Kiron Kesav appointed as strategy chief of PHD APAC

Kiron Kesav has been appointed as the chief strategy officer for APAC at PHD. Kesav is currently chief strategy officer for Malaysia at Omnicom Media Group (OMG) and will continue in this role until a suitable replacement is found. Kesav's new role is effective immediately and he will report to PHD APAC CEO Eileen Ooi. His mandate includes strategic planning, business growth, innovation, and digital transformation at PHD.

Strategy at the agency was previously handled by Imogen Bourke as director strategy, APAC, at PHD, before she left the agency last December. Her predecessor Chris Stephenson went on to become worldwide chief marketing officer at PHD.     

As CSO at OMG Malaysia, Kesav has led successful multi-market and local pitches for brands including Oppo, Warner Bros Discovery, CelcomDigi and Dutch Lady. He has been a champion of AI adoption within the OMG system.

The promotion marks a return to PHD for Kesav who spent three years with the agency's Malaysia operations as general manager of strategy and platforms and played a key role in scaling the adoption of PHD's Omni platform in the market.

He previously worked at Mindshare in Malaysia and UM in Mumbai, besides an early-career stint as a voiceover artist and a translator. 

Speaking about the appointment, Ooi said, “Kiron is a seasoned strategy expert who is skilled in navigating the complexities of brand building. Having worked with him during my time at PHD and OMG in Malaysia, I recognised his knack for insightful analysis and creative problem-solving that successfully brought clients’ visions to life. His ability to unlock growth opportunities while leveraging OMG’s agency as a platform proposition to create inspiring executions will help our clients outthink, outpace, and outgrow their competition.”

Kesav added, "PHD APAC boasts of some of the sharpest strategic minds in the industry and for me, it is a fantastic feeling to once again don the PHD colours and work alongside them. I see our strategy teams across markets being the force multipliers in our journey to make our new proposition—Intelligence. Connected—meaningful in APAC while capitalising on the immense potential of OMG’s capabilities.”

Other recent appointments at Omnicom Media Group include Winnie Chen-Head as CEO of its Malaysia operations, who joined from Dentsu Malaysia.