Move and win roundup: Week of June 2, 2025

Clemenger Group’s long-serving chairman, Robert Morgan, has announced his retirement, effective at the end of June. Morgan’s advertising career began at Monahan Dayman Adams, before joining Clemenger in 1979 as an account executive in Melbourne. Over the years, he steadily rose through the ranks, becoming a director in 1984 and managing director of Clemenger BBDO in 1989. In 1998, he succeeded co-founder Peter Clemenger as CEO of the group, a role he held until the end of 2021. Morgan also served as chairman of the group for an impressive 23 years. Les Timar succeeded him as CEO of Clemenger Group in 2022.

Ogilvy has launched Ogilvy Consulting in India, appointing Neeraj Bassi as the head of the consulting practice. Bassi, who returns to Ogilvy India, will be based in the Gurugram office and will also serve as head of strategic planning for Ogilvy India (North). With a career spanning over 28 years, Bassi was most recently chief growth officer at Cheil X India. He has held senior leadership roles as chief strategy officer at Publicis, Havas, and Cheil India. Bassi began his career with McCann Erickson in 1997 and has also worked internationally with JWT in Dubai. His previous tenure at Ogilvy ended in 2015 when he was president of strategic planning for Ogilvy, Gurugram.

Independent Australian creative network Zoo Group has named Mitchell Tan as managing director of its Singapore office. Tan, a seasoned advertising professional, brings extensive experience from his career with DDB Singapore and Hong Kong, and most recently, Ogilvy Singapore. He has led numerous high-profile international accounts and worked with prominent local brands such as Singtel, Changi Airport Group, and several government agencies and ministries.

Madhu S Dutta has launched an independent marketing agency, House of MSD, after more than two decades in the industry. She was most recently head of marketing and general manager, brand, media and digital social at Raymond. 

Assembly has appointed Aaron Kleiman as general manager and client VP of its Japan operations. In his dual role, Kleiman will lead all aspects of the agency’s Japan operations, overseeing strategy, performance, and cross-functional team integration. He will also serve as a senior advisor to local and global clients. Kleiman brings over 25 years of experience in the Japanese market. Most recently, he was the deputy head of Initiative Japan. Prior to that, he worked for Mediabrands, Pico Group and George P Johnson.

Paramount has picked Publicis as its media agency after more than two decades working with WPP Media. As revealed by Deadline, the decision was not the result of a regular agency review, and it comes as Paramount’s proposed merger with Skydance looms. Both Paramount and WPP Media declined to provide comment. It is unclear whether this global decision will impact local markets. The partnership between Paramount and WPP started in 2004.

Communications experts Arundhati Saha and Pauline Yoong have launched Influence, a strategic B2B influencer marketing consultancy based in Singapore. Positioned at the intersection of thought leadership, digital strategy, and brand storytelling, Influence helps brands unlock the full power of B2B influence to craft compelling narratives that drive business impact and elevate brand visibility. Previously, Saha worked for PRecious Communications, Iris, Havas, OMG and Ogilvy. Yoong was with PRecious Communications, SPRG, Strategic DigitaLab, and Godfrey Q.

DDB Group Philippines has appointed Vina Henson and Chewy Chua as its co-chief operating officers. As group co-COOs, both Henson and Chua will retain their current roles, as managing director of DDB MNL and managing director of Agile Intelligence, respectively. Henson brings more than three decades of experience in integrated marketing communications, with 20 years spent at DDB Group. She is also the managing director of DDB MNL, a hybrid creative solutions agency she co-founded in 2017. Chua has been a force at Agile Intelligence, establishing it as DDB Group’s centre of excellence for data, strategy, and analytics. Before leading Agile Intelligence, he was instrumental in founding Tribal DDB in 2008, which underscores his digital-centric career spanning over 25 years.

Asia-based luxury lifestyle and design PR agency, Petrie PR, has been appointed as the public relations partner for the HKS Singapore Hospitality Studio, part of the architecture and design firm HKS. Petrie PR will activate an integrated communications strategy to amplify HKS Singapore Hospitality Studio’s presence across Singapore and Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan.

The Marketing Society has announced two new additions to its Singapore board: Stuart La Brooy, chief marketing officer and SVP of Sephora SEA, Oceania & India (LVMH), and Claire Pinel, senior director of frontline marketing and portfolio lead for ASEAN & South Pacific at The Coca-Cola Company. Meanwhile, Matthias Blume steps down as a board member as he relocates to Australia to take on the role of vice president and general manager for the Alcoholic Ready-to-Drink Beverages division at The Coca-Cola Company.

Consulting and brand advisory firm DJM Consulting has named Mark Goh as head of creative strategy and partnerships as it accelerates its international expansion. Goh, who has held senior roles at Tatler Asia and Omnicom Media Group, brings over 20 years of experience to the role. DJM has also won the marketing mandate for Orbitel International Group, the company behind O’s Bubble, a fast-growing global F&B brand. Under this retainer, DJM will lead global brand communications and go-to-market strategies for O’s Bubble as it expands in America, Europe, and key Asian markets.

Integral Ad Science (IAS), a media measurement and optimisation company, has appointed Alpana Wegner as chief financial officer, effective June 10, 2025. Wegner will oversee IAS’s global finance team and report directly to CEO Lisa Utzschneider. She succeeds Jill Putman, who has served as interim CFO since January 2025. Wegner brings over 25 years of financial leadership experience, most recently as CFO of Secureworks.

Farez Khan, group account director at Kuala Lumpur-based creative agency C27, has announced his exit after nearly four years to establish a boutique creative agency, Zero Asia. With two decades of experience spanning film, music, branding, and digital strategy, Khan’s new venture will focus on digital and social media strategy, brand storytelling, and creative direction, catering to clients in the music, youth, and culture sectors. Khan will also continue to consult with C27 on select projects.

New Zealand-based brand activation agency Curious Nation has appointed Braydon Priest as senior producer to support a growing client portfolio. Priest, formerly with Mediaworks, brings 20 years of creative and production expertise. He will oversee project delivery for key clients including Woolworths, Trade Me, Milford Asset Management, Kraft Heinz, Watercare, and the Burnett Foundation Aotearoa.

Samsung Electronics Singapore has appointed Publicis Chemistry Singapore, part of Publicis Groupe, as its new social media agency of record following a pitch process. Publicis Chemistry Singapore will partner with Publicis Media Singapore and Digitas Singapore, currently managing Samsung Electronics Singapore’s media and CRM business respectively. The appointment will consolidate Samsung Electronics Singapore’s social, media, and CRM business in Singapore under Publicis Groupe Singapore, which is aimed at creating a more integrated and agile marketing ecosystem.

Accenture Song Media and Droga5 have been appointed as the new media and creative agencies for Optus, an Australian telecommunications company, following an extensive pitch process, which also marks the end of the telco’s relationships with Emotive, UM Australia, and M+C Saatchi’s bespoke Yes Agency. Apparent has been appointed as specialist B2B creative partner and production incumbent BRX will remain the production partner with an expanded remit. According to Australian media, Optus marks Accenture Song Media’s first client win, with an estimated annual media billings of over AU$100 million (US$650,000).

Enigma, an independent full-service agency, has been appointed by fintech company Humm Group as its agency partner. The appointment will see Enigma working across strategy, media and creative for Humm Group.

IPG Mediabrands has promoted two senior executives in the Greater China region.

• Penny Chow, former managing director of IPG Mediabrands Taiwan/MBCS Hong Kong, is promoted to chief operating officer, IPG Mediabrands Greater China. Chow joined IPG Mediabrands Hong Kong in 2017 to launch MBCS. In 2022, she took the helm of IPG Mediabrands Taiwan. In 2024, Chow won Campaign’s Women to Watch Greater China and Women Leading Change awards. She will be based in Taiwan, reporting to Melinda Po, CEO of IPG Mediabrands Greater China.
• Jay Lee, former executive creative director of MBCS Hong Kong, is promoted to executive creative director of MBCS Greater China. Since joining IPG Mediabrands in 2017, Lee has embraced a data-driven creative approach. His career, spanning over two decades, has seen him work on accounts including Samsung, 3 Telecom, Hong Kong Airlines, McDonald’s, Wrigley, and Volkswagen. He will be based in Hong Kong and reports to Chow.

Integrated creative agency Tilt, a subsidiary of HM International, has appointed Subbaraju Alluri as CEO, SEA. With over two decades of leadership experience in the marketing and communications industry, Alluri has a proven track record of building agencies, including Grey Group, RAPP and JWT, and driving business transformation across diverse and fast-paced Asian markets. 

Publicis Media has promoted Elaine Poh to chief operating officer, Singapore. Poh joined the agency in 2020 as general manager. She was most recently managing director of Publicis Media Singapore following a promotion in 2021. Before leading Publicis Media, she worked for over 19 years at Starcom. She will continue to report to Ian Loon, CEO, media and digital at Publicis Groupe Singapore, and chief transformation officer, Southeast Asia.

Ben Coulson, chief creative officer of Dentsu Creative ANZ, has left the agency. Coulson joined the agency in September 2023, less than two years before. Before joining Dentsu, he was CCO of The Hero, McCann Worldgroup, Clemember BBDO, and Young & Rubicam. Brett Colliver, co-CCO of the New Zealand team alongside Mike Felx, steps in to lead the Australian creative in the interim. Colliver joined the agency over two years ago from  DDB Group Aotearoa, with previous experience from Colenso BBDO and Clemenger BBDO.