Reading Room promotes from within for MD role, eyes expansion

Tan takes over the role of Janet Darby, who remains at the agency, also as MD, but will have new responsibilities that Reading Room cannot divulge yet, according to a spokesperson.

Tan joined the company in Australia in 2010 as a developer before advancing to technical director and then division head prior this promotion.

Aside from Singapore operations, Tan told Campaign Asia-Pacific he will focus on expanding the agency's footprint in Southeast Asia while maintaining the quality of its work and the consulting it provides. He reports to Margaret Manning, group CEO.

Tan cited Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong as markets where the agency is looking to open additional offices, in part to serve global clients. He declined to specify any time frames.

The agency has a lot of experience with clients in government, retail, hospitality and education, but works across many more sectors, focusing on user experience, Tan said.

"To us, pushing out a website is not a success factor," he said. "We believe in being able to engage users, being able to capture their attention and get them to do things that achieve objectives. That's where success comes."