Clinton Simpson joins Carat Asia-Pacific as international client president

Simpson, who resigned as IPG Mediabands' managing partner Asia, will join Carat on 4 June.

Simpson joined UM/Initiative Singapore as managing director three years ago, was soon given a leadership role for key global clients in Asia, and then became managing partner for IPG Mediabrands Asia late last year. 

"This is part of what we've been doing over the last year, part of our continued growth and momentum in the region—building the best teams locally and regionally," Sean O'Brien, chief executive officer of Carat Asia Pacific, told Campaign Asia-Pacific. "So far, that is beginning to bear fruit for us. We started the year really well and have had good new business performance so far."

Simpson's impressive track record, particularly in developing new business, landed him the new job, according to O'Brien. Simpson has led multiple market pitches in APAC and is adept in expanding client relationships into additional markets.

Developing international-client business was O'Brien's responsibility as Aegis' chief client officer until he became CEO of Carat Asia-Pacific in March. "With my role changing, we wanted to bring in someone to drive those international clients across the region."

Simpson has a great reputation in the industry and is the right fit for Carat, O'Brien continued. "We've been really careful bringing in the right type of people, building the right mix on our teams," he said. "Probably the biggest factor is someone who's collaborative. We work in a one P&L system across all our businesses. We're a lot less siloed than other groups. Therefore, we bring in people who are naturally collaborative and work well across multiple areas. Attitude is key to that."