Global brand experience agency VMLY&R today announced the appointment of Symon Hammacott as Chief Experience Officer, Asia. Based at VMLY&R’s Asia principal office in Singapore, Symon will be responsible for driving the Customer Experience (CX) practice for the agency network in Asia, leading the region’s customer experience and technology leadership teams in the development and implementation of business strategy to support current and new business in line with regional and global targets.
In this role, Symon will be tasked with identifying and investing in new technologies and partnerships to reinforce and develop VMLY&R’s CX portfolio. He will also actively participate in Team WPP pitches and proposals as well as global new business proposals, whilst championing CX; driving culture initiatives and talent development across VMLY&R’s principal offices around the world. In his new role, Symon will work closely and report to VMLY&R Asia Co-CEO, Tripti Lochan, and Global Chief Experience Officer, Jeff Geheb.
Originally from the United Kingdom, Symon has spent more than two decades leading experience and technology companies, teams and enterprise-level programs for clients in Asia and across the world. A strong believer in transforming businesses through design-led change, throughout his career Symon has been instrumental in building world-class teams and developing market-leading products and services for companies across most industry verticals – delivering world-class experiences, mixed with a deep understanding and appreciation of local market nuances.
“Symon brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective to VMLY&R. He has a clear vision of how he wants to steer the practice in conjunction with our brand experience (BX) and commerce offerings, and his passions for sustainability and ethical design fit perfectly into our ethos of brands with purpose. I am thrilled to have him on board!” says Tripti Lochan, Co-CEO for VMLY&R Asia.
Symon’s role will help to support VMLY&R’s go-to-market strategy to provide its clients with the most relevant and contemporary agency offering in the market today, merging creativity, technology, and culture to create connected brands that impact the world.
Prior to joining VMLY&R, Symon was Regional Head of Experience at Publicis Sapient, a role he held for six years. Before this, he was a consultant in Experience Strategy & Experience Design for global creative agency, Isobar for more than 10 years.
With a passion for design that transcends his work life, Symon is also a passionate advocate for building ethical and sustainable design and technology practices, believing that good design can be instrumental in leading the way to global change. He is also keen on rescuing and renovating old properties and is currently restoring a 120-year-old wooden house on an island in Niigata prefecture, Japan.
Commenting on his appointment, Symon Hammacott, Chief Experience Officer, VMLY&R Asia, said: “Customer experience is not only the future, it’s also the ‘now’, and VMLY&R has already made extensive strides in bringing best-in-class customer experiences to their clients. I’m energised by the prospect of guiding our immensely talented teams across experience design, technology, product and data in helping clients to firstly gain market-leading positions with their CX and then stay ahead through better operationalising those experiences. In this way we can create meaningful, transformative products, services and capabilities that provide genuine value to both the consumer and our clients every day, and into the future.”
