Tag: Vice President

Manila, Philippines – Shopper marketing consultancy, Behaviorally, has announced its expansion to the Philippines, servicing its clients from a new Manila hub, with Joy Abella-Yu, former senior director for business development and media at insights and consulting company Kantar Philippines, joining as the new vice president.

Aside from her previous role at Kantar, Abella-Yu has also held leadership roles at numerous research agencies, as well as client companies, including Johnson & Johnson, The Hershey Company, and Procter & Gamble, amongst others. She has over 15 years of market and consumer insights experience having worked throughout SEA and in the US. Abella-Yu will be joined by Kat Lim, Behaviorally’s director of client development, servicing brands in the region from the new hub.

According to Behaviorally, this move is the latest in Behaviorally’s rapid expansion in Asia and globally including new offices in Switzerland, Australia, New York City, France, and Germany. Behaviorally applies a digital-first approach to shopper research, a unique behavioural framework, state of the art AI technology, and decades of category expertise to define and diagnose the factors that influence consumer behaviour and drive shopper growth at both the digital and physical shelf.

Crispin Beale, Behaviorally’s group president, said that Abella-Yu’s extensive experience will help FMCG companies in and outside of Asia shape their go-to-market and retail strategies, as well as develop successful innovations.

“Plus her knowledge of media and digital trends make her the perfect fit for helping us implement our strategic vision in this region and guide our customers to success,” added Beale.

Malaysia — In its recent Annual General Meeting, the Malaysian Advertisers Association (MAA) has appointed Claudian Navin Stanislaus as its new president, and Javed Jafri as the association’s new vice president.

Stanislau and Javed will be leading MAA’s newly-elected council members from Coca Cola Far East, GrabTaxi Holdings, Heineken Malaysia, Mondelez Malaysia Sales, Nestle Products, P&G, and many more.

Stanislaus is also the head of communication and consumer marketing for BABA PRODUCTS. Meanwhile, Jafri is the media and digital hub lead for Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos from Unilever Holdings.

On the importance of the association, Stanislaus said that the MAA has always played an advocacy role on behalf of advertisers in Malaysia, engaging the various ministries and regulatory bodies, as well as fellow industry stakeholders; from media owners, media and creative agencies and digital players, to ensure that the channels of communication and cooperation are always active in the pursuit for a conducive environment for brands to thrive without compromising consumers’ rights.

He added, “The MAA will be reaching out to other trade associations too, and seek opportunities to work together on initiatives that can benefit the industry, especially the SME sector which is critical to the growth of the economy.”

Mumbai, India — Media agency Madison Media has appointed Vinit Kumar as vice president of Madison Media Plus, which is based in Delhi. Kumar will report to Abhik Banerjee, COO of Madison Media Plus.

A seasoned professional, Kumar has over 16 years of experience in all facets of media ranging from integrated marketing communications, strategy, digital marketing and analytics. Prior to joining Madison, he worked with Zenith Media, Mindshare, Lintas Media Group and HCL. This will be his second stint with Madison, where previously, he was a general manager in the agency’s Delhi and Kolkata office handling ITC.

On Kumar’s appointment, Banerjee commented, “We’re glad to have Vinit back on board. Having worked for various FMCG segments, he brings a wealth of experience to Madison. I am confident that we will be able to take our Delhi office to the next level with new business and continue to delight the existing clients.”

On joining Madison Media for the second time, Kumar said, “I am excited to be joining Madison Media back and look forward to contributing to the organization in my new role and responsibilities.”

Kumar added, “My hopes and expectations are high as I look forward to the challenges and opportunities Madison Media and its clients will provide me and unlock our clients’ growth by leveraging data, tech and talent.”

Singapore – Marketing solutions company RTB House has announced the appointment of Shien Zhu as the company’s vice president for branding sales in Asia-Pacific, as part of the company’s objectives to boost its presence in the region.

Zhu will be overseeing RTB House’s branding sales activities as the company continues its rapid worldwide market expansion and growth in Japan and the rest of APAC region.

He joins RTB House from online advertising technology firm Magnite, formerly Rubicon Project, where he served as country manager for the company in Japan from 2019 to 2021. He previously worked at AppLovin, starting in San Francisco before relocating to their Tokyo office, where he was responsible for business operations, publisher operations, and growth partnerships.

Speaking about his appointment, he said, “I found the people and technology at RTB House fascinating. While many focus on how to ‘sell’, we focus on how to ‘learn’, deep learning specifically, with solutions that adapt to the needs of customers.”

He added, “RTB House is leading the way in rethinking the marketing industry. I look forward to us conquering new challenges in the industry together with and bringing a positive impact for our partners across APAC.”

Meanwhile, Tetsuji Okuuchi, Japan country manager at RTB House, commented, “We are delighted to welcome Shien to our growing RTB House Tokyo team as we approach the fourth anniversary of our office here. We are especially impressed with Shien’s experience in helping more clients transform their businesses by leveraging the power of adtech solutions and he will undoubtedly make an immediate impact as we continue to develop cookieless-ready solutions to support brands in Japan and the wider Asia-Pacific region.”

Seoul, South Korea – Electronics company LG Electronics has appointed Hyoeun Kim, former vice president of beauty brand Olay for China, to be its new vice president for its LG Electronics Marketing Center.

Kim brings with her 22 years of experience in consumer goods corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). She began her career with P&G in 1999 and developed her brand-building expertise in multiple geographies, including China, the USA, Singapore, and Japan, as well as Korea. Kim has gained experience working across eight different brands of the global FMCG giant, namely Olay, SKII, Head & Shoulders, Swisse Vitamin, and Wella.

In 2016, Kim joined Olay China and was credited with their business turnaround by renewing the premium product innovation and reshaping the brand proposition, and transforming the brand into a high growth player in the category. Kim was also behind the brand’s award-winning ‘Fearless of Age’ campaign, alongside creative partner Grey Hong Kong.

Commenting on her new role, Kim said, “I am now ready to take on a new challenge and looking forward to working with a world-renowned, premier Korean brand – LG Electronics. It is an honor for me to be a part of this journey.”

Sydney, Australia – Global brand suitability platform Channel Factory has announced that it will be expanding its operations in Australia, and has hired Kevin Wong, former head of product marketing at TikTok, to be Channel Factory’s new vice president for Asia-Pacific. This new development will help Australian brands have greater control over contextual targeting and conscious advertising on user-generated content platforms.

Wong will be working alongside Alex Littlejohn, managing director for APAC at Channel Factory, to spearhead the growth of Channel Factory in Asia-Pacific. Wong will also be responsible for leading operations, product strategy, development, and driving sales growth.

Channel Factory’s technology allows brands to contextually target audiences on user-generated content platforms, brands have greater control over ad placements in a way that aligns with their brand values and eliminates reputational risks.

In addition, with the company being a YouTube measurement program partner, Channel Factory focuses on maximizing brand suitability, turning YouTube’s five billion videos and 500 hours per minute of new content into efficient advertising opportunities.

Speaking about his appointment, Wong said that he is thrilled at joining the company, adding that they want to achieve their mission of building a better digital advertising ecosystem by connecting brands with the right consumers in the right context; content that incorporates a brand’s definition of what is and is not suitable for that brand to be running adjacent to.

“Currently, there is a disconnect between the level of investments brands are making in user-generated content platforms, and the level of contextual targeting of audiences. Our goal for Channel Factory is to eliminate this reputational risk [while] maintaining the ROI of their campaigns across YouTube today and all platforms in the future,” Wong said.

Meanwhile, Littlejohn commented that their expansion to Australia is a step further in their mission to enable CMOs to consciously connect with consumers. He also added that Wong has a wealth of international experience and they are delighted to have him spearhead their operations in Australia and the wider APAC region.

“Channel Factory’s brand suitability solution goes far beyond traditional brand safety technologies and brings the contextual alignment of traditional TV and broadcast environments to user-generated content, while embedding its own brand values into the media planning strategy. Brand suitability is the metric that marketers need to work towards, in making sure they maximize their return on ad spend,” Littlejohn said.

Along with Wong, Channel Factory has made a number of diverse experienced hires, including Zenith’s Rhys Bennett as sales solution director.

Singapore – Global video and CTV programmatic advertising platform Unruly has appointed former head of publisher services at AOL Grant Bingham as its newest vice president for international media business development. He will be leading the media partnerships in Unruly’s international markets across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) and the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) regions.

Bingham will focus on identifying and capitalizing on the major opportunities for media companies today, as connected TV and video demand surges in the programmatic marketplace. This is in order to deliver omnichannel advertising solutions and monetization strategies to some of the world’s largest media organizations and brands via Unruly.

He brings 13 years of experience in media and advertising, where he worked closely with the largest broadcasters and publishers across Europe and Asia-Pacific. Aside from AOL, he has launched and led the programmatic strategy for companies Nine Entertainment Co, Seven West Media and, most recently, Are Media in London.

His experience in leading publisher businesses and monetization through programmatic platforms stands him in good stead in driving adoption of Unruly’s programmatic offering, especially in the rapidly growing CTV market.

“I am truly excited to be joining Unruly at this key time in their evolution, as connected TV has risen out of 2020 as one of the fastest-growing channels and key opportunities for publishers and advertisers. As a video-first platform, Unruly has delivered great value in this space for publishers and advertisers across the world, and I look forward to building on this momentum, working alongside Unruly’s clients to unlock growth opportunities and optimize the value of their inventory through Unruly’s tech and data-driven solutions,” Bingham said, regarding his appointment.

Based in Sydney, Bingham will report to Unruly’s Chief Strategy Officer Kenneth Suh.

Suh commented, “We are thrilled to welcome Grant on board our team. His broad experience and expertise in the media and ad tech industry make him a valuable addition to Unruly as we continue our growth as one of the largest CTV/OTT and multi-screen ad platforms in the world. APAC and EMEA are critical focus markets for Unruly, and we believe Grant’s appointment will help accelerate the value and opportunities we bring to publishers and advertisers in these regions.” 

Recently, Unruly’s parent company Tremor International, has entered into a partnership with DoubleVerify to launch an ‘Authentic Brand Suitability’ solution, which creates a centralized set of brand safety and fraud controls.

Singapore – Global customer and employee experience company Medallia has appointed Denise Miura as its vice president for Asia-Pacific and Japan, where she will spearhead the company’s growth in the region.

Miura has deep experience working in the region for clients in the big data and analytics industry, having worked with MarkLogic for 17 years, where she set up and grew the Japan operations for the American-based enterprise software and data integration company.

“I am excited to be part of this high-growth company. Medallia has a great product that enables enterprises to build strong customer advocacy and an engaged workforce. Its focus on consultative selling and building long-term partnerships [resonate] with me,” she said regarding her appointment.

She added, “Amid the pandemic, we will step up our support for enterprises in APAC to accelerate their digital transformation by enabling them to seamlessly integrate both online and offline experiences, so as to connect better with their employees and customers. We believe these efforts will help enterprises effectively navigate the pandemic environment, make smarter decisions, and augment sales.”

The company’s operations in APAC have grown significantly from a single market presence in Australia to five markets, including New Zealand, Singapore, Japan and South Korea. With its SaaS platform, Medallia Experience Cloud, the firm has built a track record in APAC in key industries such as automotive, telecommunications, retail and financial services.

Meanwhile, Greg Philiotis, senior vice president and head of international at Medallia, commented, “Her on-the-ground experience particularly in Japan, as well as strong knowledge of channel marketing and familiarity with the enterprise-grade software space are extremely valuable. Under her leadership, I am confident that Medallia APAC will continue to scale in this very important market – especially in the area of partnering companies to deliver real business impact.”

Singapore – Customer experience platform Emplifi has appointed Varun Sharma, former head of sales and director of CX applications for SEA at Oracle, to assume the position of vice president for APAC and Japan.

Sharma has over 18 years of experience in CX, digital, and hi-tech industries. Aside from his previous role at Oracle, he has also worked with Adobe, where he led Strategic Industries for their Digital Experience business in the SEA region.

In his new role, Sharma will be leading Emplifi’s Japan and APAC business, with teams across Singapore, Emplifi’s JAPAC headquarters, and Sydney. He will also be the key in driving growth and developing customer and partner relationships across the region as CX becomes a top priority for brands.

Commenting on his new role, Sharma said he is thrilled to be joining the JAPAC team at this exciting time in Emplifi’s journey, as the pandemic really accelerated digitalization in the region, across Asia and ANZ, driving marketers to greatly increase their spend on social media advertising and on CX solutions overall. 

“Emplifi’s offering is well-positioned to help businesses across JAPAC to deliver more connected brand experiences across channels, meeting customer needs at every touchpoint of the buyer journey,” said Sharma.

Nikola Pantovic, Emplifi’s chief revenue officer, said, “We’re very excited to welcome Varun to the Emplifi family. His experience building and leading sales teams, combined with his understanding of the CX landscape and knowledge of the Asian market will be key, as we continue to strengthen our focus on the JAPAC region.”

The appointment comes after the recently announced merger of CX company Astute Solutions and digital marketing company Socialbakers. Both businesses rebranded as Emplifi, which will cater to a middle ground of services centered on CX strategies for digital marketing purposes.

Singapore – Programmatic digital advertising company PubMatic has appointed Vijay Anand Kunduri, former managing director of video advertising platform Unruly for Asia, to assume the role of regional vice president of OTT business for APAC.

Kunduri brings more than two decades of experience working with leading broadcast, video-on-demand, and digital companies across APAC. In the last decade, he has helped to establish American and European ad tech companies in the region, including setting up video ad network Adotube in SEA, and spearheading Switzerland-based Viewster’s move into the VOD and OTT markets in the region. 

As part of his new role, Kunduri will be accelerating the growth of the PubMatic’s OTT and video business across the region. He will also be consulting with existing publishers, creating new relationships, and further establishing PubMatic as a preferred platform for media buyers and publishers.

The newly appointed VP noted that there has been explosive growth in the adoption of connected screens and consumption of streaming content in the region.

“Brands and OTT publishers have a tremendous opportunity to engage consumers and find new revenue with programmatic partners like PubMatic that offer the optimal combination of technology and premium advertiser and content partnerships,” said Kunduri.

Jason Barnes, PubMatic’s chief revenue officer for APAC, commented, “We are thrilled to welcome Vijay to the PubMatic team. We’ve been building an innovative OTT business in the APAC region, which we plan to further accelerate under his leadership.”

PubMatic and market measurement firm Nielsen in Australia has also recently announced a new data collaboration, which now makes Nielsen’s audience data available in PubMatic’s Audience Encore™ product, allowing advertisers to buy premium omnichannel inventory layered with quality data for precision targeting and better performance.