Move and win roundup: Week of March 30, 2026

Dentsu has appointed Yusuke Kagohara as CFO, Southeast Asia, reporting to Southeast Asia CEO Sanjay Bhasin. Kagohara was most recently Dentsu's group executive director of internal control and risk management since 2023, overseeing governance across the network. He has spent nearly 18 years with the network. In China, he held CFO roles across multiple Dentsu entities, serving as CFO of Beijing Dentsu in 2019, CFO of Dentsu McGarryBowen China in 2020, and deputy CFO of Dentsu Creative China in 2022. He also served as acting CFO of the creative service line at Dentsu China from 2021 to 2022. Before his China posting, Kagohara spent over a decade at Dentsu's Tokyo headquarters in roles spanning corporate strategy, digital business strategy, corporate finance, M&A and global governance for the Dentsu Aegis Network, rising to senior director in 2019.

The Edison Agency has appointed Lauren Hawking as creative director, a role that had been open for 18 months. Hawking brings over 18 years of experience across local and international markets. She joins from The Thrills, formerly Elmwood, in Melbourne, where she was executive design director. Her client experience spans FMCG, food and beverage, personal care, confectionery and retail.

Bastion Aotearoa has appointed three senior hires following its win of the KFC New Zealand creative account. Courtney Dow joins the agency as creative director. He brings 17 years’ experience in New Zealand and the UK, including stints at VCCP and JWT, and most recently at DDB Aotearoa, where he led creative on New World. In April, copywriter Freddie von Trott and art director Sophie “Doug” Douglas will join from AKQA Sydney. The duo have worked on brands such as Volvo, Google, Campari and Westfield.

The Financial Times has appointed Michael Stott as South Asia bureau chief, based in New Delhi, to lead coverage of India's political, economic, diplomatic and business news. Stott is a veteran FT foreign correspondent and member of the editorial board with over three decades of experience. He has previously been based in Russia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Mexico and Colombia, reporting from more than 60 countries. His earlier FT roles include Latin America editor, UK news editor and managing editor of Nikkei Asia in Tokyo.

OFX has appointed Liz Lord as chief marketing officer. She brings more than two decades’ experience in digital payments and financial services marketing. She previously served as CMO of PayPal Australia, where she led brand and commercial initiatives, and most recently ran a marketing consultancy advising businesses on growth strategy and customer engagement.

Publicis Groupe APAC has expanded its luxury offering in China with Publicis Luxe China, an integrated luxury practice now backed by a 100‑person team in strategy, media, cultural insight, content, data and tech. Marc Leclerc, formerly of Starcom China and a 14‑year Publicis Groupe veteran, has been appointed head of Publicis Luxe China and will lead the practice in connecting global luxury brand strategies with local Chinese consumer and cultural insights. Leclerc will report to Mickey Zhang, president of Publicis Media China. The hub is linked to Publicis Luxe’s global network and Publicis Groupe’s data and identity platform, aiming to deliver end‑to‑end solutions that balance global brand DNA with local execution for luxury clients in China.

Ashok Kumar has been appointed growth marketing manager, Client & Sector, Corporate & Institutional Banking at HSBC in Hong Kong. He joined HSBC in 2024 as marketing manager. Prior to that he was a senior client services manager for Ogilvy and spent 13 years at Verticurl (a WPP Company) as a product and martech consultant.

Havas Media ANZ has appointed Molly Blacker as national head of strategy, a newly created role focused on developing the group’s Deliberately Different strategic offering. In this position, Blacker will lead Havas Media’s strategy team and work with Havas ANZ chief strategy officer Olly Taylor as part of an integrated strategy collective, supporting clients on growth opportunities and media‑led solutions. She joins from Slingshot, where she spent eight years, including the last three as head of strategy & creative, and previously worked at UM Australia on brands such as Johnson & Johnson, Tourism and Events Queensland and H&M.

M+C Saatchi has appointed Jack Playfair as head of partnerships, sport & entertainment, a newly created role focused on strengthening its sport and entertainment offering and moving from traditional sponsorship toward participation‑led, culturally‑driven brand partnerships. Playfair previously led integrated partnerships at Bastion and worked with brands including Gatorade, TAB, Kia and organisations linked to UFC, and in his new role will oversee the full partnership lifecycle, from strategy and rights‑holder deals to activation and amplification, working closely with PR, social, influencer and content teams to support measurable commercial outcomes for clients in retail, finance, energy and lifestyle.

Initiative has promoted Paige Wheaton to national managing director, giving her national responsibility for the agency’s business performance, client partnerships and teams across Australia. Wheaton, who joined Initiative in early 2023 as Chief Investment and Partnerships Officer from Mindshare, will now lead a standardised operating model and strengthen national alignment as the agency restructures its leadership and prepares for its transition into the Omnicom network. The move follows a series of senior departures and is intended to improve consistency and growth across Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Kill Boring Dead (KBD) has appointed Nel Wolf as general manager to support its next stage of growth, drawing on her background in creative, strategy and operations from Bastion and EssenceMediacom. Wolf will help streamline the agency’s approach across strategy, creative and influencer while maintaining its focus on distinctive, social‑first work for clients such as Red Rooster, Bank of Queensland, Cathay Pacific and Advil. Her experience leading social campaigns for brands including Microsoft, Xbox, Salesforce, Intel and Samsung will support KBD’s efforts to strengthen its internal structure, client partnerships and ways of working as the agency scales.

Studio LDN, an independent agency in Sydney, has been appointed by three healthcare clients—Medcast, Hola Health and a major global medical device company—to handle branding, customer experience strategy and digital transformation. The work includes Medcast’s brand refresh and MedLuma platform design, Hola Health’s repositioning and new digital platform, and customer research for the device company using social listening. The wins reflect demand for partners that combine brand strategy, digital experience design and applied AI in healthcare.

Source: Campaign Asia-Pacific

The Financial Times has appointed Michael Stott as South Asia bureau chief, based in New Delhi, to lead coverage of India's political, economic, diplomatic and business news.

Stott is a veteran FT foreign correspondent and member of the editorial board with over three decades of experience. He has previously been based in Russia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Mexico and Colombia, reporting from more than 60 countries. His earlier FT roles include Latin America editor, UK news editor and managing editor of Nikkei Asia in Tokyo.