IPG elevates Matt Ware to regional CEO role at Kinesso

Kinesso, Interpublic Group of Companies' (IPG) connected intelligence company, has appointed Matt Ware (pictured) as its regional CEO in APAC. In his new role, Wares will serve as a single point of contact for Kinesso and Matterkind services and solutions. He will support Kinesso's largest IPG partner, Mediabrands, and capitalise on growth opportunities, while retaining his Matterkind leadership responsibilities. He was appointed as managing director of Matterkind APAC in February last year, where he supported addressable activation opportunities internationally, driving the adoption and development of new solutions and strategies across the region.

Wares brings with him over 16 years of experience, having worked with agency and vendor companies. He was previously MD for Xaxis Japan and, before that, head of programmatic, APAC at MediaCom. He also worked as commercial director, APAC at MediaMath, where he was responsible for launching its APAC commercial operations. For instance, he led commercial efforts to secure new business from agencies and publishers across APAC, established the commercial team in Singapore and advised on other key hires in the region, won regional pitches and developed accounts from zero and more, according to his LinkedIn.

At the same time,  Andy Butters was appointed CEO in EMEA, Jorge Chavez in LATAM, and Sean Muzzy in North America. They will take on similar responsibilities as Wares.

The appointments come as Kinesso continues to evolve its business both inside and outside the IPG network. By appointing leaders who are already in the region, it can build on the strength of IPG's existing international leadership team, the firm said in a statement. Arun Kumar, chief data and technology officer at IPG and global CEO at Kinesso said that putting regional CEOs in place supports the kind of horizontal integration that will spark additional innovation at Kinesso. "Innovation happens everywhere. [The appointments] will give us a unified, global focus on the challenges we need to solve for our clients – including better connections between their martech and adtech – and will surely be a catalyst for further growth for Kinesso and our clients," he added.

Wares said that he is excited to bring to life the brand's ability to design and deliver integrated solutions across the breadth of its offerings for clients across APAC. “The new structure ensures clients have a single, simplified engagement experience with Kinesso and Matterkind, companies that work closely together as part of the data, technology, and media activation backbone for IPG,” he added. 

Kinesso is a connected intelligence company that builds applications and software solutions, working with agencies and partners to deliver customer experiences for people across all channels. According to the brand, which is part of IPG, its technology solutions and services span audience, planning, and activation, delivering insights that help drive growth for leading global brands. 

Separately, in 2020, Kinesso Japan appointed Nicholas Nozawa as president, where he led its Japanese operation. “His experiences in leading product at Mediabrands Japan, in addition to prior roles at SAS and Apple, will be invaluable in his new role at Kinesso, where he’ll continue working closely with our partners across IPG to further their data-driven marketing capabilities for clients," Kumar said previously. 

Meanwhile, Matterkind shuffled its leadership in Singapore and Malaysia last year in June, as part of its continued growth strategy to support increased addressable activation opportunities across APAC. Lani Jamieson, former head of Matterkind Singapore and Malaysia, was appointed to the newly created regional leadership position of head of client solutions APAC in July. In her role, she managed a portfolio of key Matterkind client accounts, collaborating with stakeholders across Matterkind, Mediabrands and client brands.

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