships across key markets including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. 

He will be reporting directly to Arnold Chan, general manager for APAC and work alongside a global marketing team headed by Jon Stona, vice president for global marketing.

Speaking on his new role, Balint said, “I’ve been watching Airwallex’s incredible growth and innovation and I’m thrilled to now be part of the journey. The global payments landscape is evolving rapidly and Airwallex is at the forefront of that change. With innovation and customer experience driving everything we do, I’m excited to help expand our presence and make a real impact across the APAC region.”

Meanwhile, Chan commented, “We are delighted to welcome Andrew to our team at Airwallex. As we approach our 10-year milestone and expand our offerings into new products and markets, we’re privileged to have someone of Andrew’s calibre to lead our next phase of marketing across the Asia-Pacific region.”

Singapore – Global mobile advertising and technology solutions company Mobupps has recently announced the appointment of Siddharth Barman as its vice president of marketing, where he will lead Mobupps’ global growth initiatives, expanding the reach and impact of its products MAFO, iRTB & MobuppsX — across global markets.

In an exclusive conversation by MARKETECH APAC with Siddharth, he details that by drawing from his extensive experience in adtech and martech, he is poised to drive success in his new role by leveraging a deep understanding of growth marketing, strategic partnerships, and product innovation. 

“My avatar at Mobupps, is a mix of global and regional in nature, blending the innovative products(MAFO, iRTB, and MobuppsX) with the growth strategies. In the past, I led global product launches and built high-performing marketing teams, contributing to significant expansion across diverse regions, including the US, EU, LATAM, MENA, SEA, and India,” he stated.

Reflections moving forward

He brings with him over 14 years of expertise in growth marketing, strategic partnerships & product innovation. Before joining Mobupps, he held key roles at Affle, driving global growth across products, platforms & brand marketing. 

His career highlights include leading & launching technology products globally, building teams of growth marketers, contributing to global expansion, efforts & fostering strategic alliances in the US, EU, LATAM, MENA, SEA & India.

Reflecting on how his previous experience will impact what he will bring to Mobupps, he stated, “In my new position at Mobupps, I plan to apply these insights by focusing on launching innovative product versions and products powered by AI to anchor growth in developed markets. Additionally, we aim to penetrate emerging markets by establishing local teams and expanding client portfolios, positioning Mobupps for new records in the coming year.”

What’s next for mobile advertising?

Siddharth notes a handful of challenges and opportunities for mobile advertising in 2025 and beyond, stating, “The mobile advertising landscape presents both challenges and opportunities. Challenges include the need for transparency and fairness, particularly regarding policies and regulations, as well as the necessity to bridge gaps in cross-device media strategies. Opportunities lie in advancements in AI, the growing influence of new formats like CTV, and the globalisation of the business.”

For 2025, Mobupps envisions continued growth, focusing on anchoring growth in developed markets through innovative product launches, leveraging AI and brand safety. Additionally, Mobupps plans to penetrate emerging markets by establishing local teams & expanding client portfolios, positioning itself for new records in the coming year.

When asked about how the company aims to navigate the future of mobile advertising in the region, he noted that Mobupps will leverage its robust portfolio of solutions and dynamic team to redefine the advertising landscape, exceeding customer expectations and setting new industry benchmarks.

“Looking forward, I anticipate that mobile advertising in the Asia-Pacific region will evolve with a focus on integrating cross-platform strategies, including CTV, mobile, and web while cementing leadership in sectors like iGaming, e-commerce, entertainment, and travel,” he added.

Speaking about Siddharth’s appointment, Yaron Tomchin, CEO of Mobupps, commented, “We’re excited to have Siddharth join Mobupps as our vice president of marketing. His impressive background in driving global growth, launching innovative products and building strong partnerships will be a huge asset as we grow & expand into key markets. Siddharth brings the energy and expertise that align perfectly with our vision for 2025 and beyond. I’m confident he’ll play a key role in helping us strengthen our brand and deliver even greater value to our clients and partners worldwide.”

Singapore – After serving as the chief marketing officer of HSBC’s PayMe for three years, Jaslin Goh announced her transition into a new industry as she was appointed as the new vice president of marketing at foodpanda. The move, which officially took effect in March this year, saw her heading the regional marketing function for foodpanda and will be working closely with local marketing directors to drive growth and brand love across Asia.

For our next Top Story of the year, we spoke with Goh a month into her new role to learn more about her marketing goals with foodpanda, how she managed to shift to a new industry, and what q-commerce marketing capabilities the industry can expect more from one of the region’s largest food delivery companies.

Putting an emphasis on marketing growth

One of the key points Goh noted was that her varied marketing background across multiple marketing specialisations had enabled her a big-picture approach in marketing and that her detailed knowledge into the various disciplines helped to drive topline growth and bottom-line success.

She also highlighted that marketing for her requires right brain and left brain thinking, noting that in foodpanda, marketing is a science. 

“We put a lot of emphasis on driving growth through moving levers around multiple variables to enable us to gain market share. Left-brain attributes like having quantitative and strong analytical skills is an important skill set in any tech role. Complementing this with right-brain specialisation in creative thinking would enable a marketing individual to thrive,” she explained.

Goh added, “By combining the two, we can drive stronger emotional bonding with our various marketing and campaign initiatives while achieving our growth targets, as we work to bring the foodpanda Asia brand to the next level.”

She also notes that while her previous role was in fintech and foodpanda is in the space of food delivery and quick commerce (q-commerce), she sees both having similarities in terms of being the conduit between demand and supply in the market. Goh also added that what makes foodpanda unique is the added element of more players in the ecosystem: customers, riders, and merchant partners.

“Customer and merchant partner acquisitions, and moving them through the lifecycle is evidently important to growing the business. In foodpanda, my scope covers performance marketing, growth marketing, brand marketing, media, research CRM, pricing and incentives with a strong regional and local marketing team. I work closely with the team to continually find efficient methods to acquire new customers and move them through the lifecycle. This includes activating, retaining, and reactivating customers through in-app, CRM, EDM and other owned channels. My varied marketing background across multiple marketing specialisations enables a big-picture approach and my detailed knowledge into the various disciplines helps to drive topline growth and bottomline success.”

Pushing forward amidst q-commerce competition, drastic consumer behaviour changes

Goh understands that q-commerce continues to grow post-Covid, as consumers have gotten used to the convenience and access to quality and value items from the comfort of their couch. With this, more players will emerge and there will naturally be increasing competition for better products and ordering experience.

“Consumers have also become more savvy and price conscious. With inflationary rises, they are willing to put in extra effort to get products at cheaper prices, such as Hong Kong consumers going into mainland China for grocery purchases. We can observe a similar phenomenon in Singapore where consumers head into Johor Bahru to buy household items,” she explained.

With these drastic changes, she advises retailers to take into consideration external factors such as price differential, the overall retail experience and preferred social activities in their marketing plans.

“There will also be an added focus on reliability, speed, and customer service – as well as ensuring a wide range of variety for customers. E-commerce and q-commerce will need to continue optimising their business through big data user analysis, psychological pricing, product assortment to ensure the best mix that helps achieve the business KPIs,” she added.

In terms of what foodpanda is targeting next year, Goh hints of more strategic partnerships this year, where its collaborations with big grocery chains and mass brands were launched with great success. She also added that in lieu of riding on consumers’ habits of going to their preferred grocery and personal care brands, they have made it even more convenient for consumers to do such thing by providing quick delivery services.

“This creates a win-win situation where grocery and personal care partners can rely on a stable fleet of delivery partners whilst focusing on what they do best, while boosting the variety of retailers that consumers can shop from on the foodpanda platform. We have also seen a strong demand for fresh produce in some of our markets – with many appreciating the service that pandamart offers: hyperfast, hyperfresh produce delivered conveniently at any time of the day. We will continue to optimise our business strategies to keep abreast of market needs as they evolve,” she concluded.

Singapore – Multinational beverage company Coca-Cola has named Matthias Blume as its vice president of marketing for ASEAN and South Pacific, where he will be leading the company’s marketing and brand initiatives across Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands and serve on the company’s senior leadership team in the region.

Blume is a seasoned marketer with 24 years of international marketing experience including 21 years at Coca-Cola and three years at Danone. He has held local, regional, and global roles in a range of markets across Asia, North America and Europe.

He was previously the frontline director for Coca-Cola’s ASEAN & South Pacific operating unit, based in Singapore. Previously, he was the sparkling director for the company’s ASEAN business unit. He has a detailed knowledge of the company’s business across the region and has driven growth and innovation across the company’s stills and sparkling beverage brands.

He was also at the forefront of the company’s introduction of a prominent “Recycle Me” call-out across all its packs as well as the move across Southeast Asia to switch its iconic Sprite brand to clear, transparent bottles which are easier to recycle.

Claudia Lorenzo, president, for ASEAN and South Pacific, said, “Matthias brings a tremendous passion for marketing and people plus a superb knowledge of our bottling system. He also brings a combination of consumer centricity, marketing curiosity and business acumen – strengths that we need and value deeply in our marketing organisation.”