Havas Media Thailand appoints Ferdinand Gutierrez as CEO

Gutierrez will report directly to Vishnu Mohan, CEO of Havas Media Group Asia Pacific, and in addition to leading the Thai media team, is tasked with developing the county’s operations into a digital hub for the Indochina region.

The appointment follows the acquisition of integrated agency Riverorchid last year, which gave Havas operations in all five countries of Indochina and strengthening its physical presence across nine out of 10 Southeast Asian economies.

Mohan described Thailand as a "strategically important market" for Havas, adding that a strong Thai leadership will greatly augment its position. He praised Gutierrez's experience in traditional and digital marketing as well as his success building his own startup venture.

With over 20 years of experience, Gutierrez has worked with Universal McCann, Mindshare, New Media and Ogilvy on clients including Unilever, Coca-Cola, MasterCard, and IBM.

Gutierrez also did a stint as the chief marketing officer of Buzzebees Company Thailand, where he led CRM initiatives for brands such as Samsung and was responsible for the expansion of the business into Laos. He was also the founder of Sandbox Global; a social gaming company that built a user base of more than 5.2 million registered users and has been featured among the trending and top-rated apps on Facebook.

Gutierrez said he was attracted to Havas’ vision of integration and collaboration, adding that marketers in Thailand will appreciate the agency’s "distinctive approach" to marketing.