Move and win roundup: Week of August 26, 2024

FCB Ulka, part of the FCB Group agencies in India, has appointed Suchitra Gahlot as the new national creative director. Suchitra will be based in Bengaluru. With over 25 years in the advertising and creative industries, she worked with top agencies in India and Singapore, including Ogilvy RedCard Singapore, SapientNitro, and W+K, leading creative efforts across categories including FMCG, F&B, media, hospitality, telecom, and services.

Adrian Tso has been promoted to chief strategy officer at DDB Group Hong Kong, advancing from his previous role as head of strategy. This marks his fifth promotion during his nine-year tenure at the agency. Before joining DDB Group, Tso served as a senior brand strategist at The Brand Union for four years. Tso’s promotion follows a highly successful year for the strategy team, which has received notable accolades, including the HK Grand Effie and a top APAC ranking in the Effie index. In his new role, Tso will continue reporting to CEO Andreas Krasser, with a focus on sustaining the agency's strategic excellence while exploring new business opportunities. Beyond his client work, Tso is actively involved in mentoring future advertising professionals, lecturing at universities, and participating in global industry events as a juror and presenter. He is also a member of the DDB network’s Global Strategy Council.

Keep Left, the Australian PR firm, has appointed Tiffany Simon as PR client partner, following a series of internal promotions and an expanded client portfolio. Simon brings a decade of experience in PR and marketing, having recently served as senior account director at Dentsu Creative PR, where she worked with clients such as Bunnings and Skyscanner. In her new role, Simon will provide strategic counsel to clients, oversee the national PR team across Melbourne and Sydney, and contribute to business development. She will also manage key clients, including Australia Post and Charter Hall.

Mei Mei Song has taken on the role of chief transformation officer at Plaza Premium Group, based in Hong Kong. Song was previously the director of global brands and transformation at the airport hospitality group. She has been at the company for more than 12 years.

Robert Woolfrey has been promoted to vice president of sales for Asia Pacific and Japan at Twilio. He will also lead independent software vendor sales across the region. Woolfrey joined Twilio in 2023 from Semasio. He has also worked at Amobee and Millennial Media.

India-based media agency Madison Media has hired Mimi Deb as chief operating officer of Madison Media Plus, heading Madison Media’s Delhi Branch. She will report to Vikram Sakhuja, group CEO of Madison Media & OOH. Deb joins from Alchemist Marketing & Talent Solutions and has also worked at various agencies, including Publicis and Wavemaker.

Travel and lifestyle PR agency Petrie PR has been appointed to represent Montara Hospitality Group, a Thai hospitality group with a portfolio of properties. Petrie PR will activate an integrated campaign to introduce Montara Hospitality across the Singapore/Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and China markets. 

Production house Electriclime has added Indigo Bates to its director roster for representation throughout ANZ, APAC, and MENA. A British/American director, Bates was born and raised in London but has spent the last 10 years in multiple cities, including Paris, Buenos Aires, and New York. She has worked on major campaigns for brands such as Western Union, Moët & Chandon, NordicTrack, and Adidas.

Pop Mart, a Chinese toy company specialising in pop culture and entertainment, has appointed Initiative as its media agency of record following a competitive pitch. Initiative will manage the brand's media presence in China, including social media and mobile media planning and buying. The agency's proposed strategy focuses on reaching Gen Z consumers with end-to-end media solutions.

Dentsu has launched Merkle in Thailand and unveiled a new leadership team, to accelerate the growth of its customer experience management (CXM) capabilities in Southeast Asia (SEA) and expand its integrated CX growth solutions spanning across borders.

• Apirada Benchakaranee joined Dentsu in early 2023 and now leads the Merkle team as CEO, CXM, Dentsu Thailand. Prior to Dentsu, she worked for Cigna Thailand and DTAC.
• Thanoos Kerdlaup joined Dentsu from ADA last year and serves as head of growth & CX business, CXM, Dentsu Thailand.
• Artis Anantachoke has been appointed head of CX technology & MarTech, CXM, Dentsu Thailand.
• Sumon Tienkarojanakul has been appointed as head of CX innovation lab, CXM, Dentsu Thailand.
• Kittipong Raksa has been appointed as head of data business, CXM, Dentsu Thailand.

Madison Media, a unit of Madison World, has appointed Rohin Desai as the chief client officer, media buying. He will report to Vinay Hegde, CEO of Investments, Madison Media. Desai’s career spans several leading organisations, including GroupM, Lintas Media Group, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, and Enterr10 Television, where he served as head of revenue and Sales Strategy. He previously worked at Madison Media from 2013 to 2016.

Yuliani Setiadi, head of digital for Hong Kong and Taiwan for Edelman, has relocated to Singapore to take on the new role of head of digital for Southeast Asia (SEA). She will lead the firm’s digital strategy across the SEA region, focusing on driving innovative solutions that build trust and deliver long-term growth for Edelman’s clients. She continues to report to Jamshed Wadia, vice chair of digital for Edelman Asia Pacific. Prior to joining Edelman in 2022, Setiadi held various leadership roles at Ogilvy Hong Kong and Indonesia.  She was named Campaign Asia's  40 Under 40 in 2017.

Jan Lee has joined Dentsu Hong Kong as its managing partner and director of Dentsu Entertainment, reporting to Simone Tam, CEO of Dentsu GBA and Hong Kong.  Before Dentsu, Lee was most recently general manager at TBWA and worked for over eight years at the agency. Prior to that, Lee worked for DDB and McCann Worldgroup.

ERA Communications, an ASEAN strategic communications consultancy, has appointed Khushil Vaswani as chief operating officer. He will work closely with Anthony Larmon, managing director of ERA Communications. With two decades of agency experience in leadership roles, Vaswani was most recently senior vice president of client experience at Weber Shandwick in Singapore. Based in Bangkok in this newly created role, he will work closely with ERA’s market leadership members in Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.

Dan Beaumont has launched Game, an independent creative advisory that specialises in transforming and building brands. The advisory will invent, reposition, revitalise or resurrect brands so that they can positively impact business performance. As founder and managing director, Beaumont has over two decades of experience in the industry, served as managing partner of The Royals, and worked for The Monkeys, George Patterson Y&R and M&C Saatchi.

Ora, US plant-based supplement brand, appoints Motion Sickness, a full-service agency based in New Zealand, as its lead creative and strategic agency of record to build on global growth. The agency plans to launch brand work for Ora globally later in the year, kicking off a long-term partnership.

Honda Australia has appointed Eva Barrett as general manager of brand, marketing, and customer experience. Barrett replaces Belinda Cusworth, who departed last month after three years as GM of customer experience. Barrett brings a wealth of experience to the role, having served as chief customer officer at Kathmandu and Ingenia Communities Group. Her international career includes positions at Adidas in Germany, Philips in Amsterdam, and Carlton & United Breweries in London, where she managed the Rosemount and Lindemans brands.

We The People has appointed Angie Fredatovichits as creative lead of its New Zealand office. Fredatovichits brings over 15 years of creative experience to the role, most recently serving as creative director at Culture NZ & Stanley Street. Since opening its Auckland office early last year, We The People, which also has offices in Melbourne and Sydney, has steadily expanded its creative team and presence in Aotearoa.

Creative shop Trout Creative Thinking has appointed Ferne Archer as group account director to work across a portfolio of clients, including Reece. Archer brings more than a decade of experience from agencies such as Special Group, AJF Partnership, TBWA, and Che Proximity.

Uniqlo has appointed Paulene Ong as its new marketing director in Singapore. Ong brings over 15 years of global marketing expertise to the role. Prior to joining Uniqlo, she served as senior brand manager for hair innovation and business performance at Unilever Japan. Her extensive experience also includes roles at Shiseido, both in Japan and Singapore, and as a brand manager for breakfast cereals at Nestlé, Singapore.