Initiative names new Thailand CEO

Initiative is appointing Sora Kaitkanarat to be its new CEO in Thailand, effective immediately, moving into the role from his prior position as chief strategy officer of Mediabrands Thailand.

With a background in strategy and business development, Kaitkanarat will be tasked with rapidly expansing Initiative's core competencies in the market as driver of business growth using 'Cultural Velocity'. 

Kaitkanarat has more than 23 years’ specialized experience in advertising, brand consultancy, and media. He started his career at Dentsu Young & Rubicam as a strategist before joining Lowe (Lintas) Thailand to lead strategy and business development in 2000, then joined Euro RSCG (Havas) as managing director, and moved to Mediabrands in 2012 as managing director of strategy and innovation, before advancing to chief strategy officer of Mediabrands Thailand.

While regional and global peers emphasise the business acumen Kaitkanarat brings to the table, the new CEO stated his larger goal is to foster a great working culture at the agency to fuel that business.

Initiative Thailand team

“Progression and culture have always been the bedrocks of Initiative Thailand. I look forward to driving progressive solutions for our clients, and working even more closely with our business partners," he said. "Great work starts with a happy workforce and my overriding ambition is to lead Initiative Thailand to be the best place to work in market for our talent.”

Kaitkanarat earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Communication Art from Bangkok University in 2020, specializing in corporate social innovation. He is also on the committee of the Media Agency Association of Thailand (MAAT) and an external advisory director of various leading universities.

Predecessor Malee Kittipongpisal, will continue her role as an executive business consultant for Mediabrands Thailand through 2021.

“Dr.Sora has always been an excellent strategic consultant partner to our Mediabrands Thailand network, crafting work that delivered clients’ business growth while at the same time commercialized artistic value that won awards regionally and locally, said Tharaputh Charuvatana, Group CEO of Mediabrands Thailand. "I am confident that he will help build the third decade of Initiative Thailand’s success, following his notable predecessors Khun Wannee, and Khun Malee.”

"Sora is both a passionate strategist and a true entrepreneurial leader who has a track record of driving business development and innovative solutions in our Thailand market,” added Leigh Terry, CEO of Mediabrands APAC and CEO of Initiative APAC. “It gives me great pleasure to witness the development of our own brilliant talent and to be able to appoint this key leadership role from within our ranks. Sora has been a strategic driving force behind the strong track record of the Mediabrands Thailand network and will continue this strong forward momentum for the Initiative brand.”

Initiative was ranked #1 in Thailand for qualitive evaluation by the Research Evaluation Company for Media Agencies (RECMA) in its 2020 report on media agencies.