Move and win roundup: Week of September 30, 2019

Edelman Japan has hired Kyota Narimatsu as director of capital markets. He will enhance the agency’s strategic counsel of corporate profile positioning, corporate reputation management, capital markets as well as crisis and financial communications. Narimatsu joins from Finsbury Japan, where he was managing director and co-president, managing strategy advisory for clients including Toyota and NEC. Prior to that, he was head of corporate communications at Barclays Japan.

The business school INSEAD signed a one-year contract with Happy Marketer, a Merkle company, to manage digital advertising. The agency will focus on attracting global talent to help the school harness diversity and multiple perspectives in business education.

PR, social, digital and creative agency Vero has opened an office in Ho Chi Minh which includes a team of PR and digital-focused account managers, planners, creatives, and media and influencer relations specialists to deliver integrated campaigns. While Vero has already operated in Vietnam for the last decade through partnerships, this new office will mark its first wholly owned operation there. Vero already has offices in Thailand, Myanmar and Indonesia. 

Catalina Marketing Japan promoted Brett Wayn from chief operating officer to president and CEO and hired Sean Chu as chief revenue and marketing officer, reporting to Wayn. Wayn joined as COO in November 2018 and has experience with DoCoMo AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo, APN News and Media in New Zealand and Hearst Newspapers. More recently, he worked as an executive focused on mobile products and content in the fintech industry for Social Finance. Chu was previously chief strategy officer Appier and has experience with Microsoft Japan, AXN Japanand Dow Jones.

Uniqlo Singapore appointed Havas Media Singapore as its media agency of record. The agency will handle media planning and buying while also supporting the brand’s digital performance strategy and creative adaptation. The appointment comes after a pitch that included the incumbents Carat and Columbus.

PRHK, the industry organisation representing PR and communications professionals in Hong Kong, unveiled its new board for 2019/20, along with a focus on demonstrating PR’s ability to drive change and shape outcomes. The board members are:

• Chairperson: Marc Sparrow, The Hoffman Agency
• Deputy Chairperson & Treasurer: Maria Cheong, BCW
• Partnerships Chair: Kiri Sinclair, Sinclair
• Membership Chair: Keso Kendall, Lewis
• Events Chairs: Lauren Pincott, Racepoint Global & Nicholas Day, Edelman
• Digital Chair: Annouchka Behrmann, Edelman
• PR & Marketing Chair: Stephanie Mazinyi, Golin
• Honorary Secretaries: Rachel Catanach, Fleishman Hillard & Simeon Mellalieu, Ketchum
• Education & Mentorship Programme Chair: Felix Poon, Vis Communications Consultancy
• Treasurer: David Croasdale, Newell Public Relations
• Young Professionals Representatives: Darryl Soh, Edelman and Erica Stein, Aon

The Works, part of RXP Group, promoted creative leads Guy Patrick and Nathan Bilton to creative directors, appointed Rebecca Luiters as head of digital, appointed Martin Murphy as HCD (human-centred design) designer, and hired Adam Tengku as senior developer. Patrick and Bilton have been with The Works for eight and 11 years, respectively, and have worked with clients including Jim Beam, Canadian Club and News Corp. Luiters joins from Wunderman Thompson-owned Mirum, where she was delivery experience director.  Murphy is a former EY senior consultant for customer advisory. Tengku joins from Sitback Solutions.

Jeremy Seow, Singapore CEO at WE Communications, will depart the agency. Seow has been with the agency since 2017 where he first served as managing director. Prior to WE, he was at Zeno Group. Ogilvy, and Text 100 (now known as Archetype). A source from the ageency said that the decision to leave the agency was Seow’s, and that it was an amicable one. He will remain with the agency until February 2020, on an extended transition period and then launch a passion project. Keng Wee Ng, head of technology at the agency, also announced his departure. 

Red Havas, part of the Havas Group, signed a partnership agreement with Japanese PR company Sunny Side Up, adding local capability in the strategically important Japan market. Sunny Side Up's clients include Indeed Japan, Shake Shack, Getty Images, Lego, LVMH and Bloomberg.

Event specialists Magnetic Asia have launched an event and brand experience agency, called Arcc, together with veteran Hong Kong agency exec Martin Lever, who was most recently ECD at McCann Worldgroup Hong Kong. Arcc — which is an acronym of audience, research, creativity and content — will be lead by Lever as creative partner, and Simon Bratt as managing partner.

Weber Shandwick appointed Naomi Mermod as head of its healthcare operations in Asia Pacific. She was previously regional director for Asia Pacific communications and public affairs at Janssen Asia Pacific. Based in Sydney, she will oversee the agency's healthcare portfolio across its 12 offices in the region, reporting to Baxter Jolly, CEO Asia Pacific. Mermod has worked in senior positions including managing director and president in agencies in Australia, the US and the UK.

Linda Lee has been promoted to be LinkedIn's director of corporate communications for APAC and China. Lee had previously served as head of brand marketing, communications and social impact, for Southeast and North Asia.

WPP has appointed John Rogers as global chief financial officer. Rogers is currently chief executive officer of Sainsbury’s Argos and was previously CFO of J Sainsbury from 2010 to 2016. 

Singapore-based marketing agency Now Communications Group has acquired experiential design and production lab Mischief Makers. Mischief Makers, founded in 2015 by Jaymi McManus, has created experiences for brands including Grab, City Developments Limited, CapitaLand and Thales. The acquisition forms part of Now Comms Asia's strategy to develop, grow and diversify across Asia Pacific.

Havas-owned PR agency One Green Bean has appointed Simone Gupta (née Drewry) as its new CEO in Australia. Gupta, former MD at Mango will start with the agency in early 2020, succeeding Claire Salvetti who is departing at the end of the year to relocate to Barcelona. Gupta is currently MD of influencer marketing agency @London and prior to that was in leadership roles at Edelman and Ogilvy in London.

Jack Morton has promoted Vinny Panchal from client services director to general manager in Australia. He will continue in the position of executive client lead, while also leading the team to build brand experiences. Panchal also spearheads the growth of Genuine X, the agency’s innovation practice, and the agency’s experiential measurement program in Australia. He will continue to report to Helen Graney who was recently appointed as group managing director of Weber Shandwick and Jack Morton Australia. 

Happiness Saigon appointed Gregory Titeca as executive creative director. He was one of the original founders of the Happiness Group in 2005 in Brussels, together with group CEO Karen Corrigan. He later worked at BBH London as most recently at Publicis.

TBA Studios, a commercial film outfit in the Philippines, appointed entertainment and celebrity PR firm Publicity Asia, based in Manila, to lead both domestic and worldwide branding, marketing and communications. The agency will develop data-driven creative campaigns to grow TBA Studios’ reputation for producing high-quality films, increase its fan base, work on studio branding and  and serve as subject matter expert on growth and business development.

GOVT Singapore has announced Alvina Seah as managing director of the Singaporean independent agency, tasked to lead the agency’s cultural, strategic and financial health, as well as key accounts. Seah’s previous role was managing director of BBDO Shanghai, though she started her career in Singaore at Proximity BBDO and then TBWA. Seah was named as one of Campaign's Women to Watch in Asia Pacific 2018.