SINGAPORE – J. Walter Thompson Asia Pacific CEO John Gutteridge has appointed Ida Siow in the dual roles of Head of Planning for Southeast Asia, and head of planning for Singapore.
Siow is an award-winning strategic planner with 10 years’ experience in Singapore, the UK, and China, leading brand strategy and creative development with multinationals, local brands and government accounts.
“I’m delighted that Ida is joining us to lead our planning efforts in Singapore and Southeast Asia. It is critical that we have a relentless focus on effective solutions, be it communications or products, and I am quite certain in this regard that Ida will add much value to both our clients’ business and our own,” said Gutteridge.
She was most recently Planning Partner at Ogilvy & Mather in Shanghai, where she led strategy for iconic global brands such as UPS, KFC, Agoda, and Wyeth, as well as youth brands Sprite and Fanta.
Siow previously worked as a strategist at BBH London. She was part of a team that pitched and won The Guardian account, resulting in the newspaper’s first major brand positioning work in 25 years – awarded Gold at Cannes Lions.
Her career includes stints as a senior planner at DBB Singapore and J. Walter Thompson Singapore, where she worked on brands like Philips, Unilever and key government accounts, including the Ministry of Environment, the Economic Development Board and Health Promotion Board.
Prior to joining the advertising world, Siow worked in the government sector. She served as the Deputy Head of Investment Policy at the Ministry of Finance, and as a corporate planner at the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts.
Siow, who is Singaporean, has a B.A. in Media and Communications from Goldsmiths College, University of London.
“JWT brings together strategic heritage with creative ambition. I share its passion for robust, transformative solutions that are rooted in culture, true to people, and good for business,” said Siow.
