ASIA-PACIFIC – AUGUST 23, 2012: iris appointed Luke Nathans as its new regional CEO for Asia Pacific as the agency continues to focus on expanding its operations in APAC and MENA. Nathans, who presently holds the position of regional development director for the region, will take on the role this month, reporting into the iris joint global CEOs’ Ian Millner and Stewart Shanley.
Nathans will continue to be based out of iris’ Singapore office, and will be responsible for the agency’s impressive client base in the region which includes some of the worlds’ biggest blue-chip brands including Diageo, adidas, Tiger, Coca-cola, Shell, Philips and Heineken. He will continue to chair the Asia Pacific board of iris, which comprises the leaders of iris’ offices in Asia as well as its leaders in creative, planning, consulting and digital.
Ian Millner, joint global CEO of iris, said: As the network grows, it will become more important to release more autonomy internationally to enable iris to continue empowering talented and entrepreneurial people in the diverse and exciting markets we now operate in.
Commenting on his appointment Nathans said: "It’s an honour to be asked to drive iris’ operations in Asia Pacific. In the last 12 months we’ve experienced unprecedented growth that has led to us becoming one of the leading creative innovation networks in the region.
Nathans will play a key role in iris’ forthcoming entry into MENA as the agency eyes a number of locations in the region. iris recently entered Indonesia, launching a licensing deal with Indonesian agency Nava+. iris’ current headcount in Asia stands at 400 spanning its APAC offices in Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, Shanghai, Jakarta and Delhi.
Nathans was promoted to regional development director for Asia Pacific in August 2011, following his appointment at iris as managing director of its Asia Pacific experiential arm. Prior to this, he worked for agencies including Ogilvy & Mather, OgilvyOne, Belgiovane Williams Mackay, G2, The One Centre and TBWA Tequila UK.
