IPG Mediabrands appoints Prashant Kumar as new head of Asia-Pacific

Kumar will continue to be based in Malaysia and retain his duties as CEO for the market. He will report directly to Mauricio Sabogal, president world markets, UM and Initiative.

Daniel Simon, who was leading the region, has resigned as COO of both UM and Initiative Asia. Simon will be taking time off to spend with his family. At present, there is no plan to appoint a G14 head in Asia and Jim Hytner will continue to oversee all G14 countries for UM and Eric Bader for Initiative.

In his new role, Kumar will be oversee operations in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and The Philippines, in addition to his role as CEO of Malaysia. “Wearing two-hats will mean long hours, but it’s a type of challenge I’ve grown to love,” said Kumar in an interview with Campaign Asia-Pacific.

According to Mediabrands, during the three years Kumar has headed the Malaysian operations, UM Malaysia went from ninth in size to the second largest media agency in the country based on audited financial reports since winning the media accounts for KFC and Pizza Hut earlier this year. UM has also been recognised as Agency of the Year at the Malaysian Media Awards for both 2010 and 2011. Kumar, a Google certified professional, also launched Reprise, IPG Mediabrands search outfit and Rally, the social marketing outfit, both of which are now top players in the market.

In 2010, UM was ranked as the sixth largest agency by billings with Mindshare, Starcom Mediavest and OMD in first, second and third place respectively according to a report by RECMA (Research Company Evaluating the Media Agency Industry) released September 2011.

The first Asian to hold a regional leadership role in Mediabrands, Kumar has been tasked with bringing best practices from this market, and other markets around the region, throughout Asia-Pacific. “Mediabrands has huge potential with many spots of excellence throughout the network in Asia. Malaysia’s hybrid, entrepreneurial culture, Thailand’s breakthrough work and analytics, Indonesia’s talent culture and Hong Kong’s innovations are just a few that we hope to capitalize and adopt throughout the region,” explained Kumar.

Described by Mediabrands as a “champion of integrated communications planning”, Kumar aims to grow a talent pool that “travels online and offline seamlessly,” he said.  “Digital isn’t about digital anymore. It’s about marketing. Everyone needs to be able to think in a truly integrated manner,” said Kumar.

Finally, Kumar aims to streamline all of Mediabrands resources in Asia in order to create tangible value for its clients and its business. “The aim is to be more outward looking and responsive to changes in the environment, enabling us to make the best of opportunities.”