Move and win roundup: Week of May 15, 2023

Campaign compiles a new 'Move and win roundup' as each week progresses.  This edition will cover May 15 through May 19, 2023.  Catch up on past people moves and business wins.

Tourism Tasmania has appointed Rod Cuthbert to its board of directors. Cuthbert, an online travel and tech pioneer, is currently a director of the leading Japanese online travel agency, Veltra and chair of the Sydney-based ASX-listed transportation marketplace, Jayride. He was also the CEO and Chair of the door-to-door travel search engine, Rome2Rio. As the founder, CEO and Chair of Viator, an online travel company and global marketplace for sightseeing tours, attractions and experiences, he established the company and built it into the leading retailer of travel experiences in North America and Europe, with over 300,000 products booked by millions of customers annually. Viator was acquired by Tripadvisor in 2014.

Uniquecorn Strategies, the Philippines’ first and only startup-focused public relations agency, has appointed Junelyn Olivar as client services director and Aki Marzan as public relations manager. In her role at Uniquecorn Strategies, Olivar will spearhead growth for the web3 PR division, Blockceler8. Meanwhile, Marzan will serve in advising and enhancing the visibility of the company's technology startup clients.

SevenRooms, a guest experience and retention platform for the hospitality industry, has become Marriott International’s preferred restaurant technology provider. This will unlock additional opportunities at the more than 8,500 Marriott International properties worldwide. The platform offers solutions to global brands that not only increase revenue generation but help them build long-term relationships with guests.

Treasure Data, a leading enterprise customer data platform (CDP) provider, has appointed Mark Tack as its new global chief marketing officer (CMO). With more than 20 years of leadership experience in martech, Tack will help Treasure Data drive its next phase of profitable growth by increasing awareness, pipeline and demand for its industry-leading cloud-based CDP platform and working in partnership with key functions to establish a unified engine to accelerate annual recurring revenue (ARR). Tack held senior marketing leadership roles at several leading data and technology companies, including Acxiom. Most recently, he was CMO at SundaySky. 

McCann Worldgroup promoted Charlie Lowe to chief strategy officer Southeast Asia. He will be responsible for leading the strategic teams across the markets of Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong, as well as having a focus on new business and thought leadership. In addition, Aishah Haroon returned to the agency as director of client services and operations across MRM Singapore and Hong Kong after one year away at Media.Monks. Prior to this, she worked at MRM Singapore for four years as general manager. She will be tasked with expanding the agency’s capabilities and overseeing key regional client relationships. McCann Worldgroup announced the leadership changes. Following the agency’s recent appointment of Valerie Madon as chief creative officer in Southeast Asia and its restructuring in Southeast Asia to better service new business wins and support the creation of key client hubs in the region. 

London International Awards has announced the 2023 Jury Presidents and Jurors for the Digital and Use of Social Media & Influencers and Non-Traditional competitions. Chris Garbutt, chief creative officer at VICE Media Group and President at Virtue Worldwide will lead the Digital and Use of Social Media & Influencers Jury.  The Non-Traditional jury will be led by Swati Bhattacharya, creative chairperson at FCB India. 

BMF has appointed Tara McKenty as chief innovation officer and executive creative director, as the agency bolsters its creative department with a series of senior promotions – including David Fraser to co-ECD. McKenty has spent the past 16 years working in the creative industry across the region. Before BMF, he served as the creative head at Google for nine years. McKenty has taken home more than 200 awards, including a gold Lion for Innovation, WARC’s Most Effective Campaign in the World, and many more. McKenty has also sat on Innovation Juries Cannes, D&AD, Spikes, AWARD, and more. BMF has also elevated David Fraser to joint executive creative director. Fraser joined BMF in 2014 and has been leading the globally awarded ALDI Australia and highly acclaimed Tourism Tasmania accounts for the past nine and four years, respectively.

J.H Whittaker & Sons has appointed Bastion Shine as its integrated advertising and communications partner, following a highly competitive pitch. Whittaker’s is one of New Zealand’s most loved and iconic brands, having been crafting New Zealand's finest chocolate since 1896.

Komo Technologies, Australia’s leading customer engagement platform, opens an office in New York, taking its platform to the US market. Prior to entering the US, Komo worked with leading event technology company Patron Technology for partnership.

Ogilvy Indonesia has appointed Fernando Sarael as new head of its growing content offering. He will lead a 30+ team composed of content strategists, designers, and writers. Prior to the expanded remit, Fernando led the Wyeth Nutrition business He also serves as the training lead, spearheading capability upskilling and learning and development initiatives.He was recently commended by Campaign Asia as 2022 SEA Young Business Leader of the Year.

Heckler Singapore has promoted Charu Menon to managing director and Cody Amos to partner, as the design and VFX studio embarks on the next phase of growth. After three years running Heckler Sydney's production department, Menon moved to Singapore in 2019 and became a partner in the business in 2021. She's a globally awarded VFX producer and documentary creator with over 15 years of production experience. As managing director, she will lead Heckler Singapore’s growing team of twenty five, producing high-end TVCs while driving expansion into virtual production, digital, immersive, and interactive experiences. Cody Amos joined Heckler Singapore as a creative director in 2020. He previously worked around the world as a VFX artist and has directed and supervised campaigns for global brands including Nike, Riot Games, Samsung and others.

Havas Media Melbourne has been appointed by Riviana Foods (part of SunRice group) to manage the media planning and implementation across their Always Fresh and Toscano brands. 

Trippant, London-founded international communications and PR consultancy, is sharpening its focus on the Asia Pacific region. With teams in London, New York, L.A., Sydney, Indonesia and Paris, the focus on Asia Pacific comes off the back of recent team expansions in the region, and collaborations with major clients such as NielsenIQ (NIQ), as well as previous partnerships with the likes of Pickstar, GeeGee, and Snackr. 

Social media platform Snap has appointed Tony Keusgen as managing director Australia and New Zealand, replacing Kathryn Carter. Keusgen was most recently with Quantium, where he was the global chief customer officer. Prior to that, he spent over a decade with Google where he held a number of roles in the APAC region, including managing director of both Indonesia and New Zealand, and head of technology ANZ. Based in Sydney, Keusgen will lead Snap’s business across Australia and New Zealand, where he will be responsible for setting and executing the local strategy and overseeing Snap’s business operations across both markets. Keusgen will report to Snap’s APAC president Ajit Mohan. 

Global sports marketing agency Sportfive has appointed Seamus O’Brien as president for APAC. O’Brien brings over 30 years of experience in executive positions within the sports industry, including his time as founder and chairman & CEO of World Sport Group. 

Australia-based media agency Atomic 212 has been reappointed by the Northern Territory Government and Tourism Northern Territory for media services duty. Following a competitive review, the partnership will run for three years and provide combined annualised billings over $10 million. The account win is the latest for the agency in a string of recent wins, including Craveable Brands, Ladbrokes, Neds, Zambrero, Sydney Water and Ponant.