Leo Burnett Kreasindo strengthens digital with Arc Worldwide hires

The agency has appointed four digital veterans, including Ernest Custodio as managing director, Johnson Wahab and Karen Garia as business directors, as well as Tania Mailangkay as integrated creative director, among other staff.

Including these key hires, Arc Worldwide Indonesia is now a 21-employee agency.

Ernest Custodio was most recently the managing director at MRM Worldwide in Philippines and has experience in CRM, digital and retail. Custodio has worked with clients such as Globe Telecom, Nestlé Philippines, Johnson & Johnson and Unilever.

Johnson Wahab, who has joined the agency to manage the Philip Morris account, was previously with MRM Worldwide Indonesia. His previous clients include global brands such as HSBC, Nestlé and Intel.

Tania Mailangkay, who has been appointed as integrated creative director, has in the past worked with BBDO Singapore, while Karen Garia, who has moved from Harrison Communications (part of the McCann Worldgroup Philippines), will be responsible for managing the Telkomsel account. Garia has in the past handled accounts such as Globe Telecom, Universal Robina Corporation and United Laboratories.

A press statement from the agency claims that Arc Worldwide Indonesia’s revenue has doubled since 2008.

According to this statement the expansion “is a strategic move to cater to the surging digital needs from clients, and also to captialise on the growing trend of internet usage in Indonesia.”

This expansion follows a number of key wins this year including Telkomsel.

In an interview given to Media, Leo Burnett’s Asia-Pacific CEO Jarek Ziebinski had said that the Leo Burnett group plans to hire about 50 people in Indonesia on the back of the Telkomsel win.

Steve Bonnell, group managing director of Leo Burnett Group Indonesia, said: “We are very positive about the business potential in the digital arena. We believe in always working with the best people and we have brought in some outstanding talent to help our clients capture this opportunity. At the same time, we are placing the Leo Burnett Group in a very strong position among digital agencies in Indonesia."

There are two Arc business units within the Leo Burnett Group in Indonesia. The first specialises in digital marketing, one-to-one marketing and retail marketing, while the other unit activates brands through PR and experiential marketing.