In a move that was planned when he joined as MullenLowe Profero APAC CEO in March, Vincent Digonnet will now step up to APAC CEO for MullenLowe Group.
Digonnet had North Asia CEO for MullenLowe Group added to his business card in May, and during the last month brought the network's "hyperbundled" approach to China and Japan.
The promotion is effective immediately. Digonnet will remain based in Hong Kong and will report to global CEO Alex Leikikh.
Digonnet takes on leadership of the South and Southeast Asia region from Joseph George, who recently announced he is stepping down after 26 years in the network. MullenLowe Lintas Group in India and 303 MullenLowe in Australia will continue to report directly to Leikikh.
The new position will help Digonnet deploy resources in each market to make MullenLowe "more digital at its core" while moving MullenLowe Profero from digital communications to business transformation, he told Campaign Asia-Pacific.
"I will be able to leverage our existing capabilities in each market," he said, citing Indonesia as an example where the network has digital capabilities within MullenLowe but no Profero footprint. "It will allow us to bring to our clients a seamless capability," he added.
The network's recent announcements show, Digonnet asserted, that it was in a better position to create a more unified structure than other networks or holding companies that are making similar moves. Rather than having to destroy existing power structures and deal with politics, MullenLowe is simply building a better operation, he said.
Leikikh said in a release that in the six months since he joined, Digonnet has made a "huge difference as a dynamic and forward-looking leader" and cited his digital expertise as a crucial ingredient in the network's effort to "embed digital-first leadership within all our markets".