40 Under 40 2021: Emmanuel James Mangahas, Hakuhodo Digital

Emmanuel James Mangahas

Chief executive officer
Hakuhodo Digital
Vietnam

Born and raised in Manila, Emmanuel James 'EJ' Mangahas realised early on that he wanted to build a career in digital. Starting out as a product manager for MEC Networks in Manila, he later moved around Southeast Asia taking on several account leadership and digital strategy roles at Ogilvy and Wunderman, where he worked with clients like Nokia, Unilever, Nestle and Intel. This allowed him to have a truly regional view of digital communications while being based in three countries: Philippines, Singapore, and, most recently, Vietnam.

Mangahas moved to Vietnam in 2015 and eventually joined Hakuhodo as group digital director, with a simple mandate of building the group’s digital capabilities. This proved to be his most difficult but rewarding accomplishment to date. In 2020, Mangahas was named CEO of Hakuhodo Digital Vietnam, an independent digital-first agency within the Hakuhodo Vietnam group of companies.

Since joining Hakuhodo in 2017, Mangahas has built the digital team from scratch to 45, covering end-to-end in-house digital functions: accounts, creatives, digital media, social, and digital planning. As the group’s lead digital strategist, he helped win critical new accounts that resulted in a more diversified client portfolio. The business has grown to be a major contributor to overall group. 

As a leader, Mangahas believes in fostering a participatory environment. He spearheaded Hakuhodo Vietnam’s Group Learning Programme, which aimed to elevate the digital knowledge of the Hakuhodo Vietnam staff. This helped breakdown working silos to create an environment of collaboration and teamwork by allowing non-digital staff to gain understanding and appreciation of digital as a discipline.

By building Hakuhodo’s digital capability and transforming it into a digital-first agency, Mangahas has proven to be a committed leader with vision. He knows what he wants and he goes for it. Proving that sometimes a can-do attitude is the most powerful thing.