Move and win roundup: Week of April 1, 2024

Campaign compiles a new 'Move and win roundup' as each week progresses.  This edition will cover April 1 through April 5, 2024.  Catch up on past people moves and business wins.

Rastislav Kanuch, the current CEO of Havas Cambodia, will be departing the agency due to personal reasons after just seven months into the role. He will be replaced by Sarah Louzioui, who will assume the role of managing director for Havas Cambodia, transitioning from her current position as general manager at Havas Champagne. Assisting her in this new capacity will be Lalaine Baldelomar, who will move from her role as group media director to general manager for the agency. Both Louzioui and Baldelomar will oversee operations and work closely with Rana Barua, Group CEO of India, Southeast Asia & North Asia and will be part of the extended leadership team in the region. 

Fran Clayton, the chief strategist at DDB Sydney, is making a significant move. After four years with the agency, she is taking on the role of chief strategist at Ogilvy ANZ. Clayton’s tenure at DDB spans nearly ten years, including a brief stint at McCann Worldgroup in 2018. She returned to DDB Sydney as chief strategist. Her new position at Ogilvy fills the void left by Ryan O’Connell, who departed earlier this year in January. O’Connell has since launched his own creative agency called Jnr., in collaboration with former Special NZ general manager, John Marshall. Clayton will remain employed at DDB until June.

Malaysian mobile and digital services provider U Mobile has appointed Lion & Lion to manage its social media presence for its brand and marketing services portfolio. The partnership began in October 2023 and involves Lion & Lion implementing a comprehensive social media strategy and content development plan for U Mobile with a focus on enhancing network and 5G perception, fostering brand affinity, and boosting channel growth. 

Nestlé Oceania has appointed GroupM’s OpenMind as its media agency in Australia and New Zealand for the Nestlé portfolio of brands including KitKat, Allen’s, Nescafé, Milo, Maggi, Uncle Tobys, Nespresso and Purina, effective June 1st. The team from WPP takes over from IPG's UM, the incumbent agency which reportedly had made Nestlé's shortlist alongside Starcom from Publicis Groupe. 

Allied Pinnacle has appointed FMCG brand and design agency Molasses to help launch Wise Wheat in Australia. Molasses won the business following a multi-agency pitch and, working alongside the Allied Pinnacle team, is developing the brand strategy, positioning, and creativity, from naming and identity to campaign execution.

Out-of-home (OOH) media service provider Plan B Media and Vistar Media, a technology solutions provider for OOH media, have partnered to bring programmatic solutions to digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising in Thailand and Singapore. The partnership will allow Vistar’s agency and demand-side platform (DSP) partners to have access to over 500 screens in 7-Eleven convenience stores across Bangkok, as well as dozens of DOOH billboards.

Pokka, the renowned beverage manufacturer, has tapped The Shout Group’s Ignite as its official creative agency for both the Singapore and Malaysia markets. The Shout Group is an advertising holding company owned by Malaysian admen and entrepreneurs Shaun Tay and Ong Shi-Ping. Also within the group is the award-winning creative agency FCB Shout. Pokka does several creative marketing campaigns in a year. Its most recent in Singapore, “Let’s pause, let’s Pokka,” draws inspiration from Pokka’s 51-year heritage and encourages coffee enthusiasts to embrace moments of reflection and relaxation throughout the day while sipping their favourite Pokka beverages.

PHD Malaysia has added Singapore to its remit for the Vinda Malaysia account, effective Q1 2024. The agency will now oversee media duties across all Vinda brands, including Libresse, Drypers, Tena, and Vinda tissues, as well as on-site optimisation on Lazada and Shopee in Singapore. The new business win follows PHD Malaysia’s performance for the Vinda business and brand. Notably, Vinda’s Libresse brand has become the first feminine care brand to advertise on digital out-of-home (DOOH) platforms in Malaysia. In addition, the agency collaborated with Khairul Amin Kamarulzaman, Malaysia’s top TikTok creator, to enhance market penetration for Vinda’s tissue category. 

FCB Interface, part of FCB Group India, has promoted Gaurav Dudeja to the position of chief executive, effective immediately. The news coincides with the retirement of Interface founding partner Joemon Thaliath, who served as vice chairman and CEO. Meanwhile, Dudeja will drive strategic direction and execution, working closely with the senior management team to enhance FCB Interface's market position and foster growth across all business operations.

Riot Games has appointed PR consultancy Maverick Indonesia as its comms partner for Indonesia and Malaysia. Separately, Maverick also won Japfa Food's account for the launch and growth of Olagüd, a premium, probiotic-fed fresh chicken and other product supplier.

IPG Mediabrands has named Matt Ware the new CEO of IPG Mediabrands Japan. The appointment follows Koichi Sonoda's departure, who held the position for the last five years. Ware was previously the APAC CEO of Kinesso, the agency's tech-driven performance unit, where he led 1000+ digital experts across 11 markets in digital media, marketing automation, advanced analytics, commerce, and AI. Ware brings 15 years of specialised digital marketing experience, including 11 years within the Asia-Pacific region and over five in Japan. He will lead the IPG Mediabrands Japan network in his new role, guiding advertisers to optimise their media investments for real business outcomes. The appointment is effective immediately. Ware will report to the CEO of IPG Mediabrands Asia-Pacific, Leigh Terry. The new APAC CEO, Kinesso, is to be announced.

Dentsu Indonesia has appointed Anwesh Bose as its chief growth officer. Reporting to the agency's Indonesia CEO, Elvira Jakub, Bose will oversee growth initiatives and foster collaboration across units to identify market opportunities. Bose's extensive career includes leadership roles across agencies such as president director at Havas Group Indonesia, senior VP at DDB India, and chief growth officer, Media at Dentsu in India. Additionally, he has held positions at ad-tech companies, including Supermom Business and Whisper Media. Before rejoining Dentsu, Bose served as president and director at The Academy Consulting. 

Communications agency Mutant has expanded in Thailand with a new office that Vorasit Turongsomboon will helm as country manager. The agency has also hired a team of seven in Bangkok to manage integrated PR, content, social and brand offerings in the market. Turongsomboon, previously MD at MSL Thailand, has spent almost a decade with Procter & Gamble in the country and brings more than 15 years of experience to the table. Most recently, in his role at MSL Thailand, he was responsible for significant business wins such as Nestlé, PTTEP, Arcelik Hitachi, and Hong Kong Tourism Board, as well as leading the group through transitions and restructuring the firm’s strategic approach to PR. Prior to this and the stint at P&G, Turongsomboon led the PR and communications for brands such as SK-II, Olay, Pantene, Head & Shoulders, Downy, Gillette and Oral-B in Thailand. 

Nissan has appointed Lavanya Wadgaonkar as the new corporate vice president and chief communications officer. Wadgaonkar, currently the vice president at Nissan Global Communications, brings over 28 years of expertise in strategic communications and will play an integral role in driving Nissan’s forward-thinking business strategy. Wadgaonkar is the first Indian to be appointed the company's head of global communications. In this role, she will oversee all of Nissan’s communications activities in Japan and globally as Nissan launches The Arc, its new business plan to drive value and strengthen competitiveness. She will report to Makoto Uchida, president and CEO of Nissan.

Initiative has appointed Sharon Ho as CEO of Initiative China. She will be based in Shanghai and report to Melinda Po, CEO of IPG Mediabrands Greater China. Ho was, most recently, managing director at Digitas China. Ho was also a Campaign Women to Watch winner in 2022.

Emily Xu has taken on the role of managing partner for Influence Matters China. With her experience of over 15 years in bridging China and the rest of the world through integrated communication strategies, Xu will work closely with the company’s client service teams. 

Jolene Sng has left LinkedIn, where she was most recently agency development lead for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Sng held various roles at the Microsoft-owned company having joined the company more than eight years ago. She willl now join Samsung Ads as sales manager on 15 April.