Bleasdale joins with a brief to take Iris into new markets beyond its existing Sydney, Delhi and Singapore operations and strengthen relationships with global clients Sony Ericsson, Adidas, ING and Shell.
"We are a small micronetwork which has just secured funding to expand. Asia is a key region for us, but unless we have experienced leadership we will struggle," said Ian Milner, the joint-CEO of Iris Worldwide. “Richard is a statement of intent for Iris in Asia."
“It’s a fresh start for me, with a group that’s doing well and gathering momentum,” said Bleasdale. “Iris are uniquely creative in their approach, and they are growing with clients who genuinely want to work with them."
Bleasdale took on a role as regional president and managing partner of Rapp Collins last October - in addition to his DDB duties - with a brief to more closely align the Tribal DDB, Rapp Collins and DDB brands.
His departure means a promotion for Huw Hopkins, the general manager of Rapp Collins Singapore, to MD, while Jeff Cheong, who joined Tribal DDB from TBWA\Tequila earlier this year, takes on the new role of director of integration.
Kim Das, who runs Johnson & Johnson for DDB regionally, and Simon Lockyer, the general manager of international accounts, are expected to fulfill Bleasdale's client-facing duties.
David Tang, president and CEO, of DDB Singapore, commented: “Richard has been a colleague, ally, comrade and friend; in every sense, a nice and talented DDB person. We shall miss him, especially his good-natured, consultative style.”
He added: “DDB Singapore has become a stronger agency in the four years Richard has been with us, so there are some very able people who will step up where he left off. We have enough depth in the team to ensure we take good care of our clients.”
Bleasdale moved to DDB Asia Pacific in 2004, after a nine-year spell with DDB and Rapp Collins in New Zealand. He also had stints at BBDO/Proximity New Zealand and Ogilvy & Mather London. He started his career at JWT in London.
