BANGKOK, THAILAND — Songkran Sethesompobe, current CEO of Publicis Groupe Thailand, will be ending his innings with the Groupe after 11 years of leadership. The Groupe will be moving to a co-CEO structure in the market with Sorada Sonprasit, currently CEO of Brilliant & Million, and Paruj Daorai, currently Managing Director of Digitas Thailand, joining forces to lead Publicis Groupe in Thailand.
The move to a co-CEO structure in the market is in line with the scale of the Groupe’s business in Thailand, aligned with the ambition in the coming years to make Thailand a real focus for transformation and acceleration, as well as representative of the potential in Southeast Asia of Thailand as a market. This is to ensure that all business units are well-covered and well taken care of. Both Sonprasit and Daorai will report to Amrita Randhawa, CEO of Publicis Groupe, Singapore & Southeast Asia.
The appointment is effective June 1st, 2022 with the outgoing CEO overlapping for a smooth transition.
Sonprasit is Founder and CEO of Brilliant & Million, one of Thailand’s leading digital agencies. She started Brilliant & Million after an illustrious career working with companies like American Express and Citibank. Always ahead of her time, she saw a huge opportunity for digital in 2007 and started Brilliant & Million. And in 2018 once again saw the immense potential of taking the agency to the next level by integrating Brilliant & Million into Publicis Groupe. And there has been no looking back since. Her list of achievements is long from 5 consecutive Agency of the Year wins with Campaign Asia to being named “Woman to Watch” in 2017 and 2021, to having CMO Asia award her Asia Woman Leader of 2017, Thailand Woman Leader of 2017, and a Global Woman Achiever in 2022. Beyond work, Sonprasit is obsessed with developing talent and is an honorary lecturer at many leading universities in Thailand.
Dorai began his career in advertising as a copywriter. From a small agency in Bangkok to a degree in graphic design in the US and stints in ad and design firms across the USA, Paruj came home to Bangkok to start the second phase of his career working at D’Arcy (DMB&B), Lowe Bangkok, and Ogilvy & Mather Thailand. A move to the Leo Burnett Group Thailand shaped up the third phase of Dorai’s career. Moving from CD to ECD to launching Digitas Thailand, which has since enjoyed double-digit growth across multiple years, Paruj’s work has been recognized at the Cannes Lions, Clio Awards, London international Awards, Epica Awards, Spikes Asia, AdFest, and more. He gives back to the industry by serving on multiple awards juries and currently serves as the president of Digital Advertising Association of Thailand (DAAT).
“I am delighted to see Sorada and Paruj step up into this role. Both are leaders who have been ahead of their time in developing digitally-led services for clients and work really well in partnership with each other, making them a very strong choice as we continue to transform the Groupe and its services in Thailand. I would also like to thank Khun Jod for his many years of service to the Groupe and for building strong relationships with our people and our clients. He is a trusted voice who will be missed,” said Amrita Randhawa on the appointment.
Songkran joined Publicis Groupe as CEO of Leo Burnett Thailand in April 2011. Together with his team, he has led Leo Burnett Thailand to become one of the most recognized and awarded agencies in Thailand. In May 2016, Songkran was appointed Country Head of Publicis Groupe Thailand. With the birth of Digitas Thailand and Prodigious and the acquisition of Brilliant & Million, he continued to grow the business as well as championing bespoke client teams hubbed in Thailand, while supporting business units like Publicis Sapient in their expansion.
