Move and win roundup: Week of January 3, 2022

Wavemaker promoted Ann Lim, formerly chief client officer of Wavemaker China, to managing director for Northeast Asia, taking responsibility for both the Japan and Korea offices. In addition, the agency promoted both Ryoko Maeta and Hae Lee to be the general managers at Wavemaker Japan and Wavemaker Korea, respectively. Lim will report jointly to Michael Beecroft, CEO of GroupM Northeast Asia, and Gordon Domlija, CEO of Wavemaker Asia-Pacific. She will be based in Tokyo.

Ogilvy Malaysia appointed Eddy Nazarullah as creative director. He was most recently with Reprise Digital for about two years and prior to that was with MullenLowe Malaysia for about eight years. He will report to Adrian Miller, chief creative officer of Ogilvy Malaysia and will oversee the agency’s Nestlé business which includes Milo, Nestlé Omega Plus, Nestlé Health Science and Wyeth Nutrition. Nazarullah will work alongside creative directors Jaz Lee and Shariar Ghafar.

Ogilvy Beijing announced a restructuring that sees president Selina Teng leaving after 22 years with the agency to pursue personal development. Meanwhile, the agency appointed Yanyan Yang, formerly chief creative specialist at Tencent Advertising, as group executive creative director of Ogilvy Beijing. She will work with current Beijing Group executive creative director Youguang Zhu to strengthen the leadership of the creative department and bring expertise in digital platforms and data to the team. In addition, the agency appointed Sun Chang as vice president of Ogilvy Beijing Platform. She previously worked for Bytedance for agency relations, and will report to Angel Chan, chief growth officer of Ogilvy China, based in Beijing. Both Yang and Sun have worked at Ogilvy earlier in their careers.

Lion & Lion appointed Rebecca Lai as business director in Singapore. She previously worked for Oliver, leading the UStudio Singapore and Bayer Southeast Asia teams, specialising in in-house content creation for the clients. At Lion & Lion she will report to CEO Fredrik Gumpel and will be responsible for expanding Lion & Lion’s offerings in Singapore and the region. Her career spans more than 15 years and includes agencies in the WPP and Omnicom groups. 

Nicole McMillan, vice president FMCG Hong Kong and Group Marketing for DKSH, has been appointed as the 2022 Awards chairwoman for Effie Asia Pacific. She was previously head of Jury for the 2017 edition of the awards. McMillan was a member of Campaign Asia-Pacific’s Power List 2020 and is a board member of The Marketing Society in Hong Kong and a member of the Australasian Advisory Board of the Ehrenburg Bass Institute for Marketing Science.

Gozoop, a marketing group based has elevated co-founder Ahmed Aftab Naqvi as the group’s global CEO from his current role as CEO of India. In his new role, Ahmed will now lead operations in the Middle East region while overseeing the India business. Additionally, he will continue to diversify Gozoop's service offerings, drive strategic acquisitions and identify new markets to further the group’s international expansion, the firm announced.

Havas Group has appointed Aaron Xia as head of Omni Channel Planning, Havas Media Group China. Xia will work with the team to create the more accurate and effective media solutions for brand clients of Havas Media. Xia has over 16 years of media experience and was head of media planning and buying for numerous foreign brands across fashion, lifestyle and entertainment. 

Penta Esports in India has named Anand Rajwanshi as the chief creative officer. Prior to joining Penta, Rajwanshi was chief operating officer with Azzura International.

Malaysia-based  Adwork and Singapore’s media organisation SPH Media have collaborated to launch a cross-border media advertising service offering. Through this initiative, Malaysian SMEs can advertise their business in Singapore. Adwork is a global platform, where any advertiser can buy Malaysian advertising media. As part of its regional expansion, Adwork is introducing Singaporean advertising media to advertisers starting in January 2022.

UnRavel Digital Marketing has signed a digital marketing agreement with Malaysia headquartered Maestro Swiss Group to revitalise and expand the company’s product offering, Vico Chocolate Malt Beverage. The agency will work with Maestro to spread more awareness of the beverage utilising not only digital platforms but also through other mediums such as radio, print and even food delivery platforms.

Paradigm Consulting, the Hong Kong headquartered independent communications advisory firm, has expanded its core team with three new hires. 

• Mark Wright has joined as director of Growth and Business Development. He has a background in team management and growth initiatives for a number of Hong Kong based sports and recreation institutes including New World Group, Cricket Hong Kong as well as Hong Kong Cricket Club. 
• Keith Yuen takes up the role of senior consultant. He started his career in broadcast journalism and then in video production as well as working for Arup, HSBC and Thyssenkrupp
• Raybin Lam has been hired as a senior graphic designer 

PR Professionals has won the PR & Digital mandate of Eldeco Group. The firm will help the real estate group enhance its trust among all the stakeholders through communication strategies implemented across all platforms.

Teneo names Lauren Chung as CEO of the firm’s APAC strategy and communications business. In her new role, she will drive growth across regional offices including Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo. Prior to this, she was COO of Teneo’s APAC business since 2017 where she advised CEOs and C-suites on achieving their strategic goals through stakeholder engagement and reputation challenges. Chung us also a board director of The Fred Hollows Foundation (Hong Kong), chairs the Women in Business Network at the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, and sits on a board committee for Mother’s Choice. Meanwhile, APAC CEO of Teneo Damien Ryan has transitioned to a senior advisor role within the company. According to a LinkedIn post, Ryan remain engaged with the business and will continue to support client growth while stepping away from day-to-day management.

Endowus, a digital wealth platform, has appointed Grace Chiang as its head of PR and communications. A communications veteran with over 15 years of experience, Chiang joins Endowus from superapp Grab, where she was the public relations lead.

APRW, a communications agency based in Singapore, has expanded its team in Indonesia, with the addition of associate director, Debora Prescillia, along with some other team members. Prescilla was previously head of marketing and communications at MNC Life Insurance. 

Ferns N Petals, a flower and gifts retailer in India, appointed Mullen Lintas Delhi to handle its creative duties after a multi-agency pitch process. Mullen Lintas will be responsible for the brand's strategy and creative output.

Yellophant Digital has won the digital mandate for Beleaf Organics, an online supermarket for organic food. The Mumbai-based agency will manage the brand's overall digital marketing strategy, ranging from executing social media campaigns as well as media spends, SEO, ORM to website hygiene.

Lion & Lion appointed Frederik Rasmussen as client director in Malaysia. He will lead the business development department while also managing the agency’s top tier clients, reporting to CEO Fredrik Gumpel. Rasmussen was most recently with Dentsu as a senior consultant, where his clients included BMW and Burger King. He also has experience with Vizeum and Falck.