Move and win roundup: Week of August 14, 2023

Tin Pei Ling, Member of Parliament, has stepped down from her role as director of corporate development at Grab after eight months, in accordance to her post on LinkedIn. She will be pursuing a fintech role focused on driving change in the payments industry. Tin thanked Grab for her invaluable experience, and shared she's excited to have the opportunity to support her new company through product innovation efforts and expansion into key Asia-Pacific markets. 

Sam Way has been promoted to VP of Digital Acceleration for the Coca-Cola Company for ASEAN and the South-Pacific. Sharing the news of his role via LinkedIn, Way will focus on enterprise-growth for Coca-Cola, leading end-to-end strategy and eRetail capabilities, as well as oversight of data and digital strategy. Way joined Coca-Cola in 2013 as a senior brand manager focused on flavours in South-Pacific.

Samantha Shuttleworth has been appointed head of strategy & transformation at Construct Digital. Shuttleworth will be responsible for overseeing the development and execution of the company’s strategic initiatives, aligned with the company's vision to lead ASEAN in transformation consultancy and delivery. Prior to joining Construct Digital, Shuttleworth was product strategy director at R/GA Singapore, leading product and experience strategy to commercialise emerging technologies and digital products across APAC.

Specsavers has appointed TBWA\Melbourne as its creative services agency in Australia and New Zealand, following a recent competitive pitch process. The appointment will see TBWA\Melbourne supporting Specsavers with creative leadership and strategy. Specsavers were impressed with TBWA's approach to collaboration and clear insights in the pitch that directly linked to compelling examples of the disruptive creative they’re known for.

3M, the technology and manufacturing major, has appointed Initiative as its APAC media agency of record. The regional appointment is effective immediately and Initiative’s remit will cover 13 markets including South Korea, Japan, Australia, India, Singapore and more; will encompass all media and buying duties for the portfolio of brands across 3M’s Consumer Business Group segment.

Kumar Saurav, the global mobile business head at AdCounty Media India will now be spearheading the strategic division of the company as its CSO. Saurav's experience spans 16 years with expertise in TV, print, radio and digital marketing verticals. He has led the firm's division alongside formulating strategic business alliances for the programmatic and user-acquisition ecosystem.

Robert Woolfrey has joined Twilio as their regional VP, Communications Sales, APJ. Prior to this, Woolfrey has had a diverse range of experience across platforms like InMobi, Millennial Media, Amobee and most recently at Fyllo. 

VMLY&R has appointed Saw Gin Toh as its new head of strategy for Singapore. In her new role, Toh will lead and plan the development and growth of the strategy team, helping to grow business and build trusted connections with key clients and partners. Prior to joining VMLY&R, Toh was head of strategy consulting at Dentsu Consulting, based in Shanghai. 

Mat Baxter has returned to Australia, and he continues to be the global CEO of Huge, IPG’s creative tech shop, moving away from the agency’s base in New York. Baxter was chairman and global CEO of Initiative before joining Huge in 2021. He also served as global chief strategy and creative officer at IPG Mediabrands. Before moving to the US, Baxter was UM Worldwide CEO in Australia. 

AnyMind Group has announced that Kosuke Sogo, CEO and co-founder of AnyMind Group, has been appointed to the Asia Pacific board of MMA Global. The Asia Pacific board of MMA Global also comprises of executives from Google, Meta, Grab, TikTok, Publicis, Procter & Gamble, Inmobi, Income Insurance, Dept, UN:ventures, Advent International, Anzu.io and H+. 

Meltwater has announced two new senior hires to spearhead its customer journey and business functions.

• Huixian Yang has been appointed as customer experience director (APAC). With over a decade of experience in customer success at leading technology brands like Google, SAP, Microsoft and Fuji-Xerox, Yang will bring her data-driven approach to deliver customer excellence and shape Meltwater’s global customer success framework.
• Jeff Piniros has been named as sales development director (APAC). Joining from Salesforce, he will be responsible for pipeline generation to drive revenue and growth goals while nurturing and growing the next generation of sales talent.

Priceline Pharmacy has appointed Initiative as its new media agency, effective immediately. Initiative’s remit covers all media strategy, planning and buying for offline and online, including display, performance and addressable. The account had been held for nine years by PHD Melbourne, as PHD first won the account in 2014.

Dentsu Philippines has been appointed integrated media agency of record for Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC), the parent company of Jollibee, effective immediately.

Bobby Pawar, chairperson and chief creative officer, Havas India, has decided to leave the agency and move away from advertising, after joining them five years ago. He will remain with them until September 2023, continuing to consult with Havas as necessary. Pawar has previously worked with JWT, DDB Mudra, Ogilvy and BBDO across India and the USA. Campaign India has the full story.

Melissa Henson has announced her departure from Manulife in a LinkedIn post, after eight years with the insurance company. She expressed her gratitude to the team and wrote, “So extremely grateful to everyone that’s been part of my Manulife journey, most especially my team of superstars, who have outdone themselves many times over." Henson was senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Manulife, Philippines, joining them in 2015. Henson was also a member of Campaign’s Power List in 2022. Before Manulife, she worked for Philippine Bank of Communications, and Citibank in the US and the Philippines. 

Bear Meets Eagle On Fire (BMEOF), a creative studio, has appointed Cass Jam as creative director. Before joining BMEOF, Jam spent four years at CHE Proximity in Australia, where she was instrumental in winning and shaping campaigns for IKEA, Samsung and eBay. Prior to that, she spent five years with Leo Burnett in London.

Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) has appointed Today the Brave as its creative agency. Appointed to accelerate the brand’s strategy and creativity, Today the Brave will be supporting CCL to help drive Australians to reappraise, experience, and embrace the value of a cruise. Carnival Cruise Line is the considered amongst the world's top cruise lines, and was the first to sail over 100 million guests. Since Today the Brave’s launch in mid-2022, the agency has worked with clients including True North, Coposit, Zambrero, the University of Sydney, AMP North, News Corp, HOYTS and Mercury Capital.

Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia has appointed We Are Social Singapore as its new creative agency for Southeast Asia. The company’s focus over the last decade has predominantly been centred around localising games for the different regions. As their creative and strategic agency, We Are Social Singapore will spearhead the development of Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia's initiatives, focusing on localised content for Southeast Asian countries to enhance the brand’s consumer journey and engagement across its various touchpoints.

Zitcha has integrated Pinterest into its retail media platform with the Warehouse Group, as the first retailer in the region to implement it. This new move enables brand advertisers to reach millions of Pinterest users in Australia and around the world by leveraging retailers’ first-party data to effectively reach and track online purchases via closed-loop attribution. 

Fox & Co, an animation studio, has officially launched in Australia. With the establishment of the Australian branch, Fox & Co is enhancing connections and catalysing creative synergy within the region. Renowned for its expertise in 2D animation, 3D animation, virtual production, and VFX, Fox & Co is poised to be the go-to partner for brands, agencies, and production companies looking for top-tier animation and visual solutions. The studio was founded by Phyo Thu in Wellington, New Zealand, in 2015.