Move and win roundup: Week of March 4, 2024

We Are Social has made two senior promotions in its Singapore team, with Nai Yen Wang moving into the role of managing director and Kelson Ong as general manager. Wang, previously head of account management, joined We Are Social in 2022. In her new role, she will be responsible for defining and leading We Are Social Singapore’s vision, operational strategy and innovation credentials while delivering growth and building an inclusive, creative and future-facing culture. Ong was previously business director, joining We Are Social in 2021 from Netflix. He will now oversee business development and team management at We Are Social Singapore, ensuring the delivery of innovative and effective solutions for clients.

TSL Media Group has acquired X10 Media, an influencer marketing services agency with a presence in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. By integrating X10 Media into its portfolio, TSL Media Group gains deep strategic and technology capabilities in the realm of influencer marketing. This closes the loop on TSL’s holistic offerings, including media publications and creative services augmented by their proprietary data solutions (audience insights, bespoke polls, and social listening). X10 Media will join TSL Media Group’s commercial division and be led by Nicolle Jayne Sing, who will begin her year-long transition from her operational role as TSL Media Group’s group director to become SVP of X10 Media. Sing will report to chief growth officer Jonathan Seto, who will oversee this new business and maximise the synergies across the organisation.

Online used car platform Carro has announced its acquisition of Beyond Cars, a used car platform in Hong Kong. Beyond Cars was founded in 2016 by CEO Garry Yu. Yu and COO Luke Yi will continue to helm the business in Hong Kong in line with Carro’s overall strategy. Carro will also work towards expanding Beyond Cars’ network of partnerships and further developing ancillary services across insurtech, financing, and aftersales in Hong Kong.

Kshema General Insurance has entrusted Mudramax, DDB Mudra Group’s media arm, for its mandate in India, following a multi-agency pitch. The agency will craft and implement comprehensive media strategies across offline and online platforms, with the core objective of solidifying Kshema's position as the preferred crop insurance solutions provider for Indian farmers.

CIMB Group, one of ASEAN’s leading banking groups, has appointed Toni Darusman as group chief brand & marketing officer following a strategic review of the brand & communications functions to strengthen the brand & marketing team. Darusman helmed the marketing, brand and communications leadership role in CIMB Niaga from 2018 to 2023. Since 2021, his role was expanded to include leading the customer experience function at CIMB Niaga. 

Electriclime has appointed filmmaker Ronan Gali to their director roster for representation in APAC and MENA. Gali is a French film director based in Paris. He started as an art director in major advertising agencies such as BBDO and Saatchi and then travelled back to France as a director, focusing on immersive experiences and strong storytelling themes. He worked with some top beauty brands in the world, such as Dior, L’Oreal and Lancome.

Kristie Cheung has joined HSBC as brand marketing lead for Hong Kong, holding the role of associate marketing director. Cheung was most recently head of marketing communications at Lalamove Hong Kong. A Women to Watch winner in 2022, Cheung masterminded a bold and loud campaign in 2021 with tangible brand and business results. Based on the data from YouGov, Lalamove’s top-of-mind awareness doubled from 18% to 36%, surpassing a primary competitor. Kmatrix also shows that the brand’s affinity increased by 163%.

Carol Fong has been appointed as HubSpot’s head of sales for Asia. Based in Singapore, Fong will lead sales organisation and operations for HubSpot across Asia, driving business growth in partnership with their marketing and customer success teams. Fong was most recently regional VP at Anaplan and held several regional sales leadership roles before that, including regional VP of sales at Salesforce.

George P. Johnson ANZ has promoted Troy Graham to the role of group creative director to shape the agency's creative output and continue its focus on delivering the most important experiences for the country’s most ambitious brands.

Media agency Yango has hired Hannah Mannion for the SEO & content director role, with Mannion having previously worked at agencies like Jaywing, Indago Digital, and PHD in the UK. Eb Yusuf assumes the head of strategy, having worked as marketing lead at 20^th Century Fox and head of strategy for Roadshow Films at OMD. Natalie Murray is appointed head of media planning, having worked at Australian publishers such as Nova Entertainment, SCA, and MTV. Natalie Clark has been promoted to client solutions director in account management, working at Yango since 2017.

Effie Asia Pacific has tapped Josephine Tan, VP, APAC Digital Hub at Diageo, and Nick Handel, president of McCann Worldgroup Southeast Asia and managing director of MRM Asia Pacific, as heads of jury for the APAC Effie Awards 2024. They will lead the jury in upholding the high standards of marketing effectiveness excellence that the Effie Awards stand for. Both experienced jurors return to lead the jury in affirming only the most compelling works in the region.

Dentsu has appointed Elvira Jakub as the chief executive officer for Indonesia. Effective immediately, Jakub will report to the Southeast Asia CEO, Sanjay Bhasin. Jakub, a seasoned marketing transformation expert with 23 years of experience in the Indonesian market joins from Google where she was the head of Industry, overseeing the traditional auto and tech/telco businesses during and after the pandemic. Before that she's honed her skills at Samsung, Nestlé, Leo Burnett, Starcom, and Activate.

Jakub assumes leadership from Prakash Kamdar, who has been at the helm of the network’s Indonesia business since February 2022. In his current role as CEO, Clients and Solutions, SEA role, Kamdar is working towards enhancing Dentsu's client portfolio across the Southeast Asia cluster. He continues to operate from the Singapore hub, where he retains his position as CEO of Dentsu Singapore.

LogRhythm has appointed Joanne Wong as interim chief marketing officer. With over nine years of driving marketing initiatives at LogRhythm, she will now lead all aspects of the company's global brand and marketing strategy, focusing on partnering with sales to grow pipelines, elevate brand visibility, and empower customer satisfaction. Wong will join the executive leadership team and report directly to the president and CEO, Christopher O’Malley.

MMA Global, the leading global trade association for marketers, has appointed Rohit Dadwal as its APAC CEO and global head of Smarties Worldwide. Dadwal brings a wealth of experience to his new roles at MMA Global and Smarties Worldwide. As the CEO of MMA Global APAC, he will spearhead the organisation's mission to empower marketers with the insights, tools, and connections needed to drive business growth in an ever-evolving landscape. 

Dragon Rouge, an independent global branding agency, has boosted its growing Asia team and Singapore business and appointed Saurabh Singh as general manager and Cecylia Grendowicz as strategy director, both effective this month. Singh joined Elmwood Brand Design (formerly Holmes & Marchant) as global business director.  Grendowicz joins from Design Bridge and Partners (formerly Superunion) in Hong Kong and London prior. 

Taboola, a global leader in powering recommendations for the open web, has appointed former Taboola APAC director Joe France as its New Zealand sales lead as it continues to expand its presence in the ANZ market. Under his new remit, France will be responsible for cultivating key partnerships and delivering innovative solutions to meet evolving New Zealand client needs. France worked as its APAC sales and partnership director, based in Thailand, for nearly five years, before taking on digital strategist roles with Tilt Digital New Zealand and PitchMe.

The Sandpiper Group (Sandpiper), the largest independent communications, public affairs, and research group headquartered in Asia Pacific, has announced opening its first office in the Middle East, in Dubai, to support growing client needs in the region.

• Bahjat Homsi will lead Sandpiper Dubai as general manager. Homsi brings in-depth knowledge of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the wider Middle East markets, with more than 20 years of experience in communications, media, and stakeholder engagement. Before joining Sandpiper, Bahjat held senior positions at several network agencies, most recently as director at Edelman Dubai. 
• Unice Liu joined as associate director. Before Sandpiper, Liu led the China operations of an Asia Pacific-based communications consultancy, Baldwin Boyle Group, based in Shanghai for over ten years.

DMCG Global, a creative, marketing and digital recruitment agency, has appointed Asha Ayyamani to its Singapore team of recruitment partners, focusing on roles within design (UX/UI), product management, technology & software engineering and creative. Prior to joining DMCG Global, she was head of HR & recruitment for Nas Company, a media and content production company.

Dentsu India has appointed Narayan Devanathan as president & chief strategy officer, South Asia. He will report to Harsha Razdan, CEO, South Asia, Dentsu. Devanathan returned to the network for a second stint in June last year. He took on the mantle of group chief strategic advisor. In his new capacity, Devanathan is entrusted with the task of executing the network's strategy to deliver industry-defining client solutions at the intersection of marketing, technology, and consulting. 

Foodpanda has appointed Jaslin Goh as the new vice president of marketing. Based in Hong Kong, Goh will report directly to John Fang, CEO of Foodpanda. With over 20 years of experience, she will head the regional marketing function and work closely with local marketing directors to drive growth and brand love across Asia. Goh was most recently chief marketing officer for the mobile payment service PayMe at HSBC, heading marketing, design and customer experience functions. Prior to that, she held senior marketing positions in HSBC’s wealth & personal banking function, WeLab (a virtual bank), and Shangri-La Group. Goh will replace Anna Znamenskaya, who became Foodpanda’s APAC CMO in January 2023. Campaign Asia has named Goh as one of the Women to Watch in 2022. 

M&C Saatchi Australia has appointed The Monkey's Scott Dettrick as joint national executive creative director. Dettrick will work alongside fellow national ECD Emma Robbins. Dettrick, as one of the founding creatives of The Monkeys, has led creative campaigns for brands such as MLA, Canadian Club, Amazon, Audi, Qantas, Telstra, UBank and -196. His work has been recognised at festivals such as Cannes, D&AD, AWARD, Clio, and the Webbys. His work has also won numerous effectiveness awards.

Hyatt Hotel Corporation has appointed Tammy Ng as vice president of marketing for Hyatt Asia Pacific. Ng will strategise and develop communications, brand marketing, loyalty, and digital plans for Hyatt in the Asia Pacific region in her new role. Ng will succeed Karen Chung, who moved to the position of VP of change management and employee experience for APAC earlier this year. Before joining Hyatt, Ng was VP of global marketing, Kitchen and Bath Group at Kohler Co. she worked at Dyson for over nine years and served as MD of Hong Kong and Taiwan before leaving. Ng worked at the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Apple, Ogilvy, Shell and Citi in her early career. 

Sidhanth Gopishetty, former general manager of Asia, marketing and customer engagement at Toys “R” Us, has moved to EMEA and joined The Fung Group as general manager of corporate development based in Dubai. He has worked for over six years at Toys “R” Us. Before that, he also worked at the Fund Group and Fung Retailing Limited in Hong Kong.