Simone Barratt

Digital marketing industry veteran, Simone Barratt has been promoted to President of GSI Global Marketing Services International following 10 years as Managing Director of e-Dialog International, an integrated digital marketing solutions provider within the GSI Commerce Marketing Services Division.

In this newly created role, Simone will be responsible for developing an international presence and providing strategic leadership and direction to drive business growth across EMEA and APAC for the GMS product portfolio. She will also oversee overall global operations and international business affairs for the product businesses. In addition to this strategic guidance, Simone will continue in her role as Managing Director of e-Dialog International, providing leadership across the agency’s global accounts.

Simone is a member of the DMA Email Marketing Council and has over 20 years of experience in direct and digital marketing. She started one of the earliest new media companies in London, which was incorporated into the Interpublic Group. Since 2000, Simone has been working with e-Dialog to establish and grow the company in the UK. In this time, she has expanded its client base across Europe and more recently established an office in Asia Pacific. Under Simone’s leadership, e-Dialog International has worked with globally recognised brands including British Airways, Skype, Reuters, and Philips.

Simone’s new role will involve collaborating with e-Dialog and GSI’s partner companies ClearSaleing, FetchBack, PepperJam, M3 Mobile and MBS Insight to help launch their products and services across international markets.


Julie Yap

Mediabrands announced today the appointment of Julie Yap as Senior Business Intelligence Analyst, Asia Pacific. Based in Singapore, Julie will lead the design and implementation of business intelligence solutions that harness the power of Mediabrands’ investment in data and data warehouse platforms such as Mediabrands Marketing Intelligence Platform (MIP)

Julie will draw on her industry-specific Business Intelligence and Database skills to consult, design and deliver solutions for Mediabrands clients that fulfill their analytical and reporting requirements. In addition, Julie will work to streamline data flow as well as improve data quality and accuracy for her clients.

Julie joins Mediabrands from GroupM Asia Pacific. As Business Analyst, Global IT, Julie helped implement the company’s Digital Campaign Management tool. She was also closely involved in converting in-house reporting to Business Objects XI R3, and setting up GroupM’s Global Data warehouse system.

Prior to GroupM, Julie was Senior Consultant at Accel Solutions, where she managed a team of analysts that gathered user requirements and designed report specifications for clients. Early in her career, Julie worked for MTV Asia as a business systems executive and at Maxtor Peripherals as a software engineer.


Jonathan Hardy

Microsoft Advertising has announced the appointment of Jonathan Hardy as Sales Development Director of Microsoft Advertising and Publishing Solutions, Greater Asia Pacific.

Bringing in more than 10 years of regional experience and over two decades of both traditional and digital advertising experience, Jonathan will drive integrated campaigns for clients across the region. In his new role, he will report to Jason Scott, General Manager, Asia, Microsoft Advertising, and will still be based in Singapore.

Jonathan joined Microsoft in 2010, having taken up the role of Specialist Sales Director, Microsoft Advertising and Publishing Solutions, Greater Asia Pacific. Prior to Microsoft Advertising, Jonathan founded Energy Media Networks in Hong Kong in 2005, working closely with clients including New York Times Media Group, Reuters and CondeNast.

Before Energy Media Networks, Jonathan was the international advertising director of Fortune, and later moved onto join DoubleClick as international business development director. He has also had stints at Cheney Communications and Newsweek.


Clarence Chiew

Integrated creative agency iris Singapore has appointed Clarence Chiew as its new deputy creative director. Chiew joins from JWT Singapore, where he was associate creative director, and will take up the position in June reporting to creative director Subha Naidu.

Prior to joining JWT in 2006, rising through the ranks from senior copywriter, creative group head to associate creative director, Chiew was copywriter for communications agency 10AM from 2003 and prior to that worked at Crush and Orange Interactive.


Sony Wong

Sony Wong has been appointed Managing Director for PHD Singapore. Sony will be responsible for driving PHD’s leadership position and growth in Singapore. He commences his role in July 2011 and will report to Torie Henderson.

Sony joins PHD from Hawley and Hazel where he has been Singapore Country Manager. He has held a variety of senior positions spanning blue-chip brands and media agencies in a career of over twenty years. Sony led Carat Singapore, where he played a key role in expanding the new business footprint before moving to Maxus as Managing Director for Singapore. Sony was later promoted to Managing Director of Mindshare in Singapore, where he led his team in winning several major business pitches and industry awards. Earlier in his career as a marketer, Sony helped FMCG conglomerates such as Asia Pacific Breweries and Unilever, to launch new products, expand market share and develop innovative communication campaigns.


Mediabrands announced two appointments that substantially strengthen the agency’s digital expertise in Asia Pacific:

Nick Tulloch, Regional Digital Manager, Mediabrands Asia Pacific

Nick is responsible for delivering high value digital services to regional clients and he will play an important role in leading and developing client relationships. Further, Nick’s wealth of experience in digital display and search will help Mediabrands’ clients to devise creative, innovative solutions that maximize ROI and improve business performance.

Previously, Nick was Digital Account Manager at Initiative UK, where he was responsible for managing the pan-European digital campaign for one of the world’s largest rental car companies. Prior to Initiative, Nick was Senior Digital Planner and Buyer at OMD in London, where he oversaw planning and buying for the Post Office’s online advertising campaigns. Nick began his communications career at Manning Gottlieb OMD. In his new role, Nick reports to Arun Kumar, Head of Digital, Mediabrands Asia Pacific.

Mike Zeng

Mike Zeng, Digital Head, UM China

Mike’s appointment as Digital Head of UM China reflects the fact that UM is focused on the development and expansion of UM’s digital offering in the region. UM has made several strategic investments that have extended existing digital partnerships as well as imported relevant, effective technology that differentiates UM from the competition.

Mike will be responsible for leveraging the power of digital for clients and will work closely with UM’s local team in China, as well as Arun Kumar, Head of Digital, Mediabrands Asia Pacific.

Previously, Mike was Business Director and Media Head at Tribal DDB Shanghai, where he managed a team of 15 that was responsible for overseeing integrated digital services for clients such as VW China, McDonald’s and Acer. He is reporting directly to Simon Woodward, CEO, UM China.


Steve Blakeman

OMD announced the appointment of Steve Blakeman as Chief Executive Officer for the Asia Pacific region. Steve will lead OMD operations, drive existing client satisfaction as well as drive growth and enhance OMD’s value-proposition across the region.

Blakeman began his career at JWT and has over two decades of experience in advertising, media and marketing communications. He joins OMD from IPG, where he occupied the position of Chief Integration Strategy Officer, Asia Pacific, dividing his time between Universal McCann, Initiative and McCann Erickson on global clients such as Coca- Cola, Johnson & Johnson and MasterCcard. Blakeman has established a reputation for innovation and thought leadership by developing creative channel planning solutions and data driven analysis to deliver tangible business benefit to clients.

Prior to IPG, Steve worked as Managing Partner at Omnicom Media Group owned media agency, PHD where he successfully launched their second office in the UK.

Steve Blakeman He will commence his role at OMD at some point in the third quarter of 2011, reporting to Barry Cupples, CEO, Omnicom Media Group, Asia Pacific.


Daniel Simon

Mediabrands promoted Daniel Simon to Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Asia at UM and Initiative. Daniel will be responsible for maintaining each company’s independence, driving operational synergies as well as managing day-to-day challenges throughout G14 and World Markets in Asia.

Daniel joined UM in September 2006, as CFO of UM, Asia Pacific. In 2008, he was appointed CFO of Mediabrands, Asia Pacific and in March 2010, he was named a Member of the Board at Mediabrands, Asia Pacific, which saw him involved in Asia’s management while still CFO.

Before joining Mediabrands, Daniel worked for Saatchi & Saatchi as CFO of its Asia Pacific operations.

Daniel has nearly 20 years of experience both in advertising and the Asia Pacific region and graduated from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Economics.


Todd Handcock

Equinix, Inc., a provider of global data center services, announced that Todd Handcock has been named chief marketing officer and vice president of marketing and strategy for Asia Pacific. Handcock joins Equinix from British Telecom (BT) where he was most recently vice president of Asia Pacific Business Transformation, accountable for leading BT’s major investment and expansion program in the region. Handcock will lead Equinix’s strategic planning and execution of the product and marketing roadmap in Asia Pacific.

Prior to joining BT, Handcock was Asia Pacific Vice president President at Descartes Systems Group and general manager of Global Alliances and Accounts with Maves International Software. Handcock also held senior management positions at Ometraco Group and Cott Corporation. He began his career in Asia at the Canadian Embassy in Indonesia.

Handcock holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Calgary and a post-graduate diploma in Asia Pacific Management from the McRae Institute of International Management at Capilano College in Vancouver.


Anand Sanghi

Emerson Network Power has appointed Anand Sanghi as president of its Asia market operations. The Asia Pacific business is comprised of three strong teams in China, India and Asia, where Sanghi will report directly to Stephen Liang, Emerson Network Power Asia Pacific president.

In his new role, Sanghi will assume full leadership and general management responsibility for Emerson Network Power’s Asia organization covering Australia and New Zealand, South East Asia, Japan, South Korea, and Pakistan.

The appointment is indicative of Emerson Network Power’s business in the region which has seen steady growth through the years despite fluctuations in the economy and the company’s core IT&C markets. It also reflects the company’s confidence in its strategy in the region, as it continues to expand with new customers, partners, and geographies.

Sanghi joined Emerson in 1994 as a business planner for Copeland, now part of Emerson Climate Technologies. He held several roles of increasing responsibility in Copeland and was later promoted to director of planning and business development in Emerson Electric in Asia Pacific based out of the corporate office in Hong Kong. He moved to Emerson Network Power in Asia Pacific in 2001 as director of planning, then product management, service and marketing. Most recently, Sanghi was vice-president of operations for Emerson Network Power in Asia.

Sanghi has an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Sanghi is married with two small boys, and is based in the regional headquarters in Manila.


Meanwhile, Ken Chang takes over Jonathan Hardy’s previous role of Specialist Sales Director, Microsoft Advertising and Publishing Solutions, APAC (Southeast Asia, Korea, Australia, New Zealand). Also based in Singapore, Ken will report to Kerry McCabe, General Manager for APAC.

Ken was previously the Director of Strategic Alliances for Microsoft's Consumer and Online Group in Asia Pacific and was in charge of extending Microsoft's consumer presence in Asia Pacific through its online properties and consumer solutions including MSN, Windows Live, Office Live, Xbox, Bing, and more.

Ken has been with Microsoft for over five years. His first role was managing Business Development and Partner Strategy for Microsoft's Small Business Group in the United States, before relocating to Asia.

Prior to Microsoft, Ken was responsible for Business Development and Strategy at Wells Fargo Bank's Payment Solutions division in San Francisco, California and held senior management positions at eHow.com (now a Demand Media company), Williams-Sonoma, Inc., and Sony Licensing.


In line with its focus on growth in emerging markets, Orange Business Services has appointed Le Tuan as General Manager of ASEAN. Tuan assumes responsibility for operations in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand in addition to his role as Asia Pacific Director of Channels.

Before he joined Orange in 2009, Tuan was general manager of F5 Networks responsible for sales in Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam. His career also includes nine years in Microsoft in sales and management positions.


Quest Software, Inc., a leading provider of IT management software,has appointed Gary Saw as Managing Director, South East Asia.

Saw has more than 15 years of IT sales and management experience and will be based in Quest Software’s Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore. He will be responsible for driving revenue growth across South East Asia and will work with the wider management team to achieve strategic business expansion in the region.

Prior to joining Quest, he spent eight years at IBM, driving significant growth within Tivoli Software, part of the IBM software group. Saw holds a B.Sc (Econ) in Management Studies from the University of London.


Polycom today announced several enhancements to its executive staff, further strengthening the company’s sales and marketing leadership and execution in Asia Pacific.

Leading the pack is Hansjoerg Wagner , current President for Polycom Asia Pacific and the newly appointed Senior Vice President of Global Field Operations. Based in Singapore, Hansjoerg’s role now includes global service sales, global sales processes, and Polycom’s global cloud initiative.

Polycom expanded leadership team also includes:

    • Gary Testa as vice president of the Global Cloud and Service Provider Solutions Group. A 25-year sales and marketing veteran with a track record of success at such companies as IBM Tivoli Software and Ditech Networks, Inc., Testa will be responsible for driving global sales and business development for the full range of Polycom’s service provider partners and managed service customers, and will lead Polycom’s initiatives for cloud-based and mobility-based UC solution adoption.

    • Steven Li remains vice president of China. Li has driven China revenues to a record 11% of consolidated revenues in Q1 2011 and, over the past several years, has catapulted Polycom’s position in China to overall market leader.

    • Michael Chetner is promoted to vice president of Asia Pacific (except China). Chetner, previously country manager for Australia and New Zealand, generated consistent revenue growth and record revenues and increased market share for that region.

    • Paul Newell is promoted to vice president of Asia Pacific Field Operations. Building on Newell’s success with APAC’s Unified Communications strategy, he will now be responsible for driving the region’s strategic initiatives, partner relations to include UC alliances, services providers and systems integrators, and business operations.

  • In June, Kate Hutchison will join Polycom as the company’s new chief marketing officer and executive vice president. Hutchison brings nearly 20 years of executive marketing leadership and brand transformation experience at several of the world’s most successful enterprise software companies, including VMware, Citrix Systems and BEA. Reporting to Polycom President and CEO Andy Miller, Hutchison will lead product marketing, corporate marketing, industry marketing and global field marketing. Hutchison’s background in software, virtualisation, and emerging technologies are expected to accelerate the evolution of Polycom’s brand as it transforms into the software powerhouse that’s enabling the UC Everywhere vision.
Polycom is making these announcements on the heels of another record quarter, in which the company generated significant revenue growth across all geographies. These executive appointments also build on Polycom’s hiring of several world-class executives in 2010 and earlier in 2011 – all designed to position the company for optimal growth and performance in the dynamic UC market.

Cinemacraft Pte. Ltd., a leading technology startup in media and entertainment, announced the appointment of Ashok Srinath as Vice President of Engineering, based in Singapore. Ashok will manage the development and testing efforts for Cinemacraft’s cloud-based interactive mobile video encoding, storage and streaming solution. With over 20 years of experience in high-level technical and managerial roles, Ashok brings with him in-depth knowledge of product development, testing and troubleshooting and diverse aspects of cloud computing.

Based in Singapore with a fully owned subsidiary office in Tokyo, Cinemacraft's vision is to build an Interactive Media Broadcasting Cloud for mobile devices. Cinemacraft’s patented compression and streaming format technologies combined with its HTML-compliant client player provide a single solution that can be used to stream to any mobile device on any network. The solution allows consumers to experience both live and on-demand video with superior clarity and quality on their mobile devices. It currently supports over 70 GPRS mobile devices and over 200 3G mobile devices including Apple iOS, Android, Windows and Blackberry devices.

Ashok began his career working on image processing systems for the US armed forces and subsequently spent several years working on cloud technology in the telecommunications industry. Most recently, Ashok worked for Microsoft on planning for the next release of Windows, for both Client (desktop) and Server Operating Systems. He also managed a team with the entire charter for Windows Live Alerts product and service including development, testing and program management. Ashok holds a Bachelor's Degree in Electronics Engineering from Bangalore University, and has taken diverse undergraduate and graduate courses in Computer Science at various universities in the USA.


MOL Global, the parent company of MOL AccessPortal Sdn. Berhad and Friendster, Inc., appointed Internet industry veteran and former Naspers/MIH executive Craig White as President of Global Operations. He will be based in Singapore.

White has been responsible for several of Naspers’ invested Internet and media companies including BuzzCity, ibibo, Lelong.com.my, Multiply, among others, and has more than 20 years of global leadership experience in the Internet and technology sectors.

Prior to joining Naspers in Singapore, he was based in Thailand and was president for M-Web Thailand/Sanook Online and managing director for Thailand’s KSC Commercial Internet.


Last month Mediabrands announced the appointment of Steven Wang as Director of Application Development, Asia Pacific. Based in Guangzhou, Steven leads Mediabrands’ China Development Centre where the company already has a significant investment in software development resources. Steven is responsible for providing overall strategic direction and delivery for software development in Asia Pacific and he reports directly to Dene Schonknecht, CIO, Mediabrands Asia Pacific.

Steven joins the Mediabrands team from TAL Group, Shanghai, where he served as Department Manager of the firm’s Software Development Center. In this role, Steven managed the development and maintenance of TAL’s proprietary applications. Prior to TAL, Steven worked for Jointech Software in Shenzhen and Yinhoo Software in Xiamen. He also worked for several technology companies in Canada, including SUMmedia, Correlation Technologies and GM Solutions.


Metaswitch Networks, a leading provider of the technologies and solutions that are powering the migration of communications networks to open, next-generation architectures, has announced the opening of an office in the heart of Singapore. Located on Fullerton Road, the new regional headquarters will support a growing customer and employee base while helping drive new sales throughout the territory. Metaswitch, which has over 600 service provider customers around the globe, will also be at CommunicAsia in Singapore later this month demonstrating some of its latest products and Metaswitch Director of Technical Marketing, Simon Dredge, will be presenting "A Tale of Two Cities", a paper exploring options for mobile operators when competing against over-the-top applications.


Yahoo! Inc. announced the acquisition of IntoNow. Launched in January 2011, IntoNow has built a platform and companion TV application based on real time indexing of television that deepens the connections between audiences, television content and advertisers. IntoNow has indexed more than five years of US based television programming, creating a rich database to build video discovery and programming experiences. IntoNow is able to identify content down to the airing, episode and time within the program as well as provide program information and links associated with it, all within a matter of seconds, enabling Yahoo! to provide enhanced media experiences and video programming, bolstering its social engagement across the Yahoo! network and on all screens.

IntoNow users are able to easily engage with friends around the shows they enjoy most and help people discover new shows, discuss favorites with friends and learn more about them, and as well as providing recommendations for what is currently airing based on their interests and those they are connected to. The application is also integrated with Facebook, Twitter, iTunes and Netflix to enable more sharing and information gathering

"IntoNow has built a unique way for people to engage with each other around the content they enjoy," said Adam Cahan, CEO of IntoNow. "Companion applications and devices are changing the way we interact with TV in significant ways. The IntoNow team is excited to be joining Yahoo! to help create new consumer experiences and to be part of Yahoo!'s global scale and reach."


iris, an independent, global creative agency that delivers marketing campaigns for their clients, announced the global launch of its new bespoke social media content division Urgent Genius. It will act as a creative hub producing fast and effective online content in response to topical issues and trends for clients such as Sony Ericsson and adidas. Content will be produced in hours and days – the speed required to make a maximum impact in real-time – rather than weeks and months, the time length of typical client/agency approval processes. Urgent Genius is based on the belief that this is the only way marketers can embrace the current need for timely, clever content and stay relevant to today’s consumers.

www.urgentgenius.com will go live this week. It will feature examples of Urgent Genius from around the world, as well as content ranked using iris’ unique Urgent Genius Index, which calculates true influence online based on the underlying principles of Urgent Genius.

The structure of the new department will see briefs enter from all areas of iris’ integrated disciplines, which include iris’ digital, experiential and PR arms. The effectiveness of content will be measured by the Urgent Genius Index and a bespoke performance-related pay model.

Urgent Genius will encompass big ideas as well as smaller tactical pieces, the development of integrated and standalone social media strategies, campaign seeding, consumer feedback management and online reputation monitoring.

iris will also create its own unbranded pieces of content based on topical, inspired and real-time ideas.