Move and win roundup: Week of January 13, 2025

Media industry veteran Ranganathan Somanathan has joined Billups, a US-based independent out-of-home agency, as its first chief global growth officer. Somanathan’s career includes roles as CEO and advisor at Publicis Media Malaysia and Singapore, co-founder of consultancy RSquared Global Ventures, and CEO of OMG Singapore and Malaysia. His appointment comes alongside other leadership changes at Billups, with Dave Williams promoted to global head of commercial and investment and Tony Stoering named global head of client development. The agency is focusing on global expansion through a strategy of building, acquiring, and organic growth.

Charlie Lowe announced via a LinkedIn post that he has joined Design Bridge & Partners as chief strategy officer for APAC. He will work out of the Singapore office of the UK-headquartered WPP firm. He moved from McCann Worldgroup, where he was the chief strategy officer for APAC.

UK-based consultancy Folgate Advisors has announced the addition of 21 experts as independent advisors. With these appointments in place, the consultancy, which three former Omnicom executives launched, has expanded its presence across geographies, including the UK, the US, Europe and Asia. The Asia-specific advisors include Rob van Alphen (Ho Chi Minh City and Dubai), Shafaat Hussain (Singapore and Bangkok), and Arun Sudhaman (Bengaluru). Hussain was most recently MD at Omnicom Public Relations Group; van Alphen was head of strategy and innovation at Sandpiper Singapore, and Sudhaman has extensive experience as editor and CEO of PR-focused publication Provoke Media before transitioning into a non-executive advisor role last October.   

Chinese automotive manufacturer Geely Auto has appointed Havas Media as the media partner for its agency Village, complementing the creative efforts of Havas Host. Dentsu will handle public relations and website development. Havas Media is set to launch Geely's first consumer engagement campaign in Australia, focusing on digital, social, and out-of-home channels to highlight the brand's innovation and technology, particularly in anticipation of the upcoming EX5 electric car.

The Hoffman Agency has announced strategic promotions and hires across Southeast Asia, led by Maureen Tseng, managing director of Southeast Asia. Key appointments include Vanessa Lee as associate account director, digital; Vivien Law, focusing on key accounts in Singapore; and Chee Kun Tan joining as account director in Malaysia. Shinta Widianti and Panji Pratama have been appointed account directors and associate account directors to support deputy general manager Niko Radityo in Indonesia.  Prangthong Jitcharoenkul and Jennine Aremanapong join the Bangkok team as associate account directors and account executives to assist Clarence Lim, director of Southeast Asia.

Omnicom Public Relations Group (OPRG) has appointed Mei Lee as Singapore's senior vice president and managing director. FleishmanHillard manages OPRG’s Singapore operation, and Lee will report to Joanne Wong, Asia Pacific president and senior partner at FleishmanHillard. Lee brings over 22 years of global, multidisciplinary experience in strategy consulting, marketing, digital transformation, media and general management. Before OPRG, she was a partner at Boston Consulting Group in Singapore. Prior to that, Lee served as senior vice president of strategic marketing at Lazada, part of the Alibaba Group, in Singapore. Before relocating to Singapore in 2015, she held senior roles at several leading organisations in the United States, including Conde Nast, J. Crew, Omnicom Media Group and The Walt Disney Company. 

Melbourne-based AI advertising agency Cuttable has appointed Paul Arena, the former head of strategy and planning at Ogilvy Australia, as its new head of strategy. With nearly 20 years of experience from agencies like TBWA and BWM Isobar, where he worked with major brands such as Cadbury and Toyota, Arena will lead strategic initiatives to enhance Cuttable's AI capabilities, aiming to deliver sharper recommendations and more impactful creative outputs.

Cheil Indonesia has appointed Fajar NF as executive creative director. Before joining Cheil, he was senior creative director at Innocean Indonesia. Prior to that, he served as head of creative at Ismaya Group and spent 14 years at Hakuhodo Indonesia. As ECD, Fajar will lead Cheil Indonesia’s creative direction, overseeing the agency’s portfolio and driving its mission to produce innovative and impactful campaigns. 

Initiative will continue to manage Goodman Fielder’s media account in Australia. The new contract has already commenced. Initiative has retained the company’s above-the-line (ATL) media, including strategy, planning, buying, implementing and reporting as well as plus the below-the-line (BTL) media, including retail marketing planning. The media agency was first appointed as Goodman Fielder’s ATL partner in 2020 and was awarded its BTL retail marketing planning in early 2023. Goodman Fielder owns major grocery brands in Australia including Helga’s, Wonder bread, Praise, White Wings, CSR Sugar, Pampas, Meadowlea, Equal, ETA, Buttercup, and Gold’n Canola.

Zitcha, a unified retail media platform, has appointed Debra Berman and Jonathan Waeckeras as senior advisors since the company expanded to the US and other key markets. Berman is a former chief marketing officer for Yahoo and JCPenney. She also led account planning for Kraft Foods. Waecker has nearly two decades of global marketing and retail experience, holding senior marketing and global executive roles at Yahoo, The Walt Disney Company, Zynga and most recently at The Warehouse Group, New Zealand’s largest retail group. 

Mutant, a strategic communications agency in Southeast Asia, has promoted Abraham Christopher to regional head of client success. Since joining the Mutant’s Singapore-based team in 2021, he was most recently head of PR and social media. Before Mutant, Christopher worked at Weber Shandwick, Edelman and Fulford PR. In this role, Abraham will spearhead the agency’s mission to deliver transformative, integrated, and results-driven communication solutions for clients.

Orange Line, an independent digital marketing agency, has been named the digital marketing partner for The Australian Institute of Personal Trainers (AIPT) and Foundation Education. Orange Line will manage paid media, SEO, CRO, content, and data and analytics for both brands. AIPT and Foundation Education deliver  nationally accredited education programmes across Australia.  

Porsche Cars has appointed Dig as its new creative agency in Australia following an extensive pitch. The incumbent DDB Melbourne first won the account in 2015 and retained the business in 2019. The partnership started in November 2024 to launch the new Macan, with plans for 2025 now in full swing. Dig will work alongside media agency PHD and social media agency 10 Feet Tall.

Sight, the boutique event production and experiential agency headquartered in Singapore, has announced the appointments of new staff and an expansion in the UAE and Australia.

• Glenn Ang joins as director of strategic partnerships for APAC and EMEA. Before Sight, Ang was head of growth at Twenty20 Experiential Marketing based in Singapore.
• Andrew Churchill joins as director of strategy and synergy for APAC, based in Australia. Prior to Sight, Churchill was a senior media advisor of the Queensland Government in Australia.
• The creative team welcomes new leadership with Alexander Ng as group creative director and Rid Aziz as senior 3D designer as well as Ang Xin Yi as senior motion graphics designer. 

Unilever has appointed Dennis Perez as its new head of marketing for the Philippines and marketing transformation lead for Greater Asia, beauty and wellbeing. In this role, he will drive demand creation in the Philippines and the broader Southeast Asia region, as well as Japan and Korea. Perez, who joined Unilever over 23 years ago, was digital marketing, media and commerce (DMC) lead at Unilever beauty and wellbeing, Southeast Asia, before the promotion.