Kantar names new Southeast Asia MD

Kantar has promoted Katie McClintock to MD, Southeast Asia (Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam). According to Kantar, this model complements the rest of its APAC presents in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) and ANZ.

McClintock (pictured above) was previously CEO, insights division at Kantar Singapore, a role she helmed since 2018. She also worked at Mastercard and PepsiCo, and was CEO of Added Value, a marketing consultancy in Asia.

She explained that as the region starts to adjust to treating COVID-19 as an endemic, Kantar sees lots of opportunities to partner with clients to understand fundamental shifts in consumer behaviour - in particular how to leverage digital and maximise marketing ROI.

"This is a unique region and the power of the mobile phone as the entry point into the digital world is very critical. We see Asia leading the way in digital and social commerce and expect this trend to continue," she added. That said, the fundamentals of brands remain critical, McClintock said, and that is to be meaningful, different, and salient.

Alongside McClintock's promotion, Kantar also sees Emma Eichbaum (pictured below) return as head of client growth in Singapore following prior tenures with Kantar in New Zealand and Thailand. Eichbaum said more than ever, willingness to embrace agility and become comfortable with an efficiently delivered result that is 90% right, rather than investing substantial time and effort for a 110% outcome will make the difference in this brave new world.

"I'm excited to lead our clients to find new opportunities among new consumer behaviours in the region. Whether through ongoing or new forms of research to complement existing workflows or crunching the wealth of data they already have through a different lens, this is a powerful tipping point for Asia," she said. Both appointments are effective immediately and they will be based in Singapore.

Wayne Levings, CEO, insights, APAC, said there are many similar opportunities and challenges across Southeast Asia, and many clients manage their businesses across these markets.

"With McClintock at the helm, we are providing more focus on these key markets and better utilising expertise and best practice in a more scaled and ambitious way. She is an outstanding leader who has successfully led our growth in Singapore over the past few years and is highly respected by all our clients," he said.

He added that Singapore is a key client hub for many Southeast Asia markets and McClintock will work closely with each to further accelerate growth. "The addition of Eichbaum to support our commercial excellence work will undoubtedly augment the ambition of clients to be their best in the region," he said.

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