Move and win roundup: Week of August 31, 2020

Ogilvy has appointed Jiravara Virayavardhana and Wanramai Aurtaveekul as senior executive group directors in Thailand. In these newly created roles, Virayavardhana and Aurtaveekul will join forces with the existing management team to accelerate business growth and strengthen Ogilvy’s position in the Thai market. Both will report to Nopadol Srikieatikajohn, chairman of Ogilvy Thailand.

Newgate Communications has appointed James Hill as its managing partner for Greater China, based in Hong Kong. Effective from 22 September 2020, Hill will oversee the firm’s expansion in Greater China and the broader Asia-Pacific region. In his 20-year career, Hill has advised senior executives from Asian and global organisations on a range of issues, including complex reputation mandates, fund launches, contested and friendly transactions, litigation, restructurings, issues and crisis management, and shareholder activism.

GroupM’s media agency MediaCom has won the media mandate for Lionsgate Play in India after the competitive pitch. Lionsgate Play is the most recent OTT service offering of Lionsgate(a global content platform produce films, tv series and other digital products) in India. As their full form AOR, MediaCom will be responsible for the media strategy, planning, buying and implementation for all media as per Lionsgate’s requirements. 

Dentsumcgarrybowen China announced a new structure and leadership appointments following its rebranding from Beijing Dentsu Group in May. CEO Keita Ishikawa announced:

• The appointment of Kaz Tsuburaku as chief creative officer. He began his career at Dentsu Inc as a strategist and joined the China market in 2014. He was most recently ECD at Dentsumcgarrybowen Canada.
• The promotion of Akio Oyo, formerly VP and CEO of the Guangzhou office, to senior vice president, with responsibility over all three China offices. 
• The expansion of Twelve Tang's role from Shanghai CEO to CEO for both Guangzhou and Shanghai
• The promotion of Guang Cui from MD of the Integrated Marketing Communication Centre to CEO for Beijing.   

TBWA India appointed Srijib Mallik as executive director and head of Delhi operations and named Namrata Nandan to lead its Mumbai operations as executive director. Mallik has over 20 years of advertising and marketing communications experience in both national and global roles across India, Singapore, and London, at agencies including W+K, Bates, Publicis, Saatchi & Saatchi, CLA and JWT. Nandan joins after starting her own agency, Conviction Brandworks, and has more than 25 years of experience spanning local and global networks including Enterprise, Y&R, Ogilvy, JWT and McCann, where she led the agency’s Mumbai and Bangalore operations.

Eurokars Group announced that it has selected Publicis agencies Leo Burnett and Zenith as its communications agencies of record for Mazda and MG in Singapore following a two-month tender process. Leo Burnett will develop and execute strategic and creative assignments across all consumer touchpoints, while Zenith will be responsible for driving a data-informed communications strategy and delivering impactful media outcomes. The agencies will manage ATL, BTL, OOH, digital, and social media channels for the next 12 months. The appointments were effective July 1.

Strategic advisory firm Brunswick Group appointed Xi Qing as a partner in Shanghai with a focus on the healthcare and life sciences sector and promoted Pru Bennett from senior advisor to partner, with a focus on corporate governance. Xi most recently worked for Pfizer as vice president of government affairs for market access and communications, overseeing corporate affairs activities for Pfizer’s established brands business in China. Bennett has more than 25 years of experience in corporate governance, including at BlackRock, where she was head of its investment stewardship team for the Asia Pacific region.

Motivator India won the media duties for MilkLane, described as India's first industrial-scale high quality milk collection and supply platform. The relationship will start from handling the launch of the brand Nutrinos, and Motivator India will manage offline and online media for MilkLane.

Sunita Rajan announced on social media that she is departing her role as senior vice president of advertising sales at CNN International. She joined the company in 2015 from BBC. In her announcement, Rajan said the last few months have helped open her mind to "new possibilities for digital transformation and creating value and opportunities in the next normal", adding that she is "keen to collaborate with like-minded industry peers and organizations to bring these ideas to life".

M&C Saatchi Melbourne won the Racing Victoria business following a competitive pitch. The win expands the Group’s existing relationship, as Bohemia has been acting as Racing Victoria’s media agency since 2018. The brand will be emphasising what it calls a commitment to equine welfare before, during and after racing, under a campaign banner of 'Here for the horses'.

In Australia, B&D Group, a Dulux Group company that makes garage doors and openers, appointed Thinkerbell as its creative agency following a pitch. The agency has already begun work on the account, with new work slated to launch later this year.

The South China Morning Post appointed John Artman as technology editor. He has more than 10 years of reporting experience in China, and was most recently editor-in-chief at TechNode. Prior to that he was MD of technical communications at CSOFT International and worked at China Radio International as a radio show host and technology and web reporter. 

The Advertising Standards Council of India has named Manisha Kapoor as its new secretary-general. Kapoor will take over from 1 September. Her mandate includes the consumer complaints redressal process as well as marketing, public relations and social media initiatives. She has been part of ASCI's Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) for the past five years. She will take over from Shweta Purandare. In a career spanning 25 years, Kapoor has worked with Hindustan Unilever, J&J India, MarketGate Consulting and currently is with Futurebrands Consulting. (See Campaign India full story)

TikTok Australia has hired Andrew Cambridge as its new head of agency. Cambridge was previously head of data and technology at Initiative Australia. TikTok Australia also recently hired Elisa Kelsall as head of partnerships in July and Hollie Lowe as head of customer solutions in May. Kelsall had been head of new business acquisitions for Google ANZ while Lowe served as head of strategic accounts at Quantcast.  

Ooh Media in Australia has appointed Cathy O'Connor as managing director and CEO from early 2021. O'Connor has been CEO of Nova Entertainment Group for the past 12 years and prior to that was MD of DMG Radio. Her appointment follows a global search to replace founder & CEO Brendon Cook who announced his intention to step down after 30 years.  O'Connor will join the out-of-home media company early next year and Cook will continue to consult to the company until the end of 2021.

CNBC International VP Michael Kearns, who led the broadcasters digital operations and strategic partnerships from Singapore, has announced he's left the network after 10 years to join communications and strategic advisory firm Brunswick Group as a director to work with clients on diverse solutions across sectors.