Ebiquity appoints former dentsu innovation chief Arvind Sethumadhavan to dual leadership role

Marketing consultancy Ebiquity has appointed Arvind Sethumadhavan to the dual role of managing director of its SEA business and chief product officer for APAC. According to a press release, this is to support its recent growth and increasing demands of its clients in the region.

Sethumadhavan was previously with Dentsu Aegis Network (now known as dentsu International) APAC as chief innovation officer, where he helmed the role for six years. According to his LinkedIn profile, he led the innovation and strategy agenda for APAC, enabling all business units to deliver innovation at scale for its corporate customers. This involved the design and launch of Global Innovation centres which enabled teams to co-create new solutions working with its ecosystem of technology partners.

Besides that, Sethumadhavan also previously held management positions at WPP’s agencies such as partner, client leadership at Mindshare APAC, CEO of GroupM Business Science APAC, as well as research director at Kantar TNS in China. Throughout his decades of experience, he has advised brands such as Unilever, GSK, P&G, L’Oreal, Diageo, and Samsung.

Sethumadhavan said he is looking forward to create new fit-for-market solutions for APAC’s diverse markets in his new role, leveraging on Ebiquity’s global expertise and solutions. “I am really excited to have the opportunity to join Ebiquity at a time when the marketing industry is witnessing acceleration in the adoption of digital marketing. The next decade I believe will put greater emphasis on marketing being a growth driver. Ebiquity is uniquely placed to be a trusted partner for marketers to unlock the opportunity of using data and technology,” he added.

Leela Nair, managing director, Ebiquity Asia Pacific, said: “Sethumadhavan is a fantastic addition to the team, and his capabilities in digital and the technology space will further enhance Ebiquity’s position as the leading independent media consultancy.

Earlier in October, Ebiquity promoted Nair from managing director of Ebiquity Southeast Asia to managing director of Ebiquity APAC. Nair joined Ebiquity in Singapore in 2015 and focused on the Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Philippines markets when she first came on board. According to Ebiquity in a press statement, Nair "has built a profitable business with a strong brand reputation".

Ebiquity also snagged former dentsu APAC CEO Nick Waters as the consultancy's group CEO earlier this year. In a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE then, Waters said his vision for the role is to come through this crisis in reasonable shape, and build on Ebiquity’s current leading position as a media and marketing consultant. "The role for consultancies grows as the landscape gets more complex. Marketers will benefit from objective advice to help them navigate the complexity," he added.

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