Move and win roundup: Week of August 25, 2025

Allison Worldwide has been appointed as the communications partner for Mercedes-Benz in Singapore, supporting brand storytelling and social engagement. With the launch of the agency's first project, G-Haus —a lifestyle pop-up designed to introduce the new G-Class lineup —the partnership will span earned media, influencer engagement, and social content. Allison Worldwide will also lead initiatives to highlight the brand's bespoke customisation programme, Manufaktur. The win comes close on the heels of the agency poaching MSL APAC chief executive Margaret Key for a dual leadership stint at Allison Worldwide as well as Stagwell. 

Global sports brand Puma has appointed Gabriel Yap as senior director, marketing, Southeast Asia, effective August 1, 2025. Based in Singapore, Yap reports to Sanjay Roy, managing director SEA & Oceania. Yap returns to Puma after working for over seven years at ASICS Asia Pte Ltd, where he was most recently regional senior marketing director, SEA. At Puma, Yap will oversee the development and execution of a forward-looking marketing roadmap to sharpen brand relevance and deepen consumer connections across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. 

PMG India, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hakuhodo Inc., has elevated Dhruv Jugran to managing director. He was most recently vice president of PMG India. With over 20 years of experience spanning strategic marketing, experiential innovation, and brand transformation, Jugran worked with Ogilvy, Hansa Vision (RK Swamy BBDO), Candid Marketing, and PR Works before joining PMG over 11 years ago as client service director. 

Auckland Design Week (ADW) has reappointed Tonic Communications as its official PR partner to lead local and international media engagement for ADW 2026, following a successful collaboration on the 2025 event. Tonic will lead earned media and strategic media integrations across both domestic and international channels, positioning ADW as a leading platform for cultural exchange, creative tourism and design industry momentum. 

AKQA London has hired Seamus Higgins as its joint executive creative director. He will work alongside current ECD Paul Ostryzniuk to lead the creative team. Higgins reports to the London managing directors, Jules Ward and Drew Eldridge. Higgins has relocated from Sydney, where he worked as chief creative officer at RGA Australia for two years. Before this, he worked freelance for a year. Between 2019 and 2022, Higgins was vice president and chief creative officer across Asia-Pacific at RGA, based in Sydney. He has also worked at Havas and Havas Host in Sydney, as well as Saatchi & Saatchi X in London. 

Havas Thailand has been appointed as the integrated agency for STADA Thailand, covering key health brands including D Throlis, Mar, Oilatum, and Eunova. The appointment covers both creative and media duties, with healthcare expertise led by its specialist arm, Havas Life Bangkok, part of the Havas Health Network. STADA Thailand is the Thai subsidiary of the German-origin STADA Arzneimittel AG.

M&C Saatchi Group has appointed Anita Zanesco to a newly created role of chief marketing officer for ANZ. Zanesco will work closely alongside recently appointed Group ANZ CEO, Dani Bassil, and the core leadership team across the Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland offices. With close to two decades of agency and marketing experience, Zanesco was chief growth officer of Clemenger BBDO. Prior to that, she also served in business management roles in Australia and London and for over ten years with TrinityP3. 

Accenture Song has appointed Nick Thomas as principal director, commercial investment & operations, a newly created role, as the agency  accelerates its mission to reinvent media across Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). With more than 15 years of senior leadership experience shaping Australia’s media and advertising landscape, most recently, he led the national sales team for Amazon Ads ANZ. Prior to that, he worked for over a decade at MediaCom and EssenceMediacom and served as chief investment officer before he left the agency network. 

HCF, Australia’s largest not-for-profit private health fund, has appointed BMF as its new lead creative agency, following a competitive pitch process. BMF will work closely with Spark Foundry, which manages media for HCF, and collaborate with other partners in HCF’s agency village to continue building the fund’s brand and communications strategy. The appointment follows HCF’s departure from Clemenger BBDO. The review, managed by TrinityP3, began with 12 agencies under consideration before a shortlist of four finalists progressed through two rounds of presentations.  

LG Ad Solutions, a global leader in advanced advertising for Connected TV (CTV), has appointed two new sales leaders, Marj Hetherton and Adelina Moon, to its growing Australia team. Both Hetherton and Moon join from Samsung Ads as sales directors for LG Ads in Australia. Prior to Samsung, Hetherton worked at Unruly, Amplifi ANZ, Amnet, and Kis Marketing while Moon worked for ViacomCBS, News Corp, Amnet and Havas. 

Deepali Saini, CEO of Think Design, has been given the additional role of global chief experience design officer for Havas CX. In this expanded role, Saini will join the global CX leadership board and spearhead the network’s experience design practice with Adobe XD worldwide. She will be based out of the Havas integrated village in Bengaluru. She will continue to report to Rana Barua, Group CEO of Havas India, South East Asia & North Asia, and to David Shulman, Global CEO of Havas CX, in her expanded role. With more than two decades of experience in UX/UI design, she previously led design research programmes for clients like Honda and Panasonic.

Full-funnel agency Thompson Spencer has appointed Megan Clark Cook as managing partner. Clark Cook launched Copper Brand Experiences, New Zealand’s first-ever experiential agency, before selling it to WPP. She went on to hold managing partner roles at both Wunderman Thompson and Ogilvy, working with major brands including Samsung, Ford, The University of Auckland, and Coca-Cola.

Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand has promoted Tim Cullinane to executive strategy director after joining the agency three years ago as head of strategy. With over 15 years of experience in customer experience, digital transformation, and brand ecosystem innovation, he has held senior strategy, insight, and innovation positions at DDB, BBH, Saatchi & Saatchi, and other agencies. Now based in Auckland, he's built his career across Singapore, New York, London, and China. 

Eva Leung has joined Shanghai Commercial Bank as chief of corporate communications and marketing in Hong Kong. She was previously the Hong Kong head of marketing, executive director, and institutional banking group at DBS Bank for over six years. With expertise in branding, business strategy, and CRM and loyalty programmes, she's held senior leadership roles at Collinson and Nielsen.

UM has elevated Brittany Crowley to national head of investment and will oversee the agency's investment team across all markets, spearheading accelerated growth outcomes for clients. Prior to the role, she served a year as head of investment, Sydney, at the agency. With two decades of experience in leading investments for agencies, she was previously co-head of investment (Sydney) at PHD and group account director at MediaCom Australia.

JLR has promoted Garth Turnbull to managing director, JLR Asia Pacific, and he will lead strategic and operational leadership in APAC to drive growth and innovation of modern luxury experiences across 15 markets. With more than 20 years of experience in strategic and operational leadership in the automotive sector, he has served in various leadership roles at JLR for nearly 14 years.