MANILA, PHILIPPINES – AdSpark has appointed business leader and digital marketing pioneer Gretchen Largoza, as the company’s new President and Chief Executive Officer, effective February 8, 2021.
As she takes the wheel of AdSpark, Gretchen brings with her over 20 years of digital marketing expertise and diverse experiences from being ingrained in agency leadership roles across South East Asia.
With a career built on marketing communications, Gretchen has made a mark in the ad industry on both a national and regional level, steering innovative and rapidly growing organizations towards their goal. Possessing a proven track record in business development, Gretchen has helped leading agencies like OgilvyOne, GroupM, Netbooster, and ARC Worldwide achieve success, leaving her footprint in offices based in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Her business strategies, effective leadership methods, and investments in diverse talent have achieved double-digit growth and scalability for these companies.
As a digital media+ agency that is part of 917Ventures, the largest corporate incubator in the Philippines wholly owned by Globe Telecom Inc., AdSpark is setting its sights on hitting new milestones this 2021, following its best performing year yet.
“I was hired to turn AdSpark around and drive growth, and in the last two and a half years we did just that. I’m proud of where AdSpark is today. Over the last two years, AdSpark has received commercial success with back-to-back revenue overachievement, and industry recognition with a haul of 11 local and international awards. We were also able to establish AdSpark as a thought leader in the country with our ThoughtSparkers,” said Onat.
Onat has opted to take a break from the advertising media industry and pursue other, more personal creative opportunities as the world opens up to a new normal. “For now, I’m looking forward to refocusing my priorities and rediscovering inspiration by working on passion projects,” he said.
Gretchen will move AdSpark forward, bringing with her lessons and experiences from her leadership roles, which began with her role as the Account Director of Ogilvy One PH. She then progressed her career as a Business Director in Arc Worldwide Indonesia. Her period in Indonesia continued as the General Manager in Netbooster and GroupM. In 2014, she became the Managing Director of OgilvyOne Indonesia. Successfully, Gretchen’s regional stint led her to her 3rd Ogilvy country as the Managing Director in Vietnam, as well as a Regional Business Director for a top-tier client in Ogilvy Asia from 2017-2019.
“It’s been a while since I worked here in the Philippines, and the move is really about coming home of sorts. Coming home to a company who wants to become a significant player in the industry, in the region, and hopefully the world,” said Gretchen as she returns home to the Philippines.
“What led me to this leadership role at AdSpark is the challenge that it presented, and the fact that data is deeply entrenched within the company’s core services. Coming from a mixed background of creative and media agencies and a start-up, I like that AdSpark is evolving and innovating from building Filipino talent and attracting the right talent,” said Gretchen.
“We want to be able to build on the services that we currently have, and then access to the most innovative tech when it comes to consumer data and geospatial intelligence. This is an advantage that we have because of our alignment with Globe, as a 917Venture Portfolio company, it will greatly influence the creative executions that we will do” she said.
Gretchen Largoza’s appointment as President and CEO of AdSpark is a pivotal role in driving 917Venture’s AdTech play, “Gretchen is exceptionally focused on the customer; her ability to foster a client-centric culture, develop and retain like-minded teams, and build lasting relationships with clients has time and time again spurred business growth at inspiring speed. She’s entrepreneurial, an agile and capable leader who is not afraid to take calculated risks,” said Vince Yamat, 917Ventures Managing Director, on her selection and appointment.
