Move and win roundup: Havas, McCann, JWT, Kantar Millward Brown, Wunderman, LinEngage and more

PEOPLE MOVES

McCann Worldgroup Australia promoted Melbourne chief creative officer Pat Baron to national chief creative officer, a role that has remained unfilled since John Mescall became global executive creative director at McCann Worldgroup in New York in June 2014.

Independent agency Forward3D appointed Richard Brosgill as head of Forward3D APAC, based in the agency’s newly opened Hong Kong office. He was previously the director of international performance. As APAC head he will oversee manage Forward3D’s APAC team in London, and the offices in Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo and Singapore.

J. Walter Thompson Asia Pacific appointed Ida Siow as head of planning for Southeast Asia and head of planning for Singapore. She was most recently planning partner at Ogilvy & Mather in Shanghai and has also worked at BBH in London and DDB in Singapore.

Fitch promoted David Blair, currently regional CEO for EMEIA (Europe, the Middle East and India) to global CEO, effective 3 April. Blair has been with Fitch since 2005, and spent five years in India starting in 2007.

Intelligence firm ORC International appointed Alena Rossini as managing director in Singapore to expand the Engine Group’s footprint in Singapore and Southeast Asia. She joins from Kantar Group, where she managed strategy and innovation across the region.

F5 Networks appointed Adam Judd as APAC senior vice president of sales, based in Singapore. Judd was most recently APAC vice president at Brocade Communications. 

Kantar Millward Brown appointed Pablo Gómez Martínez as regional head of media for Asia Pacific. He joins from IPG Mediabrands, where he was regional communications planning director for APAC.

Loren Bradley joined The Sweetshop’s Sydney office as executive producer. 

FTI Consulting hired Akshay Bhardwaj as a senior consultant in the firm’s strategic communications division. Based in New Delhi, Bhardwaj will focus on public affairs and policy, bringing almost a decade of experience to the role. 

LinEngage, MullenLowe Lintas’ experiential marketing arm, boosted its Delhi operations by hiring Gagan Pal Singh Nagi as vice president and business head, north. Nagi comes from RK Swamy, and will head LinEngage’s Gurgaon office. 

Wunderman appointed Thomas Brauch as head of data and analytics, APAC. He was most recently the SVP for Wunderman’s Insurance, Banking and Wealth Management overseeing digital analytics and data strategy solutions across North America. Brauch will be based in Singapore for his new role.

Havas China appointed Icy Li Yuhong as managing director of its Shanghai operations. She will in charge of managing existing and new client relationships, as well as driving growth through the adoption of integrated thinking within the agency. Li was the former head of strategy integration and chief strategy officer, digital for Publicis Groupe Shanghai prior to joining Havas.

BUSINESS WINS

OMD Singapore retained Science Centre Singapore’s media account following a three-way pitch involving Amobee and Vizeum Singapore. The scope of work involves media strategy, planning and buying for a period of two years.

DKSH business unit Healthcare was appointed by Johnson & Johnson to grow its consumer health business in Hong Kong. A dedicated DKSH team will provide marketing, sales, distribution and logistics activities in both retail and professional outlets such as hospitals, clinics, doctor offices and pharmacies. Products under the agreement include Regaine, Listerine, Aveeno, Neutrogena, Anusol, Gelusil, Imodium, Nicorette, Nizoral, Pregaine, Trosyd, Bandaid, Carefree as well as Johnson's baby. 

Havas Group’s Ecselis was appointed performance marketing agency for CMC Markets Singapore, a financial derivatives dealer, following a four-agency pitch. Ecselis will manage the brand’s digital media performance marketing and analytics. 

Mobile marketplace Carousell appointed 8 MAD as its branding and integrated marketing agency for Malaysia. The agency will develop an integrated campaign to boost Carousell’s presence in the country. 

The Hoffman Agency was appointed agency of record for food and drink show THAIFEX-World of Food Asia 2017 in Bangkok, Thailand. Run by trade fair organiser Koelnmesse, Hoffman will drive a communications strategy to promote the event.  

Craft Communications retained Siem Reap luxury boutique hotel Heritage Suites Hotel and Bali weddings specialist Tirtha Bridal. The agency will carry out PR campaigns targeting the Chinese market for both the clients. 

Independent social-media and content-marketing agency BRCKTS secured business with Singapore-based brands, i.Dental (a dental clinic) and Jing Hua Xiao Chi (a restaurant).

DEC PR in Australia won the communications mandate for tradesmen hiring portal hipages. The agency will seek to build brand awareness of hipages among tradesmen, consumers and investors.

OTHER NEWS

Kuala Lumpur-based marketing consultancy Entropia launched its big data offering Entropia Sentient. The service will provide big data infrastructure, insights and strategy to clients, supported by its team of data scientists. Entropia hired Sonny Dey, formerly head of big data at SAP Hybris, to lead Entropia Sentient. 

Australian Gold Coast agency Pineapple PR merged with national PR and brand experience firm The Red Republic. The rebranded agency is named The Pineapple Republic, which now has offices in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. 

Singaporean influencer marketing outfit Gushcloud acquired Los Angeles-based uFluencer, a social media talent management agency. The merger led to the launch of Gushcloud Talent Agency in the US and Asia, allowing cross-market distribution of social media talent and content.