by Sharon Desker Shaw
MANILA Starcom MediaVest Philippines’ CEO Joanna Chan-Mojica is stepping down from the helm of the country’s largest media agency for health reasons.
Chan-Mojica is only the second CEO in the agency’s 15 years of business in the Philippines after Lizelle Maralag, who left for GMA in 2010.
In an interview with adobo, Starcom MediaVest Group Southeast Asia CEO and country chair for VivaKi, Jeffrey Seah, paid tribute to the indomitable spirit and determination of Chan-Mojica who joined the office in January 2008.
“Joanna has spoken to me on several occasions over the past year to take a career hiatus in order to focus on her health. She will be leaving SMG in April 2015, after seven years of loyal, honorable service,” Seah said.
“In the past five years as CEO of SMG Philippines, she raised SMG’s foundation culture of family-based values to a new level of collectivism – we are where we are as a company because of the power of the collective. SMG has consolidated its position as the #1 agency in Recma’s ranking in the Philippines, with Joanna at the helm.”
For the last reported year, 2013, Starcom billed US$614 million, up 35% over 2012, making it its 10th consecutive year at the top of Recma’s rankings.
Seah also described Chan-Mojica as “a celebrated media person in the industry and the best example I have seen of a Filipino woman who has trained herself up, built the business, worked hard and earned the respect of all our clients”.
Under her leadership, the office also picked up a slew of awards for its work at Festival of Media competitions and won prizes in local and regional Agency of the Year competitions.
“Lizelle took us to the top and Joanna went deep, widening and evolving our services and developing multi-skilled talent,” Seah said of the launch of digital, content and activation services among others. Through her initiatives, the office has become the country’s largest outdoor agency, a top spender on Facebook and Google and has grown its digital business significantly, he added.
Seah also credited Chan-Mojica for the agency’s comprehensive human resource development program, which included launching P&L training for mid-level talent “to prepare them to be bosses”.“Joanna has trained people to be all-rounders – Jack of all trades and master of 10,” Seah added.
Starting her professional career in JWT’s media department, Chan-Mojica’s departure is likely to put the agency – with its sizeable base of largely AOR clients such as United Laboratories and skilled talent base – in the crosshairs of its competitors.
“We commenced our search for Joanna’s replacement in Q2 of 2014. The process is close to completion, we will announce the new SMG Philippine leader duly, to commence work in Q2 of 2015. In the meantime, Ranga Somanathan, COO for Southeast Asia will stand in as CEO of SMG Philippines, with my support on the client and vendor tenets of the business,” Seah said adding that clients were kept informed and thus assured during the lengthy search process.
“We were looking for someone who appreciated the company’s past, understood where it is currently and where it should go in the future,” he said, adding that he was nevertheless looking forward to Chan-Mojica’s return.
After eight years with the agency, Chan-Mojica described her impending exit as bittersweet, saying she had never previously experienced the level of collaboration and support the group had provided during her years with the network.
