McDonald's taps Yum Brands veteran for Asia CMO role

McDonald's has appointed seasoned marketer Angelina Villanueva as its new chief marketing officer for Asia, effective September 1. Villanueva steps into the role following the departure of Brenda Kou in May 2024.

Kou, a McDonald's veteran with over a decade of experience in various senior leadership roles, held the Asia CMO position for less than a year. She officially took the mantle in October 2023 after a successful tenure as vice president of integrated marketing for Taiwan. Her previous roles at the company, including senior director and head of marketing for Taiwan, showcased her deep understanding of the brand and the region.

During her time as Asia CMO, Kou spearheaded several campaigns, prominent among them the 40th-anniversary campaign for McDonald's Taiwan. Partnering with Leo Burnett Taiwan (see below), the campaign featured a 1:35-minute film starring Taiwanese pop icon Jolin Tsai. The film, a nostalgic journey through four decades of McDonald's presence in Taiwan, was lauded for its innovative use of virtual production technology.

Villanueva brings over 20 years of marketing expertise to McDonald's, recently serving as director of marketing at Yum Brands Singapore for over four years. As Asia CMO, she will oversee marketing for 12 markets, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Brunei, and India. Her focus will be on increasing the creative output, driving business performance through value-driven strategies, and prioritising digital initiatives.

A well-known marketer in Malaysian circles, she served as CMO of KFC Malaysia for six years prior to her stint at Yum Brands, overseeing the Malaysia and Singapore markets. She started her career at the agency side with a long stint at Ogilvy Malaysia, where she cut through the ranks to climb to general manager of Ogilvy Kuala Lumpur.

"Angelina and I met when we were both leading marketing efforts in Malaysia. She was the CMO for KFC for six years, and I was with McDonald's. We were industry peers at the time, and we've built a lot of respect for each other over the years," said Eugene Lee, McDonald's international CMO for the IDL segment.

Villanueva will have a dual reporting structure. For all commercial business matters, she will report to Stijn Heytens, head of Asia. For functional areas such as marketing, digital strategy, and menu development, she will report to Lee. Lee oversees all international regions for the IDL segment outside of the US, including Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.