Move and win roundup: Week of June 23, 2025

Monks is expanding its Southeast Asia footprint into Vietnam, driven by existing client growth and new client demand. With existing offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, Monks has experience of pan-Southeast Asian work for its global client-base, including campaigns in Vietnam. This expansion allows Monks to tap into Vietnam’s burgeoning talent pool and dynamic market, offering clients greater agility and scalability.

Burson has announced senior leadership appointments in Indonesia. Harry Deje, currently managing director, has been named chief operating officer for Burson Indonesia, and Shirley Tangkilisan, currently general manager, has been named managing director, Burson Indonesia. Deje brings over 30 years of experience to this role, offering a deep understanding of the business and the current digital landscape. With more than two decades of experience, Tangkilisan has proven a strong track record in strategic and sustainability communications. Both joined H&K (now Burson) in 2020.

Archetype APAC has appointed Mei Ling Yeow as head of strategy and innovation. Her immediate remit includes Singapore, Australia, and Malaysia, with additional support for India and China, where she will work closely with regional leaders to scale innovation and client impact. Yeow joined Archetype in 2019. She was most recently APAC deputy regional director and managing director of Southeast Asia. She was named to Campaign Asia-Pacific's inaugural 50 Over Fifty list this year.

Cheil X has appointed Ankit Singh as national strategy director. He will report to Jitender Dabas, CEO, Cheil X, with a mandate to lead the agency’s strategic vision across all Cheil X companies in India. Singh joins from Hilton, where he served as director, brand marketing, South Asia, strengthening its positioning across the region. He previously led the strategy function at Leo Burnett, North India. He also led strategy for BBH Delhi, where he was instrumental in the agency’s successful expansion into a new region.

Mobkoi has named Simrat Sawhney as president of APAC to lead growth across Asia Pacific. Reporting to chief revenue officer Paolo Mulè, Sawhney will focus on expanding the company’s footprint across Asia Pacific, spanning Japan, Korea, Greater China, Southeast Asia, India, Australia and New Zealand. Sawhney brings over 15 years of commercial leadership in digital media and technology across Asia Pacific, with over a decade at Meta leading APAC sales and strategy for major advertiser verticals, followed by spearheading regional expansion at Epsilon, Publicis Groupe.

Ooh! Media has appointed Wade James as group sales director to further accelerate customer focus and drive deeper agency and client partnerships that deliver results for out-of-home advertisers. He rejoins OOh! after spending more than a decade at Australia's leading OOH company, where he held a number of senior roles, including national head of agency sales.  

Burson has appointed Maggie Lu as CEO of China, effective immediately. Based in Shanghai, Lu will oversee the agency’s business across Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, responsible for client satisfaction, agency growth and talent management. 
With nearly 26 years of experience, she has been with Burson China for 20 years. Most recently, she was managing director with Burson Shanghai. Lu joined Hill & Knowlton (now Burson) as senior account executive and steadily rose through the ranks. Earlier in her career, Lu spent nearly six years as a journalist with China Daily.

Stickler, the operating system for multi-platform Live Commerce, has appointed Dominic Powers as CEO for Asia-Pacific and Latin America. Powers has held senior executive positions at DoubleClick, Epsilon, CtrlShift, and Dentsu, where he most recently served as chief growth officer for APAC. The move comes as Stickler founder and CEO Fionn Hyndman will relocate to North America, further establishing the business there and in Europe. America. As brands intensify their focus on livestream selling across platforms like TikTok Shop, Shopee Live and beyond, Stickler is emerging as the essential layer powering scalable, brand-safe execution across the board. 

Droga5 ANZ, part of Accenture Song, has appointed Steve Kane as principal director of the agency’s New Zealand office. Kane joins Droga5 ANZ from Ogilvy Network NZ, where he was group managing director. He began his early career in television production and PR in London. Returning to New Zealand, he joined Publicis Drum PR and later moved to DDB Aotearoa’s Mango PR. In 2014, he joined Y&RNZ as managing director and later as managing director and partner at independent Auckland agency True, before taking the role at Ogilvy Network NZ. 

Apparent, full full-service agency, has appointed Cristina Douglas to the newly created role of creative director experience and Tom Twiby to design director following a spate of new client wins including Optus, Volkswagen Group Australia (Audi, Volkswagen, Skoda and Cupra), Tip Top, Vanuatu Tourism Office and an expanded remit on Google. Douglas joins Apparent from RGA, where she held the role of creative director. Twiby also joins from RGA. 

Enigma, an independent creative and media agency, has appointed Clare Yardley as head of creative services. Yardley joins Enigma after a decade in the role of resource & creative services director at BMF Australia. Her resume also includes a stint as creative services director at Saatchi & Saatchi.

Initiative Australia has announced two key appointments to strengthen the team, as Initiative continues as IAG’s AOR responsible for media strategy, planning and buying across all channels for the organisation’s entire brand portfolio, including NRMA, CGU and WFI. Initiative has been IAG’s media AOR – excluding social and performance, which are managed in-house – since 2021.  

• Luke Carmichael joins as managing partner. Carmichael brings extensive experience across client leadership and digital innovation, most recently serving as head of client service at Carat, and prior to that as head of advertiser partnerships at Samsung Ads. 
• Elle Galipienzo has been promoted to group business director. Galipienzo, who has been with Initiative for more than eight years, is taking on senior client service responsibilities for IAG. 

Clemenger BBDO has appointed Suzanne Croxford and Nicole Armstrong as chief experience officer and executive strategy director, respectively. Both joining from AKQA, Croxford will partner with CEO Lee Leggett, CSO Simon Wassef and newly appointed chief creative officer Stephen Wolfe. Crawford was AKQA’s executive partner, retail & commerce. Prior to joining AKQA in 2021, she led the marketing and technology practice at Wunderman Thompson. Before joining AKQA Australia as executive strategy director and head of strategy, Armstrong worked at AKQA and R/GA in London.

Wavemaker Brisbane managing director, Jane Sullivan, was made redundant on May 30, after working over 11 years at the agency in Australia. She shared the news via a LinkedIn post and wrote, “While the news was unexpected, I leave with deep gratitude and pride for what we built — and for the extraordinary people I had the privilege of building it with.”  Sullivan joined Wavemaker in 2014. Before that, she was communications director at UM Brisbane.

Volleyball World has partnered with leading Asia-based sports digital agency Mailman, an IMG company, to accelerate its social media growth in China. The collaboration will leverage Mailman’s deep digital expertise and local market knowledge to connect with the country’s rapidly expanding volleyball fanbase. Through localised storytelling, influencer collaborations and platform-specific strategies, the partnership will deliver tailored content and authentic fan engagement.  

Arcc Assets has appointed creative digital agency 8traordinary as the social media agency of record for a social media and content marketing retainer. As a specialised asset management arm of Arcc Holdings, an investment holding company in commercial real estate with projects across key regional markets such as Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai and Singapore. The appointment kicks into gear a 12-month collaboration that will see 8traordinary take over all creative duties, including content planning, production, social media management, and digital marketing.

Imagination Australia is entering a significant new growth phase, led by major client wins across auto, tech and agrifood - including global campaigns for Nissan and Ford, and a strategic three-year partnership with AgriFutures.  

WPP Media has been appointed as the media agency of record by KFC Vietnam (joint venture) following a competitive pitch. WPP Media will be fully responsible for integrated media planning and buying, as well as analytics across the Vietnamese market. This will include leveraging its in-house data and analytics practice and specialist influencer marketing expertise via Goat.

Rahat Kapur has been appointed editorial director of Beyond the Boardroom, a new platform developed as a joint initiative between Media Publishares, publishers of Vogue Singapore, Robb Report Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia, Buro Malaysia and other leading titles, and RSVP Agency, a luxury communications and experiential agency working with global brands across fashion, beauty, design and lifestyle. 

The MC Collective has been appointed as regional public relations partner for Mama Shelter Singapore, ahead of the launch of the brand’s first property in Asia. The MCC will support Mama Shelter Singapore across media relations, KOL marketing, and strategic partnerships in Singapore and across the region.

It’s Friday was appointed as the lead creative agency of Swaggle after a competitive pitch. Swaggle is partnering with independent creative agency It’s Friday to create a new brand platform and vision for the brand. Swaggle is the newest entrant in the pet retail category, offering an end-to-end pet personalisation experience, featuring 100 categories of products from over 190 brands, as well as offering pet insurance, free vet advice, and an easy repeat delivery programme.

Clicktivated, the leader in interactive video technology, has announced a strategic expansion into the Australian market, offering its innovative video solutions to new audiences. Sydney-based industry veteran Tristan Freedman is leading the new endeavour. Freedman joined Clicktivated as director of tourism, Asia Pacific, last year. 

The Sandpiper Group (Sandpiper) has appointed Angus Booth as managing director, Australia and New Zealand. Based in Sydney, Booth will lead the firm’s strategic direction and growth across the markets, overseeing business performance and expansion in the energy, financial, health, professional services, property and infrastructure, and technology sectors. With over 20 years of experience as a leading communications professional, he has held senior roles at Lendlease and Charter Hall. Most recently, he was senior managing director at Sodali & Co, leading the firm’s APAC and EMEA M&A, activism, and corporate governance shareholder engagement practice.   

Zitcha, a unified retail media platform, has appointed Tony Karp as its new group chief operating officer. Karp was most recently North American president of Australian-founded digital gifting company Prezzee. He previously served as CEO of Prezzee and has also held executive roles at David Jones, Principal Financial Group and Jones Lang LaSalle. As Zitcha’s Group COO, he is responsible for ensuring Zitcha’s delivery and operations are world-class, scalable and seamlessly tailored to the needs of clients at every stage of their retail media journey.

Laetitia Lim has joined OOH Capital, the global out of home consultancy. Wth over 20 years of international leadership experience across the tech, retail, and consumer industries, Lim was most recently CEO of Quividi. She has held senior roles in both startups and global corporations, including L'Oréal Taiwan, where she was general manager of Shu Uemura Luxury Division and finance and operation, and former president of La French Tech Taiwan and currently serves on the board of La French Tech Bangkok.