Moves and wins roundup: Week of January 27, 2025

Jaslin Goh has joined Octopus Cards as the director of marketing, corporate communications and data, moving from Singapore back to Hong Kong and reporting to Octopus CEO Tim Ying. Goh was Foodpanda’s APAC vice president of marketing before joining Octopus. Prior to that, she was CMO of PayMe at HSBC. She was named Campaign’s Women to Watch in 2022. In her early career, Goh spent more than 14 years in agencies like Ogilvy, McCann and Kantar before leaving for a stint in hospitality with Shangri-La Group.  

GOVT Singapore, an independent agency, has made new appointments and grown its senior management team.

• Phang Mei Jeng, known as MJ, joins as managing director of the agency. Most recently, Phang spent 7 years in Ensemble Worldwide / Mediabrands Content Studio in Malaysia. She also spent four years in BBDO Proximity China. She was named to Campaign’s 40 Under 40 list in 2018. Phang takes over the MD role from Alvina Seah, who will remain as a partner within the GOVT group of companies.
• Kevin Poh has also been promoted from group creative director to executive creative director. Poh has spent seven years at GOVT across two stints. His elevation to ECD follows over four years of creative stewardship of brands such as Sentosa, Julie’s Biscuits, Puma and Asahi. Poh takes over the ECD role from Tim Chan, who will be taking on a new Chief Operating Officer role in The Betterment Group, GOVT’s parent company, alongside longtime partners Leon Lai (CEO) and Aaron Koh (CCO).
• Khoo Kai Qi joins as client services director. Across over 13 years, Khoo has gained experiences across local and international brands in agencies such as Publicis, JWT, Tribal DDB Worldwide and recently, Moon Rabbit Singapore. 

Myer, an Australian retail giant, has appointed independent Australian agency Howatson+Company as its lead creative and production agency, following a competitive pitch, ending Myer’s decade-long agency relationship with Clemenger BBDO in Australia. The transition to Howatson+Company will take effect immediately. The incumbent creative agency is Clemenger BBDO Melbourne and the production company Hogarth. Clemenger BBDO first won the account over 10 years ago against Badjar Ogilvy.

Andrew Ritchie, former strategy director at Digitas ANZ, Publicis Groupe, has launched Wonder Works Digital, a new full-service customer experience and digital marketing agency to provide customer-led experiences driven by creative, marketing and digital transformation. Ritchie brings over two decades of digital leadership working with brands including Toyota, McDonald's, Tourism Australia, and World Vision. 

Archetype, global communications strategy and marketing agency, has appointed Simon Lesch as head of digital marketing for the Sydney office. Before working as a freelance consultant since September 2023, Lesch spent almost two years at marketing consulting company, Orange Line, as a senior strategist. 

Made by Ikigai, a global full-service music and sound agency, has expanded into APAC, led by Ryan Dickinson as founder and creative director. Dickinson has over a decade of experience across London, Amsterdam, Sydney, Singapore and Auckland, working to shape the sound for global brands such as Adidas, Samsung, Coca-Cola, Nike, and BMW. He was previously a music composer and sound designer at agencies.

The Tao of Advertising has appointed Paul Davies as general manager. Before joining Tao, Davies was managing director at The Frank Partnership, a business consulting and services firm; and senior vice president, at Epsilon APAC and MEA. He's also held senior positions at various agencies including OgilvyOne Worldwide and RMG Connect.  Andy Greenaway launched Tao in 2024 as a start-up performance marketing agency.

FCB Group India has won 14 new clients across its agencies, contributing to over US$2 million in business. Among the recent additions to the agency's client roster are Mountain Dew (Pakistan), Sanofi-Dulcoflex, Tasty Bite, Wagh Bakri and Torrent Electricals. These brands represent a diverse range of industries, including FMCG, healthcare, food and beverages, and power.