Yahoo's Ken Mandel joins Buddy Media as MD of its new Asia-Pacific HQ

Mandel joins from Yahoo Asia-Pacific, where he was most recently regional vice president and managing director of the Southeast Asia division. He left in March to set up an independent boutique agency in Singapore, Jam Ventres. He currently also serves as chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau's Southeast Asia chapter and is a former vice chairman (currently honourary board member) of the Mobile Marketing Association Asia-Pacific.

His CV also includes key leadership roles with WPP, Neo@Ogilvy, and OgilvyOne.

Michael Lazerow, founder and CEO of Buddy Media, says Mandel's experience will be "invaluable" for the company's contined expansion in the Asia region. “Ken possesses an understanding of social marketing software that will further enhance our ability to offer the best technology and services to hundreds of clients worldwide,” he said.

Mandel says he had a number of options for his next career challenge, but chose a smaller organisation with a unique role. "This was an easy choice for me to join a rapidly expanding and innovative company with great people.”

Buddy Media's flagship product is a social marketing suite helps brands build consumer connections on a global scale across several social media platforms. The company says the software-as-a-service offer provdes scalable, secure architecture and data-driven insights "from the initial point of contact through to point-of-purchase".

Mandel will begin work at Buddy Media's New York office from 24 October, He will then return to Singapore to set up the group's Asia-Pacific headquarters, which will offer representation and service to Buddy Media's global client list, including local marketers for Unilever and Procter & Gamble.