MullenLowe creates SEA unit, appoints Paul Soon to lead

MullenLowe Group has announced it wil combine its operations in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong to create MullenLowe Group Southeast Asia, and it has appointed former XM Asia and Possible CEO Paul Soon as CEO.

Soon was most recently CEO of Possible APAC and has 18 years of experience. In 2000, he founded ADinc.com (Advertising and Digital), which was later acquired by AKQA. He then joined XM Asia, which appointed him APAC CEO in 2011. He will start with MullenLowe in March and report to Vincent Digonnet, CEO of MullenLowe Group APAC.

Adrian Sng, MD of MullenLowe Malaysia, will report to Soon, and Radhe Vaswani, currently MD of MullenLowe Profero Southeast Asia based in Singapore, will move to Hong Kong to take on a newly created position as COO of global clients for MullenLowe Profero. She will focus on Harley Davidson, HSBC and Peninsula in particular, reporting to Digonnet.    

The "hyperbundled" agency will bring together creative capabilities, MullenLowe Profero’s digital expertise, MullenLowe Mediahub media planning, and the recently acquired MullenLowe Salt PR capability across the three markets, according to the company. MullenLowe created similar groupings in China, Japan and the Greater Mekong over the last six months.

“Singapore and Hong Kong are small domestic markets but huge marketplaces, harbouring the headquarters of all major multinational corporations looking to develop their presence in the rest of Asia," Digonnet said. The move seeks to combine the "world-class creativity...coming out of our Singapore operation" with consulting capabilities, business-transformation expertise based on consumer insights, innovative media, technology, design, CX, UX, social, CRM and analytics in a "seamless" model, he said.

"Paul has the experience, the drive and a deep understanding of both brand-building and business transformation, making him the ideal person to lead the charge," Digonnet added.

Soon said he admires MullenLowe's challenger mindset, entrepreneurial spirit and culture.