Mitos Borromeo steps into lead role at Bates 141 Philippines

Antonio stepped down last week. Bates 141 says Borromeo has been appointed as 'consultant' to the agency and will be the most senior leader working on a permanent basis. She will work closely with Shubho Sarkar, CEO of Southeast Asia.

The agency did not comment on the conflicting job titles between Antonio and Borromeo, but confirmed that it is not seeking a replacement managing director at this time.

As consultant, Borromeo will play the role of a senior mentor to the staff and develop new business for the agency.

She joins Bates 141 with over 20 years of experience working in advertising and media agencies in the Philippines and across the Southeast Asian region. Her most previous position was strategy consultant at local firm Good Thinking which she joined in August 2010.

Prior to this, she was CEO at Group M Philippines from 2004 to 2010 and managing director at Mindshare Philippines from 2004 to 2006. 

On the creative agency side, Borromeo was managing director at JWT Philippines from 2001 to 2003. She also worked at Lowe at the agency's offices in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines from 1987 to 2001. 

Throughout her career, she has worked with clients including Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Nestle, Shell, and Kimberly Clark.  

"Borromeo has held substantial leadership positions at top media and advertising agencies, and has an impressive portfolio of multinational and local clients in her experience. She brings to the table a diverse perspective and is the kind of change agent we are looking for to help our clients harness change and start new conversations,” said Tim Isaac, regional chairman, Bates 141. 

Borromeo herself was optimistic on the role, saying, “This is a great opportunity to grow the agency by engaging our clients with fresh thinking about their business ambitions and challenges, and delivering superior work to help them create fresh conversations with their consumers. I am very much looking forward to working with our team in the Philippines and across Southeast Asia."