Move and win roundup: Week of November 17, 2025

Saatchi & Saatchi Australia and New Zealand has appointed Leif Stromnes as chief strategy officer, effective from January 2026. Stromnes is an award-winning strategy leader with more than 30 years’ experience across South Africa, Australia, Asia and the US. Throughout his career, he has shaped strategies for some of the world’s most recognised brands, including Unilever, McDonald’s, Arnott’s, Tourism Australia, Westpac, Virgin Airlines, Volkswagen, Coles, Mars, Kmart and Telstra. Before joining Saatchi & Saatchi, he was most recently managing director, strategy and innovation at DDB, where he worked for over 25 years. Prior to DDB, he worked at TBWA and Ogilvy in her early career. 

Selina Lee has been promoted to general manager and One Dior Lead at WPP Media China. Previously, she served as deputy general manager at Mindshare China. Lee joined Mindshare in 2011 as a digital planning executive and has since risen through the ranks to lead the team.

Re, the brand-led experience design business within M+C Saatchi Group, has appointed  Kiranpreet Kaur Dhillon as its new group strategy director. Dhillon will lead Re's strategy offering across its roster of clients, including Commonwealth Bank, Woolworths and Youi, as well as new wins BaptistCare, Alternaleaf and Downer Group. She joins Re from AKQA following a distinguished career spanning over 15 years, where she has been recognised as an award-winning agency business and strategy leader.

EssenceMediacom has retained its media account with the National Rugby League (NRL) in Australia following a competitive pitch.MediaCom picked up the media planning and buying account from Publicis’ Spark Foundry in 2022, just before its merger with Essence. The account is worth roughly AU$15 million (US$9.7 million) in media spend, according to Australian media. The account is managed in tandem with WPP Media’s Sport and Entertainment unit, and WPP’s marketing operating system, WPP Open,  has played an instrumental role in the recent wins.

Sime Darby Property Berhad has reappointed WPP Media as its integrated media agency of record in Malaysia following a competitive pitch. Effective September 16 2025, the agency's mandate will span integrated media assignments across all channels, including supporting township launches, brand building, and demand generation. It will also oversee a multi‑year media transformation in technology and data to drive more effective outcomes, optimising media investments for qualified leads, sales conversion, and transparent performance reporting.

IAG AUNZ has appointed Emily Roberts as chief customer and marketing officer, effective from next week. Roberts brings more than 20 years of experience in customer engagement, marketing and commercial strategy. Most recently, she served as vice president and general manager of consumer and commercial services for Australia and New Zealand at American Express. Previously, she worked at American Express across consumer, commercial, and merchant services.

Salesforce has announced the company's expansion into the Philippines, establishing an office in Manila. Its priority includes investing in skills development for the local workforce to bolster the country’s AI ecosystem. Salesforce is a digital advisor for various local enterprises, including Ayala Land, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Meralco, Philippine Airlines, and PLDT. Salesforce’s Philippines will be led by Abraham Cuevas, regional vice president and country manager. He joined Salesforce over eight years ago as strategic account director in Singapore. Before that, he worked at IBM.

XPLN.AI, the ad attention measurement and optimisation tech company, has announced the opening of a new office in Singapore. Appointed as managing director APAC, Elsa Trang brings ten years of experience in digital advertising. She's held senior roles at Invibes Advertising, where she served as team leader, head of sales, and commercial director, Southeast Asia. The Singapore office is the company’s sixth international opening within a year, following Spain, Italy, the UK, Germany, and the US.

Strategic communications agency, Thrive PR & Communications, has cemented its leadership team and revealed its newest talent line to drive the agency’s growth across Australia and New Zealand.

• Clare Basire has been elevated to managing director, Thrive Sydney, while continuing to be part of Thrive’s AU/NZ executive team.
• Snezna Kerekovic is appointed to acting managing director, Melbourne, and heads the search for a new general manager, Thrive Melbourne. She continues to be part of the AU/NZ executive team.
• Tiana Miocevich, a seasoned corporate and brand PR professional based in Auckland, has been appointed to lead Thrive Aotearoa New Zealand.
• Kyra Shakspeare takes on the role of client partner, leading Thrive Queensland and expanding her established local team.

APRW, Singapore's independent integrated communications agencies, has appointed Benjamin "Mr Miyagi" Lee as associate director, effective immediately. Lee adds this role to his current consultancy with Beach House Pictures/ Space Lion Studios, where he continues to advise on branded content initiatives for international streaming platforms and commercial productions. His career experience includes strategic leadership roles at Protocol as creative director and Tribal Worldwide as head of content strategy.

Hakuhodo Inc. has appointed Third Domingo as APAC CCO of Hakuhodo International, where he will oversee the creative leadership across the agency's regional network. He will spearhead growth, innovation, and strengthen the agency's global partnerships. Before taking on this role, he was the director and CCO at Hakuhodo International Philippines. Effective immediately, working closely with director Tatsuro Osuga, he will be succeeded by Gemma Alcantara as president and CEO of Hakuhodo International Philippines. He founded the Philippines-based agency IdeasXMachina in 2009, which was integrated into the Hakuhodo network in 2018. Bringing over extensive experience from stints at TBWA, PJB, and McCann-Erickson, he's created campaigns for brands like Jollibee, KFC, TM, and Coca-Cola. He was named in Campaign Asia's 40 under 40 list in 2016.

Adam Toctan has launched Hustle, a recruitment and talent advisory firm specialising in the creative, digital, and marcomms industries in Hong Kong. The launch comes after the sale of his co-founded firm, MCG Talent, whose Asia business was acquired by regional managing director Charlie Bowsher in a management buyout. Leveraging two decades in the talent and consulting space, Toctan’s new advisory aims to deliver talent solutions for agencies and brands across Asia. His career spans leadership roles in London, Singapore, Dubai, Riyadh, Colombo, and Hong Kong.