Maxus names Madelene Ortega to head Maxus International in China

Ortega (pictured), who started on her new job on 15 August, is responsible for the business development and management of Maxus’ international accounts in China, which include ECCO, JetStar, Victoria Tourism, Lee, UPS, Karcher, Falcon, and SC Johnson. Her key focus will be on the UPS account (which she handled on a regional basis for two and a half years), Ecco and SC Johnson. She will work closely with the planning directors on these accounts.

Ortega takes over from Damian Duffy, who joined the agency last year but recently resigned to pursue "personal goals”. She will report to Leon Chen, vice president, new business development, Maxus China.

“This is an exciting role and it's a new step in my career," Ortega told Campaign Asia-Pacific this morning. "I'm fairly new to the China market, the learning curve needs to be quick. Luckily we have almost the same list of clients, so they see an opportunity to bring on somebody like me with a strong APAC experience.”

Ortega has more than 10 years in the media industry and experience with planning and management across categories including FMCG, finance, beauty, automotive, baby products and travel. She started her career with Unilever in her home country of the Philippines in a communication-planning role.

She moved to the agency side and has since then worked for nine years in Singapore for OMD, ZenithOptimedia and Maxus. In her previous jobs, she helped with wins including Johnson & Johnson for OMD, Aviva for ZenithOptimedia and Resort World's loyalty program for Maxus.