Cowan Southeast Asia hires former FITCH SEA MD Simon Bell

Cowan Southeast Asia has appointed Simon Bell as its new managing director. Bell, a veteran in the brand consultancy industry, was last managing director of FITCH Southeast Asia. Bell ran FITCH Southeast Asia for over two years, where he was responsible for growth and profile of FITCH across the region along with establishing its digital offer from Singapore.

Prior to his time with FITCH, he was also with Landor for over six years, holding roles such as executive director strategy for Southeast Asia and Japan, general manager, Southeast Asia and director of strategy, amongst others. He also worked with both Interbrand and The Brand Union. In total he has a career spanning over 13 years spanning across Singapore, Mumbai and Sydney.

In a statement to Marketing, he said, “Cowan has one mighty footprint across Asia and quality is our calling card. I’m looking forward to working with the team to drive the "One Cowan" global vision enabling clients to reimagine their brands and to better realise the strategic and commercial potential of their businesses.”

Cowan has been in the Southeast Asia market for over 30 years and at its core, it is a strategic brand and packaging design studio. Established 1987, Cowan’s purpose has remained to create simple and hardworking solutions, across consumer journeys and touch-points. It is headquartered in Melbourne for 33 years, and helps clients to reimagine brands to realise potential across its studios in Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Sydney, Melbourne and London. Cowan has long-term partnerships with ambitious consumer branding companies like Nestle, Procter & Gamble, Danone, Vitasoy, Proctors F&N, Unilever, Vinda, Yili Dairy, The Coca Cola Company and Johnson & Johnson.

Joanna Hutchins, global CEO said “This appointment reflects Cowan’s continued move to create an agile Asia-centric, yet global, structure to better serve the needs of clients and their brands. After an extensive search, we are excited to have Simon on-board.”

Chairman and founder Mark Cowan added, “Consumers needs are evolving more quickly today than ever and our team is committed to helping our clients navigate these challenges. Established in 1987, Cowan’s purpose has remained “to help brands reimagine their future and realise their potential.”