Singapore: Desh Balakrishnan, Managing Director of newly created Wavemaker is exiting the agency.
Balakrishnan had also been with GroupM’s Maxus as Managing Director for four years prior to the merger. During this time, he brought on board several notable clients such as OCBC, Subaru, Nissan, MOE, Frasers Centrepoint Malls and HBO.
Prior to taking on the role with Maxus, he was with Havas Media for six years as executive director and worked with clients such as NTUC Fairprice, DBS, POSB, LG Electronics and Emirates.
GroupM spokesperson said, “We can confirm that DeshBalakrishnan is leaving his role as Managing Director of Wavemaker Singapore in March. His interim replacement is Rose Huskey, Managing Director of the client solutions hub for Wavemaker Singapore. We have a strong team at Wavemaker and this transition will be seamless to our clients.”
GroupM unveiled the new branding for the merged MEC and Maxus entity to be “Wavemaker” in September and finalised key appointments in local markets by January 2018.
According to the press statement, Wavemaker has 90 countries and over 8,500 employees. Major global clients include L’Oréal, Vodafone, Marriott, Colgate-Palmolive and Paramount. The new brand mark reflects the agency’s heritage, born from WPP and GroupM, the statement added.
