Move and win roundup: BBDO, Amobee, Mindshare, Havas, more

PEOPLE MOVES 

Adam Ferrier, Jim Ingram and Ben Couzens founded a new Melbourne-based agency dubbed Thinkerbell—said to be a portmanteau of The Thinker and Tinkerbell, representing the joining of “scientific enquiry and brilliant creativity”. The agency said it will address the entire customer experience, from insights to execution. The three founders left Cummins & Partners in March.

BBDO Singapore announced that creative director Umma Saini has transferred in from BBDO India. She was part of the creative team behind P&G Ariel’s #ShareTheLoad campaign and has also worked with clients including Johnson’s Baby, Vodafone, Quaker, Emirates, Amul and Future Group. 

Amobee appointed former Starcom Singapore MD Patricia Goh as vice president, Southeast Asia, reporting to senior vice president of Asia, Robert Woolfrey. The company also appointed Sam Yadallee as vice president, commercial, Asia. She was from Amobee’s London office as VP of commercial partnerships in Europe. 

UM Australia appointed Sam Geer as national strategy officer, replacing Sophie Price who left to join M&C Saatchi. Prior to this role, Geer was the Sydney strategy director of UM for the last 18 months Optus and had been key to new business wins including Virgin Mobile and Lion. Chris Colter will take on the role in Sydney left vacated by Geer. 

Edipresse Media Asia appointed Julie Lee as chief innovation officer. She was previously a founding member of VEVO, a premium music video and entertainment platform. She has also led development efforts for Universal Music Group and was part of Sony Pictures’ digital media incubator, Sony Pictures Digital, where she launched and developed Sony Pictures Mobile.

Hendra Lesmono left Bates CHI&Partners Jakarta after spending 15 years with the agency, he was one of the founding members of David, which later merged with Bates CHI. The agency said it would announce a replacement soon.

Turner Asia Pacific promoted Clement Schwebig to chief financial officer in addition to his current role as SVP of business development, licensing and China. Shitiz Jain, SVP finance, will be pursuing a new opportunity at the end of June.

M&C Saatchi February appointed N. Ramesh as president of creative. He was formerly executive creative director of agencies including Enterprise, Ambience, Ogilvy, Lowe, Meridian and The Thinking Machine.

Mindshare expanded Sanchit Sanga’s role as chief digital officer for Mindshare Asia Pacific to also include the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA).

Singapore Press Holdings announced several leadership changes: Ng Yat Chung will be executive director, effective 1 July; and CEO, effective 1 September. He is currently an independent director and chairs several committees of the group. Both Alan Chan Heng Loon and Patrick Daniel will retire from their respective roles as CEO and deputy CEO, effective 1 September. Daniel will continue to be with the group as a part-time consultant. 

BUSINESS WINS

Havas Indonesia announced business wins including Emirates Airlines, Indonesia Stock Exchange, A&W Restaurants and Nikki (a brand of Nojorono Tobacco). The Emirates win adds the airline’s creative remit to the media account Havas already manages. The appointment by A&W Restaurants also includes both creative and media.

The Hoffman Agency was appointed by global water technology and service provider Ecolab as its PR and communications consultancy in China for 2017. 

International residence and citizenship advisory firm Henley & Partners appointed communications agency Lewis to assist with the strategy and implementation of an integrated communications program across Asia Pacific. Lewis will deploy a range of content and media services and also develop a paid media strategy to further amplify Henley & Partners’ message and programs.

Fidelity International appointed Manghamgaxiola Mcgarrybowen, part of Dentsu Aegis Network, as creative agency of record, to develop brand and product campaigns aimed at both end consumers and financial intermediaries across Southeast Asia.

OTHER NEWS

Bloomberg Media Group entered into a video content partnership with Yahoo! Japan. The portal will feature subtitled Bloomberg video content covering business, finance, technology and lifestyle news.

MediaMath launched operations in South Korea by appointing Wishmedia as its official reseller. The country becomes MediaMath’s 43rd market.

FOX Networks Group Asia and CBS Corporation announced a content-licensing trademark agreement for Showtime in Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The agreement means viewers in those markets will get access to shows such as Twin Peaks, I’m Dying Up Here, Ray Donovan, Dexter and Californication.

AdAsia Holdings opened an office in Hong Kong.