Move and win roundup: Week of October 7, 2024

Hiren Desai, head of digital marketing for Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore, ASEAN, and South Asia, has stepped down after six years with the bank. Desai will be joining IG Group as head of acquisition and media for APAC and the Middle East. Desai has an extensive background in digital marketing and leadership. Prior to his role at Standard Chartered Bank, he served as the director of digital leadership at Carat for over two years and Zenith for more than three years as the associate director of digital marketing. He joined Standard Chartered Bank in 2018 as the digital marketing director for ASEAN and South Asia.

GroupM has announced key leadership changes in the Asia Pacific region, expanding the responsibilities of three senior leaders:

• Helen McRae, CEO of Mindshare APAC since 2021, will now also oversee GroupM’s growth and business development teams across the region. McRae will work closely with regional leadership and global chief growth officer, Hamish Davies, to ensure shared best practices, tools, and processes are applied across all GroupM agencies in APAC. She has been with Mindshare since 2004 in various global leadership roles.
   
• Sindhuja Rai, APAC CEO of Wavemaker since 2023, will expand her role to oversee GroupM’s client leadership communities in the region. She will partner with APAC CEOs to enhance client service and experience. Rai has over two decades of experience in media investment and consumer experience, including 13 years at Mondelez International.
   
• Josh Gallagher, formerly COO for EssenceMediacom APAC, has been promoted to client president for EssenceMediacom APAC—overseeing GroupM’s client strategy capability and talent communities. Gallagher will also manage the agency’s client portfolio, succeeding Rupert McPetrie, who became GroupM China’s CEO in February. Gallagher joined EssenceMediacom from Media Com after the merger in 2023.

PubMatic has appointed Laura Greally as its new marketing director for APAC. Greally, who has held leadership roles at CNN International, BBC Worldwide, and IAB Southeast Asia, will lead PubMatic's marketing strategies across digital and paid media. She will also manage marketing teams in both northern and southern APAC and oversee the company’s presence at industry events. Greally will report to Emily Yri, VP of international marketing.

Mutinex co-founder Matt Farrugia will step away from his global role to focus on accelerating growth in the APAC region, following the company’s recent AU$17.5 million funding round led by Marbruck Investments. The capital will also support the company's US expansion, where local customers are being onboarded across various sectors. Additionally, Mutinex launched its new MMM platform, Hendren, and collaborated with UM Australia on a media data integration project. Mat Baxter, former APAC CEO, has moved into a board advisory role after stepping down in September due to overlapping responsibilities with global CEO Henry Innis.

Sling & Stone, the PR agency, has announced a leadership change for 2025. Founder and CEO Vuki Vujasinovic will step down from his role on January 1, passing the reins to James Hutchinson, the current global head of business and a 10-year veteran of the agency. Vujasinovic, who founded Sling & Stone in 2010 as Australia’s first agency dedicated to challengers and disruptors, expressed pride in the agency’s growth and his decision to step back to spend time with family. Under Vujasinovic’s leadership, the agency has grown to more than 80 team members across Australia, the United States, New Zealand, and Singapore. Hutchinson, who has been closely involved in the agency's success, will lead the agency into its next chapter, continuing to work with clients such as Leonardo.ai, Monarch Tractors, and Google Cloud.

Bastion Shine has announced two key leadership appointments to support its growth and enhance integrated services. Annabelle Pitkin has been named chief client officer, bringing over 12 years of experience to lead client engagement and strengthen the agency's delivery across its diverse offerings. John Pelasio has been appointed as creative lead Pou Arataki, focusing on incorporating te ao Māori perspectives into the agency’s work to ensure it authentically reflects Aotearoa’s cultural heritage.

Orange Line, an independent digital marketing agency, has updated its team with eight strategic hires and multiple promotions. Key appointments include:

• Marie Taupiac—SEO director, formerly digital experience director at Dentsu New Zealand, bringing expertise in SEO, CRO, and user journey optimisation.
• Dani Maynard—communications lead, previously with WiseTech Global, where she led external communications, social media, and employer branding initiatives.
• Rinka Owen—senior SEO executive, joining with a focus on SEO strategy and execution.
• Tess Botham-Barnes—outreach coordinator, responsible for managing outreach initiatives to support SEO efforts.
• Suruchi Sehgal—paid media manager, bringing experience in managing paid media campaigns to strengthen the agency’s media offerings.
• David Fechney—paid media executive, part of the expanded media team, focusing on paid media strategies.
• Angus Crawford—paid media executive, joining the media team to support paid media efforts.
• Victoria Lee—paid media coordinator, supporting the execution of paid media campaigns within the agency.
• Veronika Warren—promoted to head of SEO, leading the SEO department and driving strategy for clients.
• Annie Shao—promoted to senior communications manager, overseeing communications strategies for the agency’s client base.

Ideally has appointed Kim Le Gras as strategic client partner to drive deeper relationships with enterprise clients. With 20 years of marketing experience at agencies like DDB Sydney and AnalogFolk, and collaborations with brands like Telstra, Optus, and Suncorp, Le Gras is set to support Ideally’s growth. Le Gras will be based in Sydney, following other recent team appointments.

Etaily, a digital-native retail brand platform has announced its expansion into Singapore and other regional markets. The expansion will be led by Lester Cuneta, former chief process officer at Synagie and Venture Partner at Kaya Founders. With extensive experience in APAC and previous roles at companies like Unilever and Lazada, Cuneta will drive etaily's growth outside the Philippines, leveraging his industry expertise to help scale the platform’s multi-channel solutions. Etaily recently secured $17.8 million in Series A funding to support its expansion across Southeast Asia.

Dentsu India has appointed Abhirup Datta as CEO of performance media solutions, focusing on expanding its performance marketing capabilities to boost sales growth for Sokrati. Datta will lead the Dentsu Performance 2.0 initiative, which leverages AI, data analytics, and automation to deliver marketing solutions for regional and global clients. With over 20 years of experience in sectors such as retail, telecom, and media, Datta has previously held leadership roles at ZEE5, Disney Star, and HT Media. Reporting to Anita Kotwani, CEO for media—South Asia, Datta will work with Nilesh Gohil, president of performance practice and CEO of Sokrati. He will focus on expanding market reach and developing new go-to-market strategies for the company.

Omnicom Media Group (OMG) ANZ CEO Peter Horgan is stepping down after 21 years with the company, including 15 years as CEO. Horgan will remain in the role until mid-2025 to ensure a smooth leadership transition, after which he will become chair to support the new CEO. Horgan's tenure includes leading OMD Australia before taking over OMG Australia and New Zealand in 2016. He has also served as chair of the Media Federation of Australia for 10 years. Horgan played a key role in OMG's growth, fostering long-term client relationships and transparent business practices. His successor is yet to be announced.

PHD Australia has promoted David Bielenberg to national head of strategy and Elyse Foley to national head of planning. Bielenberg steps into his new role after two years as head of strategy and planning for PHD Melbourne. Foley returned to PHD earlier this year as head of planning for Sydney from Initiative, where she worked for over two years. In her previous stint at PHD, she held the role of business director.

Rishi Bedi has been appointed managing director of APAC at Ogury. Based in Singapore but responsible for spearheading business growth across APAC—including Australia—Bedi was previously at InMobi, Dell India, and HP. He will report to Raphael Rodier, chief revenue officer at Ogury.

Creative, tech and media group MSQ and its design consultancy, Elmwood, have announced the appointment of Susie Hunt as chair of MSQ and Elmwood in Asia, where she will support and accelerate the expansion of the group to deliver in-region brand strategy, design and brand communications. Hunt has lived and worked in Asia Pacific for over 25 years, most recently in Beijing, where she focused on growth strategies for China-based companies. Hunt was previously Asia Pacific chair for Futurebrand at IPG.

Communications consultancy Common State has launched Superstate, a communications agency dedicated to gaming and digital culture. The new agency will be spearheaded by Common State account director Jadan Carroll and marketing manager Hamish Kirkpatrick, who will assume the newly created roles of co-managing partners alongside senior account manager Charly Binney and senior account executive Caitlyn Miles. Superstate aims to help brands reach new audiences by engaging core gaming communities and bringing gaming culture into the mainstream, mainly through mainstream media. Initially, the agency will focus on publicity, talent partnerships, content creation, and event coordination.

Ji Ching Tang has been promoted to Asia marketing director, international family care and professional at Kimberly-Clark. Sharing the news via a LinkedIn post, Tang has spent over three years at Kimberly-Clark and was most recently associate marketing director for feminine care, leading brands like Kotex, UbK, Softex, White, and Goodfeel. Before Kimberly-Clark, Tang had a stint at Eu Yan Sang and spent nearly a decade at Unilever.

Havas Media Singapore has been awarded the integrated media mandate for Great Eastern’s Singapore business. The agency will oversee omnichannel media strategy, planning, and buying.

Financial technology platform Adyen has promoted Ben Wong to general manager for Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. In his new role, Wong will oversee the company’s commercial operations in the region, focusing on growth strategies and strengthening partnerships in key markets like Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Wong joined Adyen in 2016 in a technical role, acting as a technology consultant to deliver strategic counsel to enterprises.