Move and win roundup: Week of November 27, 2017

J Walter Thompson announced that Bob Hekkelman is leaving the region after 16 years with WPP in Asia. He was CEO of JWT Bangkok for a decade and also served as Southeast Asia CEO until the recent appointment of Jacco ter Schegget. APAC CEO John Gutteridge praised Hekkelman, who plans to return to his native Netherlands, for his "immense contribution" and "considerable positive impact" to the network. Ter Schegget will oversee Thailand on an interim basis as the company seeks a new Thailand CEO. 

Casbaa, the principal trade association for TV, video platforms, advertising and video delivery in Asia-Pacific, appointed Louis Boswell chief executive officer succeeding outgoing CEO Christopher Slaughter.  Boswell, whose background in Asia includes senior positions at Discovery, ESPN Star Sports, BBC, AETN All Asia Networks and, most recently, Da Vinci, will begin his tenure on 1 January 2018.

AdAsia Holdings appointed Jun Ogawa as country manager in Japan as well as regional director of advertiser engagement. He was held leadership roles at Kaizen Platform, Recruit Holdings and Google Japan, where he was one of the founding members and led the industry and agency sales teams. He reports to Kosuke Sogo, CEO and co-founder.

Cognito, a financial services and technology communications agency, appointed Darrell Wright as regional managing director for Asia Pacific. He has more than 15 years of experience in communications, including a decade in-house with J.P. Morgan, Barclays and The Royal Bank of Scotland. He replaces Tim Williamson, who has left the firm.

VICE Media has named Nilesh Zaveri chief operating officer and chief financial officer of VICE Asia Pacific based out of Singapore. Zaveri formerly served as CFO and SVP of finance and corporate operations for Discovery Networks APAC.

Cognito appointed Darrel Wright as the APAC managing director.

PPR appointed Michael Pooley CEO for Australia and New Zealand. He was formerly chief operating officer and has spent 10 years at PPR in various roles including group director, general manager of the Sydney agency and COO for ANZ. He has led some of the agency’s largest accounts, including Woolworths, Emirates and Subway.

The Economist appointed DEC PR to lead its strategic public relations remit across Australia. The agency will lead brand-building initiatives.

MediaCorp appointed Ivan Wong as lead, agency brands and solutions, a newly created role reporting to Parminder Singh, chief commercial and digital officer. Wong was previously commercial director at SPH Magazines, and spent 10 years with Mindshare prior to that.

Singapore-based online media company Connected to India has brought in 20-year TV industry veteran and journalist Punam Sharrma as head of content. 

Starbucks appointed Iris as creative agency of record, and to digital and social duties, following a pitch. The agency will support the brand across 15 markets, with new work expected to launch in Q2 2018.  

The Taiwan Tourism Bureau awarded Singapore-based NewBase Content two multi-platform campaigns following an open tender. The agency will deliver campaigns in Australia and Singapore, including content development, PR, social-media management and media planning and buying across print, out-of-home, radio and online.

International education company EF chose Sweden-based North Kingdom as its design partner on projects for the China, Russia and Indonesia markets. EF provides language learning and study-abroad opportunities.

Eyeota appointed Andrew Tu as APAC managing director, succeeding Trent Lloyd who moves into a global role as the new EVP of global publisher strategy and products. Tu joins from The Trade Desk. The company also appointed Peter Hunter as general manager for Australia and New Zealand, reporting to Tu. Hunter was previously commercial director at Quantcast ANZ.

TCS Holdings appointed Manal Ahmed as the brand manager for the B2B portfolio in Pakistan.

Tribal Worldwide China appointed Roc Zhao as ECD of its Shanghai office. Formerly creative partner at Nurun, Zhao now works with Allen Wang, MD of Tribal Worldwide to provide full digital marketing and social media services. He reports to Danny Chan, chief creative officer of DDB China Group.

International Business Council appointed Saad Siddiqui as its head of business in Pakistan.

Singapore Institute of Management appointed UM its media agency of record, helping the private education organisation with its transformation efforts. David Haddad, IPG Mediabrands Singapore managing director, said UM will advise SIM on "revisualising the education models for today's consumer".

The 2018 APAC Effie Awards added Joanna Flint, the managing director of Google’s Agency Business for Asia Pacific, and Rupen Desai, vice chairman of Edelman for Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, to its head of jury lineup.

Ruder Finn India won the communications retainer for Tata AIA Life in a competitive pitch.

Landor Sydney appointed Tom Carey and Matty Johnson as creative directors to lead the brand and consumer teams, respectively, reporting to ECD Giles Day. Carey has worked in agencies with brands including Telstra, BBC, and Universal Music, while Johnson has experience in the UK, Singapore and Australia working with clients such as Diageo, Unilever and Beam Suntory.

Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) appointed IPG Mediabrands as its creative, media planning and buying, and digital agency of record. The contract, led by Ansible and Society, started in October for a period of six months.