Google bolsters agency team

Google is filling its agency team, hiring former Singapore Press Holdings excutive Linda Lim as an APAC agency business lead.

A Google spokesperson confirmed the appointment to Campaign Asia-Pacific.

Lim has joined Google in Singapore after two-and-a-half years leading partnerships at SPH in various roles. She previously spent five years at GroupM Singapore, most recently as chief investment officer. Lim started her career in marketing and sales roles at Time Singapore, StarHub Media Networks and Elle.

At Google, she will be one of a team of agency business leads responsible for looking after key agency partners in the region.

Lim will report to Rika Sharma, who joined Google last month to lead the division as APAC head of agency and industry relations. Sharma was formerly ASEAN managing director at Digitas for three years, prior to which she held various digital roles at Ogilvy in Singapore. 

Google's most senior APAC agency leader, Joanna Flint, departed in April to join Mandarin Oriental as chief commercial officer. Flint had been leading Google's relationship with agencies as APAC MD of global partner business since 2017. She also ran the Partner Innovation team which delivers Google technology and engineering solutions to industry partners. Sharma is not a direct replacement for Flint.