SINGAPORE – Starcom Mediavest Group (SMG), a division of Publicis Groupe, today announced the appointment of Ken Mandel to the role of President, Global Network Client APAC. SMG’s Global Network Client practice creates a seamless global organization for its clients that operate in multiple markets, providing brand growth and innovation. With a global mandate based out of Singapore, Mandel will report to John Sheehy, SMG’s President of Global Operations, and will serve on SMG’s Global Leadership Council.
This appointment follows SMG’s announcement earlier this year of a new global leadership structure of connected regional networks. Mandel will partner Kim Kadlec and Jodie Stranger, Presidents of the Global Network Client practice for Americas and EMEA respectively, bolstering the Global Network Client structure so as to accelerate leadership, agility and impact across the entire network. Collectively, the trio has been tasked to drive a closer alignment with the business needs of SMG’s top 15 global clients.
In this global role, Mandel will be responsible for driving Global Network Client initiatives for the company’s blue-chip clients in Asia Pacific and abroad, including Anheuser-Busch InBev and Mead Johnson, by bringing new, business-building brand solutions to the table. He will also be partnering with Bertilla Teo and Mike Amour, CEOs for North Asia and SEAPAC respectively, to look for global opportunities so as to further leverage and drive growth in the entire APAC region. Additionally, Mandel will collaborate closely with global account leaders and COEs in ensuring strategy, top-to-top connections and greater consistency for SMG’s clients.
“We have been bringing onboard transformational leadership to amplify the next wave of growth in addressable media, data-driven content and innovation for our clients all over the world,” said Laura Desmond, SMG’s Global CEO. “With Ken’s expertise and pioneering footprint in digital, his unique skillsets will give SMG a competitive advantage to help our clients create new ways of engaging the consumer, deliver business building ideas, and ultimately, unlock growth and business transformation in this changing communications landscape.”
“This is an amazing time to be re-joining the agency industry given the all the complexities and challenges marketers are facing around digital publishing platforms and advertising technologies,” said Mandel. “I have always been a big fan of SMG’s unique approach of transforming behavior through meaningful human experiences, and look forward to working with such a focused and talented group of people who understand the impact technology is having on consumers, customers and the industry itself.”
With over 20 years of experience in Asia Pacific and working on the world’s greatest brands, Mandel joins SMG from Hootsuite where he was Managing Director for APAC. There, he navigated the company’s rapid expansion into the region, including diversifying and growing the company’s client base into new verticals and geographies. Prior to Hootsuite, Mandel was Managing Director for Salesforce.com Marketing Cloud in APAC. Earlier in his career, Mandel held senior leadership roles driving digital transformation, including tenure at Yahoo! and served as founding Chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau and founding Vice-Chairman of Mobile Marketing Association.
Note: This is a press release by Starcom Mediavest Group.
