Move and win roundup: PHD, Resn, Cadreon, Mindshare, Ogilvy, more

PEOPLE MOVES

Kantar TNS appointed Lynn Zhang as managing director in China. She joins from Nielsen, where she served as vice president for qualitative practice and emerging business for Greater China for six years.

PHD Hong Kong appointed Michael Lee as head of digital. He was previously senior manager for iCrossing, a digital marketing agency based in San Francisco.

Society Malaysia, the content marketing agency of IPG Mediabrands, appointed Kelvin Sim as GM. He was previously head of digital services and activation marketing at DiGi Telecommunications.

Resn promoted Ted Meng from general manager for China to chief executive officer for Asia. Global CEO Rik Campbell said Meng has been instrumental in establishing the digital agency’s China operations as he spent the last year setting up Resn Labs in Shenzhen.

IPG Mediabrands Japan appointed Hiroki Ito to lead its ad tech unit Cadreon. Ito was most recently with Google, where he spent four years. He had also been with Netyear, Oracle and Wunderman. Hiroku will report to Anthony Plant, CEO of IPG Mediabrands Japan, and Yean Cheong, Head of Cadreon APAC.

Panduranga Mattu has been named Mindshare’s new Unilever lead in Thailand, after serving previously in the same role for sub-Saharan Africa.

Mindshare also appointed Nick Barger as managing partner leading Mindshare Singapore’s HSBC account and its use of the VULCAN performance marketing engine.  Prior to Mindshare, Barger was sales lead for Blis Hong Kong.

CtrlShift hired Khairul Syahar Khalid as senior director of business development in Malaysia. He has 16 years of experience including with Malaysian Airlines and Nestle Malaysia. He sits on the Malaysian Advertisers Association (MAA) council.

ICYMI: Other moves and news from this week Accenture buys The Monkeys W Asia to handle launch PR for new Singapore Park Hotel Sling & Stone moves into New Zealand Leo Burnett names Hong Kong MD MullenLowe to direct Vietnam operations from Singapore Edelman hires new Shanghai lead

Racepoint Global appointed Mark Jackson as the deputy managing director of Asia, overseeing a new office in Shenzhen. Prior to joining Racepoint Global, he served as the Middle East and North Africa Technology Practice lead at Ogilvy & Mather. He will lead an initiative to expand the company’s footprint across Asia.

The Sweet Shop signed director Jeff Labbe for representation in Asia, Australia and New Zealand. He has worked with Wieden + Kennedy, Leo Burnett and TBWA/Chiat/Day in the US, winning multiple awards for campaigns for Nike, Fox Sports, and Levi’s.

Ogilvy Sydney appointed Joanne Biddle, David Flanagan and Jen Gledhill as group account directors. Biddle joins from CHE Proximity and will handle Shop Small from American Express. Flanagan, most recently the marketing lead at Paramount Films, will handle Lion and other clients. Gledhill, most recently at VCCP London, will be in charge of Coke.

Mobile advertising platform Taptica named Rajesh Fatnani as its new general manager for India and Southeast Asia. He has 13 years of sales and business development experience with Tyroo, Komli, Vserv and others.

M2M Sydney appointed Sean Richardson as head of strategy.  He joins from Bohemia, and has experience across multiple categories with clients including Vodafone, Lion, Nestle, Twentieth Century Fox and Kia.

MEC Vietnam hired Andrew Mortlock as head of strategy and Huynh Thi Ngoc Thuy as business director. Mortlock brings 16 years’ experience to the role, working for clients including Coca-Cola, Mars and Wrigley. Thuy has more than 15 years in the industry, with particular experience in FMCG, retail and pharmaceuticals.

Fiji Airways has appointed Marc Cavaliere as chief marketing officer, responsible for alliances, partnerships function and all sales channels. Cavaliere has 37 years of international airline experience.

BUSINESS WINS

PropertyGuru Group appointed PHD as its media agency of record in Southeast Asia after a four-way pitch. At the core of the partnership is the creation of a “bespoke, econometric” Brand Equity Attribution Model (BEAM), which is designed “to enable evidence-based brand investment decisions”.

GolinOpinion, part MullenLowe Lintas Group, won the PR mandate for property site Magicbricks in India after a multi-agency pitch.

Huawei Malaysia appointed Hill+Knowlton Strategies as its PR agency in the local market. The remit includes planning, media relations, and communications and  branding strategy.  

Mundipharma awarded its Vietnam media planning and buying business to MEC. The agency beat two competitors in a pitch, including the incumbent. 

OTHER NEWS

UK-based internal communications agency Theblueballroom opened an office in Hong Kong. The agency has over 15 years of experience working with global companies including The Deutsche Post DHL Group, Adidas, Roche Products and Rentokil Initial. It recently supported Cathay Pacific in delivering a new performance management system.

Lifetime Asia announced a partnership with Singapore online entertainment platform Viddsee, under which Lifetime will curate and broadcast a weekly selection of stories made by local filmmakers and published on Vidssee. Viddsee’s first original short film, ‘Time’ and other Asia short stories premiere this Saturday at 10:35 pm (SIN/HK) as part of a Mother’s Day special, airing across 15 territories in Asia.

Frost*collective announced the  addition of Pivot, a strategic innovation consultancy. The Pivot team will be led by Lisa Hagan, head of strategy, Dreu Harrison, director of strategic innovation,
and Clarissa Mattingly, director of client services. The team originally hails from Accenture Strategy’s Second Road.

ChoZan, a resources platform for social-media marketing in China, expanded to Singapore. Founded by Ashley Galina Dudarenok, ChoZan aims to help marketing teams and agencies use Chinese social media, and to help businesses tap into China's swiftly changing and expanding markets.

Cognito, a financial services communications consultancy has moved its APAC headquarters to 31 HongKong Street in Singapore to accommodate a growing team.

Ad tech company Inskin Media, with offices in Singapore and Hong Kong, unveiled a new logo and brand identity.  It coincides with the firm’s recently launched programmatic solution, which enables media agencies to book campaigns through their DSPs, as well as directly with Inskin.

Consumer insight agency Join the Dots underwent a management buyout led by managing director Quentin Ashby and sales and marketing director Graeme Lawrence. The UK-based company opened an office in Singapore in 2016.

FTI Consulting’s strategic communications division added Asia Group Advisors to its gold affiliate network. The move expands FTI’s comms footprint in Southeast Asia, and provides a wider client base for AGA to explore opportunities with.