VMLY&R Asia announces new leadership positions and business structure
VMLY&R has announced a business reorganisation which has resulted in several movements in its regional leadership team.
The agency intends sharply focusing on six key practices: brand stewardship, advisory, commerce, content and media innovation, data and insights, and finally experience and technology.
Preethi Sanjeevi
The brand stewardship practice will be led by Preethi Sanjeevi who recently became managing director of Singapore. Sanjeevi was previously managing director of content and campaigns at VML South East Asia and India.
According to VMLY&R, the brand stewardship practice involves moving beyond just communication to “work closely with clients to co-create not just a brand, but also impact its surrounding ecosystem.”
Oliver Eriksson
The advisory practice will be led by Oliver Eriksson who is now managing director of advisory services. He was previously head of global advisory VML South East Asia and India.
According to VMLY&R, this offering “helps clients to bring structure to the unstructured business problems they may face in the connected age” and “ranges from running innovation programmes to advising on marketing technologies.”
Yi-Chung Tay
Yi-Chung Tay moves from Shanghai to Singapore as co-CEO, VMLY&R Asia to lead the commerce arm of the business, centred on driving revenue for brands and building loyalty. Nicholas Pan, formerly managing director of strategy and intelligence is now managing director, strategy and commerce. Sujay Kar is group director of eCommerce for South East Asia and India.
Camellia Tan
The content and media innovation practice will be helmed by Camellia Tan who is managing director of strategic growth, with a mandate to expand into platform partnerships and explore untapped avenues of growth for clients.
Hari Ramanathan
Data and insights will be led by chief strategy officer and chief transformation officer Hari Ramanathan and VP of insights Rajeev Lochan.
According to VMLY&R, the practice will focus on “leveraging expanded data capabilities that drive measurable business growth” and “using insights to discover the true state of business, map the white spaces and derive predictive growth opportunities.”
Donald Lim
Donald Lim will lead the experience design and technology practice as regional head of experience design. The CX focused practice aims to “engineer digital solutions to deliver value to customers” according to VMLY&R.
Speaking of these changes, VMLY&R co-CEO Trupti Lochan said: “By honing-in on these new growth pillars, we are creating the most relevant and contemporary agency offering in the market today. We are now in a strong position to help our clients to build connected brands, futureproofing their business.
“By aligning our business to the changing needs of our clients, these appointments put the right talent where they should be, standing us in good stead to continue our strong growth strategy in the region.”
Ravi is the editor at Mumbrella Asia. He has covered the marketing, advertising and media business for over two decades.
Too many buzzwords. What does it all actually mean? What are the concrete plans?
ReplyTheir name is an unpronounceable acronym. Do you really think they will ever remove buzzwords? Or say anything concrete?
ReplyA friend told me they let a bunch of creatives go… because the focus is now more on tech. If anyone ever doubted the real purpose of this merger, here it is.
ReplyFull on guess here: but just maybe… maybe.. they had to get rid of the old school ad bunch to make a more profitable and long term viable business? But who knows. I work in the underrated loo seat plastic mould mass production business so I don’t know, so god forbid my opinion holds any sway. Still though, reading the comments on here makes me think my opinion might hold some sway since you all eat up this troll vitriol. Embarrassing for you all I have to say. Get outside your industry once in a while maybe?
Reply-The agency intends (typo?) sharply focusing on six key practices: brand stewardship, advisory, commerce, content and media innovation, data and insights, and finally experience and technology.
Clients don’t really care how an agency is organised internally.
The more practices normally results in silo-thinking requiring more time to re-co-ordinate and re-synergize into a coherent and focused results oriented solution.
I’ll be surprised that their client presentations can be explained in less than 200 slides and finished under 2 hours.
The coffee better be good. Or is catering another practice?
ReplyYou never had me at … ecosystem … or intelligence now commerce strategy.
Go back to original principles and disciplines, then update your new offering with new terms based on that. Internally and externally.
Apple didn’t introduce a new “Intelligence-app-handy-device” model, they updated the market with ‘iPhone’.
Replysix key practices…linked by one common theme.
gibberish
ReplyPretty lame comments on here. I have long since left the “industry” but these comments are irksome to the bone. Can the people writing, that are so desperately interested in mumbrella’s news, seriously be indignant about the “buzz words” and shifts in agency structure. Get a grip people and stop pretending like you’re above anyone else or “smarter”. If you want a great life feeling like you are smarter than everyone else then go sell snake oil. Companies make changes and they have reasons for doing so – and so what?! Why is that discussion? Maybe go outside or quit your lame ass advertising job and see the world.
ReplyAgencies that fail in the market place also fail their staff.
ReplyThe price of misguided decisions at the top impact the livelihood of lower level staff and their families.
That’s the human consequences no agency spin can side step.
That’s why the history of advertising has more chapters of cautionary tales than case studies for successful transformers.
Then again it doesn’t matter as the learning curve among agencies is pretty flat.
So many MDs, so much overhyping
ReplyHave your say