IPG Mediabrands has appointed a new head of digital for the region.
Valli Lakshmanan, the former global head of mobile marketing agency Mobext, joins with a brief to lead digital operations for IPG Mediabrands’ clients and also run the agency’s e-commerce offering, Ingenuity.
He takes on the top digital job from Yean Cheong, who now heads up programmatic buying arm Cadreon.
Lakshmanan joins the network after a period working with two Singapore-based startups, mobility and product design firm Made By Sunday, and Multiply, a company that gives workforces coding skills.
He will report to Prashant Kumar, president of IPG Mediabrands, World Markets Asia.
Kumar said that Lakshmanan’s experience and perspective on the future of communication and commerce were “a great fit for the agency of the future we are seeking to be for our clients.”
Lakshmanan said: “Prashant’s vision for the “agency of the future” backed up by his ambition to achieve that, matched what I wanted to do with my career. We are living in, arguably, the most exciting era of consumption and the role allows me to explore that transformation and bring in opportunities and work with some exciting talents in the group.”
Lakshmanan began his career at Lowe Lintas in the late nineties, later joining Havas Worldwide in 2002 to manage Dell’s regional business. He joined RAPP Singapore as its MD in 2009 and moved to the UK in 2010 to set up digital outdoor firm Creative Realities.
