Audrey Chong joins Magna Malaysia as chief investment officer

IPG Mediabrands Malaysia has hired Audrey Chong as chief investment officer of Magna Malaysia. Chong will be responsible for all traditional and digital media investment decisions from a trading, buying accountability and digital innovation lens.Chong (pictured) will report directly to chief executive officer of IPG Mediabrands, Bala Pomaleh. In her role, she will expand the traditional trading scope to adapt to the needs of the industry, and create new opportunities to optimise value for clients.Pomaleh said, “Our industry is rapidly shifting towards more accountability across the board. It is critical for us to understand client needs and challenges intimately to enable us to offer solutions that best address them. The chief investment officer role is a critical one, and we needed someone highly experienced with a 360 view of the overall marketing communications space. Chong, with her depth of knowledge across media and creative agencies as well as most recently being a client, fits this role perfectly.”He added that the appointment further strengthens the core team under CEO Bala Pomaleh that will shape IPG Mediabrands’ differentiated digital future.Chong comes with over 20 years of experience in media strategy, communications and planning, with a background across media, creative and digital. She previously held the role of head of marketing communications at Digi Telecommunications where she oversaw brand and product campaigns from both a creative and media perspective. Prior to that, she was senior group account director at M&C Saatchi.Chong spent 17 years in media agencies holding several senior positions. Most recently she was GM at PHD Media.“Reaching out to consumers is no longer confined to a few channels, and the where and how of speaking to consumers, beyond regular advertising, is critical to engagement. Mediabrands has grown from strength-to-strength in the past few years, proving a strong footprint in diversified services. This made it a right fit for my role, specifically at this point in time where the media landscape provides diverse opportunities to leverage and optimise for our clients and partners,” Chong said.