TBWA Shanghai bolsters senior management with two hires

Emiko Nagai, who has been with TBWA for three years, will manage the Nivea account across the Asia-Pacific region as regional business director.

Ian Thurbron, executive vice-president of TBWA Asia-Pacific, explains, “The Nivea regional director role used to be based in Hamburg, Germany, but China and Asia is no longer just an add-on from the West, but a fundamental market for sales and growth.”

Originally from Japan, Nagai has spent time in Brazil and China, including a stint working on the P&G account at Leo Burnett.

“She has tremendous knowledge in personal care accounts along with diverse cultures and market exposure,” Thurbron added.
 
Additionally, Taiwanese native Karyn Kuo has joined TBWA Shanghai as business director to spearhead the development of a strong financial institution portfolio that includes TBWA global clients Visa and Standard Chartered Bank.
 
Both Nagai and Kuo with report to Jeff Ma, managing director of TBWA Shanghai. Commenting on the new appointments, Ma said, “We have rebuilt the front bench in the last few months. Emiko’s position reflects the growing importance of Shanghai as the regional centre of excellence and Karyn’s position is totally new because we want to continue to build our expertise in the finance sector.” 

TBWA created a Greater China region by restructuring its operations in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Chinese mainland in April.