James Smyllie departs Initiative as part of restructuring exercise

IPG Mediabrands has confirmed to Campaign that James Smyllie, Initiative's president for APAC, has left his role as part of a restructuring of the agency’s regional leadership team. 

This decision will see APAC CEO Leigh Terry assume direct leadership of Initiative APAC, in addition to the broader IPG Mediabrands APAC network. 

“We are grateful for James Smyllie’s contributions to Initiative and wish him well in his future endeavours. IPG Mediabrands remains committed to providing exceptional service to all our clients and partners," said Terry.

Smyllie, who had been at Initiative for just over two years, was awarded ‘Asia-Pacific Agency Head of the Year’ at the Campaign Asia-Pacific Agency of the Year 2023 awards.

He joined Initiative from Essence, where he was APAC's senior vice president and head. Smyllie also worked at Publicis’ Starcom between two stints at Dentsu’s Carat.

Smyllie’s departure comes at a time when one of Initative’s biggest clients, Amazon, is currently reviewing its global media account. As previously reported by Campaign, Amazon's decision to revise its content strategy for Prime Video in Southeast Asia, as part of its global layoffs, will also affect its agencies.