RGA Australia CEO Michael Titshall takes charge of Asia Pacific

Creative innovation agency RGA has expanded Michael Titshall's Australian CEO’s role to lead the agency’s Asia Pacific offerings as the new regional chief executive.

The newly created role aligns with RGA’s global “distributed creativity” model that aims to foster collaboration and innovation across its network. Under this model, earlier this year, RGA consolidated its EMEA operations under a single leadership team. Now in Asia-Pacific, Titshall will partner with the general managers of Singapore (Marianne Whitman), Japan (Anthony Baker), China (Barry Peng) and Indonesia (Bambang Witoyo) to grow RGA’s business and reputation in the region.

Globally, 2022 was tumultuous for the agency. Against exits, restructuring, and client losses, the agency underwent notable changes to restore stability. Tiffany Rolfe, global chief creative officer, assumed the role of chair and Robin Forbes stepped in as interim CEO in early 2023.

However, the Asia-Pacific arm was a bright spot, showing resilience and growth with a 21% revenue increase and a 40% profit surge, attributing success to ventures like RGA3 in the metaverse and NFT space, as well as the Data Lab business, enhancing effectiveness for key clients such as Google, Nike, Toyota, and Unilever.

Titshall’s expanded remit comes against the backdrop of Australia’s stellar performance last year and the departure of Dorothy Peng, senior vice president and managing director of Asia, in November 2023. Peng joined the company in 2015 and worked in various capacities, playing a crucial role during RGA’s business restructuring in Asia and Australia in June 2022.

Before his stint with RGA, Titshall spearheaded CHE Proximity through an era of tremendous growth and expansion decorated with awards and accolades. He's the youngest CEO in RGA’s network. At 38-years old, in addition to Australia, he will oversee RGA’s operations in Singapore, Japan, China, and Indonesia and aim to replicate the success he achieved in Down Under, where he won major accounts like TPG Telecom and McDonald’s. From a history of no awards, RGA won 45 trophies in the past year including two Yellow D&AD Pencils, a Lion at Cannes and a Gold Spike at Spikes Asia. 

Known to lead from the front and win coveted titles for his organisations, Titshall was recently recognised in Campaign's 2023 40 Under 40 list. 

Expressing enthusiasm about the expanded role, Titshall says, "It's an exciting time for RGA in APAC. Our ability to deliver creative and innovative experiences is more crucial than ever for brands in such a fast-paced region." He emphasises collaboration and the impressive capabilities already present across the region.

Global CEO Robin Forbes praises Titshall as an exceptional business leader, citing RGA Australia as a testament to his ability to foster environments that enable innovative work.

“Michael is an exceptional business leader. He’s become known for driving the industry forward by creating environments that enable people to do the best work of their careers, creating boundary-pushing work that combines our distinct capabilities.

“Under his leadership, RGA Australia has been a shining example of how to produce creatively-led innovative work, and we look forward to watching him expand his expertise at RGA by leading our new APAC region.”

Meanwhile, Victoria Curro will continue as the managing director in Australia to ensure continuity, and the creative teams will continue to report to chief creative officer Seamus Higgins and VP, ECD Ben Miles.