Move and win roundup: Week of December 18, 2023

Campaign compiles a new 'Move and win roundup' as each week progresses.  This edition will cover 18 December through 22 December, 2023.  Catch up on past people moves and business wins.

 

Snap Inc. announced that it has established a regional hub in Singapore to further serve its partners and community across the APAC region.  In line with the company's expansion initiatives, Snap has increased its local hires this year, spanning various key regional leadership roles such as sales operations, marketing science, product marketing, advertising support and revenue strategy, including senior roles across APAC such as managing director for Australia and New Zealand, Tony Keusgen, and India’s first managing director, Pulkit Trivedi, both worked for Google before joining Snap.

WFA has unveiled the shortlist for the 2023 Global Marketer of the Year award. An expert jury of 16 marketing leaders considered a host of eligible names submitted by the industry, with each judge nominating their top contenders to create the shortlist. All will be added to the WFA’s Hall of Fame.

Members of the industry can vote for their favourite until 28 January 2024. The winner will be announced in early February 2024.

Alibaba Group CEO Eddie Yongming Wu has been appointed as CEO of Taobao and Tmall Group, a branch of Alibaba. The move comes as Alibaba restructures into six business units to cope with the changing market landscape. Wu, who has been leading Alibaba Group since September 2023, will succeed Trudy Dai, another co-founder of Alibaba, who will focus on creating an asset management firm, as revealed by Joe Tsai, Alibaba Group chairman, in an internal memo. Wu will also continue to serve as the chairman and CEO of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba, which he assumed from Danial Zhang in September.

 

Havas Riverorchid Thailand has now been officially renamed as Havas Thailand. Following the appointment of Aga Giedroyc as the CEO of Havas Thailand, Havas has announced this step towards consolidating its agencies under the 'One Havas' umbrella. The newly renamed unit will integrate disciplines such as media, creative, digital transformation, CX, UX, CRM, SEO/SEM, shopper and retail, activations and sponsorships, PR, and Influencer, under one roof with a single P&L.

"The rebranding initiative marks a pivotal point in our journey, underlining our dedication to growing our integrated solutions under Havas Village with the aim of helping our clients and their businesses grow well and connect with audiences in a meaningful way," stated Aga Giedroyc, CEO, Havas Thailand.

Wildcard, Melbourne creative agency, has expanded its national offering to include PR, communications and digital media. Launched in 2022, the in-house creative team for sports talent and marketing agency TLA Worldwide has previously focused on driving creative, film and digital media outcomes for TLA clients and departments. Effective from 2024, TLA’s existing communications team will bolster Wildcard’s offering with integrated communications strategies and outcomes. The national communications team will be led by Samantha McLaughlin in Sydney, Aaron Buxton in Melbourne and Sam Okely. Okely will join the team in 2024 as PR manager for Adelaide accounts.

Ipsos India has appointed Unni Hariharan as executive director. Hariharan will lead Ipsos' technology and e-commerce operations. He joins Ipsos from Nielsen.He will report to Shalini Sinha, country service line leader, brand health tracking (BHT) and creative excellence (CRE). 

Effie Asia Pacific has appointed Tze Kiat Tan, CEO of BBDO Asia, as the 2024 Awards Chairperson. Tan also serves on the BBDO Global Board of Directors as its first Asian member. Since stepping up as the CEO of BBDO Asia in 2022, she has continued to champion innovation and creative excellence. Testament to Tze Kiat’s visionary influence is her appointment to the Iridium Jury for the 2023 Global Best of the Best Effie Awards. As the co-chairperson, she led the jury in selecting the most effective case of the year worldwide. She also served on the Cannes Lions Creative Business Transformation Jury in 2023 and leads Cannes China Creative Allianz as President. Tan’s other notable accolades include Campaign’s Greater China Agency Head of the Year (2019) and APAC CEO of the Year for Women Leading Change (2020).

VML Commerce wins Brown-Forman Australia’s Shopper Marketing account after a competitive pitch. Appointed as integrated below-the-line agency of record in Australia, VML Commerce will be responsible for delivering end-to-end creative commerce solutions for Brown-Forman’s key retail and on-premise partners, stretching from promotions, shopper marketing, channel strategy and localised brand creative work. Brown-Forman and VML Commerce will work together across the company’s portfolio of brands, led by the iconic Jack Daniel’s range, as well as strong growth brands like El Jimador and Woodford Reserve.

Purple, creative communications agency, has opened its sixth international office in Singapore. Since its inception in London over 25 years ago, Purple has always offered PR services on a global basis; with its new office based in the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District, the agency provides physical support for its clients in Southeast Asia.

Applecrumby, a natural baby products brand, has appointed Havas Malaysia as its integrated communications agency. The appointment will see Havas Malaysia handle the brand’s strategy, creative and social activities across their range of baby products. 

Former Dentsu Media’s chief investment officer Ben Shepherd, who was impacted by recent layoffs at the agency, has been named CEO at Schwartz Media, an independent publisher in Australia. He will start the role in February 2024. 

Australian independent brewery, Mountain Culture, has appointed Bradley Firth as chief marketing officer. Firth was most recently at Koala where he worked for three years as VP global brand strategy and creative. Earlier in his career, he spent six years at Nike’s European and global offices in a number of roles, most recently global brand strategy and creative director.