Martin Shaw succeeds Nico Abbruzzese as digital head for Maxus APAC

Shaw joined Maxus from OMD Shanghai in 2011 as director of digital for North Asia and was promoted to the regional director of digital in April. He is based in Hong Kong and will report to Ajit Varghese, CEO of Maxus APAC.

Abbruzzese, who will remain in Singapore, said Shaw has the vision and seniority needed to take charge of the APAC team, and he is the right leader to take forward the work that Maxus has done in the past four years. He pointed out that a strong digital core is more imperative than ever.

Abbruzzese told Campaign Asia-Pacific that his newly created role with Metalworks, Maxus’ global technology R&D division, will focus on bringing creative technology to bear. He will report to Lindsay Pattison, global chief strategy officer at Maxus.

“There is a need for taking creative technology forward,” he said. “The big shift is to take our work to a global Metal standard, building Metalworks into a global franchise and taking the discipline of technology to be more invasive.”

Conversations with brands and the creative space for digital have really opened up, he added.

Data will be the other focus for the agency, not only to help clients’ businesses, but also to enhance internal communication.

“Together with the global team, we want to make data more accessible and make tools valuable,” Abbruzzese said. “Also, have more frequent interaction within the team and create a clear set of guidelines and tools for our people.”

The agency is working on some new projects based on interactivity and events, he said, but declined to reveal further details.