Move and win roundup: Week of May 20, 2019

Reuter Communications bolstered its fashion and beauty expertise with the hire of Jerri Ng, former Chief Editor of InStyle China. Ng has over 20 years of experience spanning the publishing, branding and agency worlds. Originally from Singapore, Jerri has lived in London, Paris, Hong Kong, and Shanghai before.

UM China appointed Joni Ngai as chief product officer. Ngai brings more than 20 years of experience across agencies and tech companies in Asia Pacific and North America, with half spent in China. Most recently, she was chief digital officer at WPP’s dedicated Ford business unit - GTB. At the same time, Alex Tan became China managing director, moving from his previous role of chief client officer which he held for one year.

Digital brand agency Bonsey Jaden has named its first full-time employee, Taryn Mook, as group COO and has hired Scott Nelson as director of strategy and planning. As part of her new role, Mook will be making some key changes to the organisation’s structure and service offerings to evolve into a more modular and agile business. Nelson's responsibilities consist of leading clients with digital-first brand strategies and experiences.

Publicis Media appointed Robert Fry as regional director of research and insights for Asia-Pacific, reporting to Navaneeta Das, head of product and client development. Fry has over 20 years of experience in research and consumer insights, including 10 years in roles for the GroupM, Mindshare and MediaCom. He was most recently MD of Emotivate Research and Analytics, which followed a stint as chief client officer of Voxpopme, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also has past experience at Kantar Millward Brown and PointLogic Asia.

Porsche China Motors appointed Ruder Finn for its PR retainer in Hong Kong after a pitch involving local and international agencies. This is the first time Porsche China has awarded a retainer in Hong Kong market. The scope of work includes corporate communications, integrated media communications, media workshops and dealers’ event support, for all model lines and motorsports. Porsche China will also tap into Ruder Finn Asia’s social media expertise and integrated capabilities.

Craft APAC, the creative production arm of McCann Worldgroup, has appointed Esther Yue as their new regional solutions and production operations director based in Shanghai. There, Yue will identify custom solutions for clients and will manage the development of new capabilities and areas of expertise. Yue joins from Dentsu Aegis Network, where she led D’Works Singapore; she also previously managed operations at Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore.

Grey Philippines promoted Paulo Correa to creative director from associate creative director. He joined Grey four years ago and has worked with clients including Wyeth, Sanofi, Gillette, Rockwell, Joy and Ambipur. He is also the co-founder of _Revision Collective, a group of advertising creatives who showcase their creations through art exhibits, and he recently finished his third solo exhibit at Nova Gallery Manila, entitled Fleeting Lines and Bygones.

VMLY&R signed a partnership with digital agency Ada, bringing the latter's telco-enabled consumer data and intelligence services into the former's digital marketing offering. Together, VMLY&R and Ada will provide clients with better, more targeted insights and marketing intelligence, leveraging Ada's consumer data from over 300 million unique profiles. 

Digitas established its Singapore operations its new ASEAN hub. The unit comprises services including digital retail innovation, experience design, CRM, data analytics and more. Rika Sharma was promoted from Singapore MD to ASEAN MD, and her leadership team includes Lauren Ahearn as ASEAN head of client services, Mark Teal as ASEAN head of partnerships, and Barry Edwards as ASEAN technology director. 

Lotame promoted Evgeny Popov, formerly VP of data solutions in APAC, to head of global data solutions. Based in New York, he will be responsible for driving data revenue globally for the Lotame Data Exchange, reporting to Jason Downie, chief strategy officer. The company has hired Zuzana Urbanova, formerly senior sales at Snapchat APAC, as head of data solutions for APAC. She has relocated from Sydney to Singapore for the role.

Changi Airport Group (CAG) reappointed Bounche Indonesia as its social-media agency in Indonesia after working with the agency for more than a year. The client held a pitch in mid-January.

Brand and design agency DesignStudio appointed Mark Liney as principal for its Sydney studio. He joins from Re, M&C Saatchi’s brand and design consultancy, where he was managing partner in Sydneyand worked with clients including Optus, Commonwealth Bank and Woolworths. Prior to Re, he spent four years at Landor in Sydney and London.

Eyewear brand Lenskart appointed Lowe Lintas as creative agency following a multi-agency pitch.  The account will be handled out of Lowe Lintas Bangalore, and the scope entails building online and offline brand campaigns.