Move and win roundup: Week of March 28, 2022

Publicis Groupe appointed Sarah Ko as executive creative director at PG One Singapore, Publicis Groupe’s dedicated unit for P&G brands, effective today. She was previously regional group creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore. She moves into the role following Ajay Thrivikraman’s appointment as chief creative officer for Southeast Asia in March. Thrivikraman’ previously led all creative work for PG One in his former role as chief creative officer for global clients.

TBWA Hakuhodo promoted Takahiro Hosoda to chief creative officer, with immediate effect. He was previously executive creative director at the agency for two years. He takes over from Kazoo Sato, who will assume a new role within TBWA, which will be announced in the coming weeks.

Iris appointed Ramani Amar as head of people for APAC. She was previously the director of HR and talent for Singapore and Hong Kong at McCann Worldgroup.

BBDO Asia Interone China managing director Yang Guang left the agency and has been replaced by Catherine Zhu. She was previously general manager of Interone's Shanghai office.

Yahoo promoted John McNerney to senior director of platforms for APAC and Dan Richardson to head of data for APAC. In his previous role, McNerney was director of platforms for Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). Richardson was previously head of data for ANZ. 

Qantas named Petra Perry as group CMO. She was previously CMO for Qantas Loyalty and enterprise manager for customer operations and digital. She replaces Jo Boundy, who announced her departure to join Commonwealth Bank as CMO in December. Perry has been with Qantas for about six years and has also held roles at Mastercard, Virgin Australia and American Express.

Weber Shandwick has promoted Blake Hoo to general manager of its Malaysia operations. Hoo joined the agency in 2012 as account director and gradually climbed the ranks. He also spent two years at the agency’s Korea outpost to undertake domestic communications for global brands operating in the country as well as outbound digital communications and integrated marketing programmes for Korean conglomerates operating in global markets. In his new role, Hoo will work closely with Joanna Ooi, EVP (healthcare) and Adli Abdul Karim, EVP (corporate).

Marriott International appointed lifestyle marketing and communications agency Éclair to manage its content marketing scope in China. The agency will develop seasonal creative campaigns and video content to engage existing and new customers of the global rewards program Marriott Bonvoy across its official Chinese social-media accounts.

XWP, a global web development provider, appointed Myles Lagolago-Craig as global chief executive. Lagolago-Craig has worked at News Corp Australia for the past 20 years and served as the director of publishing technology and services since June 2020. He will guide the Melbourne-headquartered company to tackle technological challenges in digital publishing, onboard digital and engineering talent from around the globe, and enable the compamy's clients to tell their stories in new and exciting ways, the company said. The company has employees in more than 30 countries, and its customers include Automattic, Rolling Stone and Google.

ADM Group, an independent marketing-services business, appointed Hina Wainwright as global chief marketing officer. Based in Hong Kong, she will drive global marketing strategy, primarily focusing on brand awareness, growth marketing and customer experience. She joins from Neon Leaders, a community of independent marketing leaders for-hire. Prior to that she was global and regional head of marketing for Williams Lea and Tag.

The Victorian government’s Department of Transport appointed Clemenger BBDO Melbourne as creative lead agency of record, taking on responsibility for brands including Public Transport Victoria, VicRoads and Regional Roads Victoria. The appointment will see the agency develop communications to encourage commuters back onto all modes of public transport, manage road congestion and disruptions messaging and promote safety.

Bastion Creative appointed Angela Morris as national chief strategy officer and Ana Lynch as Sydney managing partner. Morris was previously national chief strategy officer at Wunderman Thompson and has over 20 years of global experience. Lynch also joins from Wunderman Thompson, where she was a partner directing multinational and domestic clients. 

Visit Victoria reappointed Lintas Live, a digital-first creative PR agency, for PR and digital strategy in India. The tenure of the current engagement will be for a two-year period, and the agency has crossed the 10-year milestone of serving as the brand’s PR and communications partner. 

Australia's Nunn Media announced the addition of three clients to its roster, all without pitches: the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA), Anker, a maker of charging and smart devices for entertainment, travel and smart homes, and Harley Heaven, a Harley-Davidson dealership network in Australia.

FTI Consulting promoted Prasanto K. Roy to managing director in Delhi. The agency also hired Kartik Berry as a director and Vidushi Gupta as a senior consultant in Delhi, and Kerban Rajdeo as a senior consultant and Devanshu Jain as a consultant in Mumbai. Roy has more than 30 years of experience in executive communications, public advocacy and corporate reputation counsel. Berry previously founded and ran an independent policy advisory consultancy, Quogent Consulting, in Delhi. Rajdeo joins from the EdelGive Foundation, the sustainable investment arm of Edelweiss Group, where she led the communications function in India. Gupta joins from the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, where she led the tax policy team, working closely with the government of India on tax and economic policy design. Jain previously worked at a financial communications firm.

Media Publishares, publisher of Esquire, Robb Report and Vogue Singapore, promoted Natasha Damodaran to managing director and Alexander Trefilov to chief operating officer. Damodaran, previously marketing director, will manage day-to-day business, as well as new business opportunities, alongside the publishers and chief editors, while continuing to lead the marketing teams. Trefilov, who will overlook corporate finance, legal, internal procedures and communication with licensing partners and stakeholders, was previously GM at Media Publishares’ (previously Indochine Media) Philippines. 

Australian energy retailer Powershop appointed Magic as its digital agency of record. The remit includes digital strategy, development of adtech, martech, mathematical modelling, media-buying, social amplification and performance media. Work commences immediately with the first campaign to market expected in April.

CupShup, a full-service agency, is launching operation in Kolkata this month. The agency is currently operational in Pune, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The overall operations and expansion for the Kolkata office and the new offices will be headed by Nikshit Patani, who was recently promoted to VP of growth.

IProspect Malaysia will now manage Traveloka’s regional media planning and services. The agency will be responsible for all above-the-line media planning and buying across Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines, and will also be setting up a regional media strategy hub based out of Kuala Lumpur.

Communications agency Bud has picked up a slate of tech clients including DHL Express, MindFi, Capgemini Invent, Tokocrypto, Yellow.ai, and MoEngage. The services cover a range of integrated communications services including content, events, creative campaigns, social media and community counsel, brand and strategic messaging.