Mindshare has appointed a CEO for Southeast Asia, handing the role to the boss of the agency’s Indonesian operation.
Himanshu Shekhar takes on the job after almost three years as CEO of Mindshare Indonesia and becomes the only regional CEO of a major agency based out of Jakarta.
His appointment comes as Mindshare looks to break into emerging Southeast Asian markets such as Myanmar and Cambodia as well as build on its market lead in many countries in the sub-region, such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
Gowthaman Ragothaman, COO of Mindshare APAC, said: “The ASEAN landscape is unique with a rich diversity of culture, however there remains the underlying similarity in challenges faced by marketers today. As an economic region, it is poised to embark on greater economic integration in 2015, and by leveraging our partnerships with Newton Circus, Out There Media and Geometry Global, we can provide solutions to engage with the emerging class consumers with real scale, and help our client’s grow their brands.”
Shekhar’s Mindshare Indonesia was named Agency of the Year at the Mobile Marketing Association’s Smarties awards earlier this year – a rare triumph for an Indonesian agency at a regional awards show. He explained his thinking behind building a media agency culture around mobile in an interview earlier this month.
Ashutosh Srivastava, chairman and CEO for Mindshare APAC and head of global growth markets, added: “While Mindshare is already the largest agency in every major country in ASEAN, the potential to expand is still vast, especially with Myanmar and Cambodia remaining untapped. The widespread adoption of mobile and the creation of our emerging class consumer marketing unit, in collaboration with Geometry Global, has opened up highly effective new channels for mass customized communication. These allow marketers to reach people living in rural and semi urban areas on scale, and unlock a much bigger growth opportunity for brands.”
