Move and win roundup: Week of January 29, 2018

MullenLowe Singapore promoted Sheng Jin Ang and Daniel Kee from creative director to executive creative director and promoted Meryke Naude, previously head of art for Unilever Oral Care, to creative director, leading brands such as Closeup, Signal and Pepsodent. Ang and Kee have been with MullenLowe Singapore for five years. The agency's current ECD Erick Rosa will depart in April 2018, and is relocating to Japan for a new professional opportunity. 

Publicis Groupe promoted Loris Nold, currently COO of its communications cluster for APAC, Middle East and Africa, to a newly created role as CEO of Publicis Groupe APAC. (Read more)

Ogilvy & Mather appointed Ajab Samrai as chief creative officer for ASEAN; hired Doug Schiff, formerly with DigitasLBi in the US, as CCO for Japan; and promoted Reed Collins to the newly established position of CCO for North Asia. (Read more)

Happiness Saigon appointed Mateusz Mroszcak as group creative director. He was previously ECD at BBDO in Europe, and CD at These Days.

PHD appointed Adrian Venditti as group business director for the AB InBev business. He will lead on the account in Australia, Vietnam and India from the network’s Melbourne office, reporting to PHD Melbourne GM Simon Lawson. He was previously group agency director of Posterscope Australia and business director at Vizeum.

Nedra Chian returned to MediaCom China as chief operating officer after a brief hiatus last year. Reporting to CEO Rupert McPetrie, Chian will also join the executive committee of the agency.

Ikon Brisbane won an appointment as the strategic media planning agency for Tourism & Events Queensland (TEQ) following a competitive process at the end of 2017. The agency will be tasked with updating TEQ’s overall media approach and improving promotion of the region's travel experiences.

Kit Ong, chief creative officer and partner of The Purpose Group in Vietnam, will be leaving the agency this February, to focus on creative opportunities beyond traditional advertising.

AnyMind Group, formed from AdAsia Holdings appointed Keizo Okawa as chief financial officer and elevated Hitoshi Maruyama, formerly director of pubblisher engagement for AdAsia to chief strategy officer. Okawa was previously a vice president with Morgan Stanley.

The Marketing Society has named Darren Chuckry, managing director of Uniplan Hong Kong, as its new chair for its Hong Kong hub.  Chuckry succeeds previous chair Guy Parsonage from PwC, who has stepped down after three years. (Read more)

CDC Group appointed Kassim Shroff as the director of business development for Daraz.pk in Pakistan.

Iris Bangkok appointed Kevin Larken as ECD. He will report to Graham van der Westhuizen, MD, and joins from Iris Jakarta, where he was also ECD and worked on clients including Samsung, Tokopedia, Heineken, IKEA and Maxis.

BMF hired Paul Coles, formerly M&C Saatchi’s client service director, to run its biggest client, ALDI. As general manager, Coles will lead a team of 60+ people and will report to MD Steve McArdle.

YPO, a global platform for chief executives, appointed Ying Communications as its PR partner for the 2018 YPO Edge conference in Singapore. YPO has more than 25,000 members from 130 countries, and Ying will handle a regional comms strategy to promote the headline event.

Mcgarrybowen Hong Kong appointed Laura Autier, formerly regional planning director with BBDO, as director of strategic planning. Autier spent time with BBDO in Paris, Beijing and Hong Kong and has worked on clients including Mars (chocolate and petcare) and Doublemint.

Williams Lea Tag has appointed Fred Kendall as executive director, North Asia effective January 15, 2018. Prior to joining Williams Lea Tag, Kendall was managing director at Hogarth & Ogilvy. He has also held various senior agency and client positions in Japan and the United States including positions at TBWA, BBDO and Toyota.

Kantar has appointed MC Lai as CEO of its insights division (Kantar TNS and Kantar Millward Brown) in Malaysia, succeeding Tim Kelsall. Lai, who has been the the company for 20 years, will continue in his current role as MD of Kantar TNS. Kelsall will continue in his role as regional CCO.

MullenLowe Malaysia has appointed Gavin Teoh as business unit director, effective immediately. Previously from Saatchi and Saatchi Malaysia, Teoh has been in the industry for 12 years with roles at creative agencies like Publicis, Bae, JWT and Leo Burnett. 

General insurer MSIG appointed M&C Saatchi Singapore as its AOR for its regional office, MSIG Holdings (Asia) Pte Ltd, based in Singapore. The remit is to drive brand presence and digital transformation across key markets including Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

Singapore production house Millenia Motion Pictures named Nazhath Faheema as its new head of marketing. Faheema has worked with clients in Singapore, Thailand, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, India and Poland.  

Independent Indian creative agency Creativeland Asia has announced it has been selected by Indian knitwear company Rupa to be their creative partner, responsible for creative communication strategy, planning and execution for the following six brands: Frontline, Euro, Thermocot, Bumchums, Torrido and Jon.