Kimberly-Clark names new marketing lead, Rahul Asthana shifts to Australia

Kimberly-Clark has appointed Tarun Raman as regional marketing director for the Asia Pacific region, undertaking duties for the baby care segment. He replaces Rahul Asthana (pictured), who has taken on a new role in Australia. Kimberly-Clark declined to comment on the new role.Prior to the move, Raman was country marketing director at the brand since 2015 and was based in Malaysia. Prior to Kimberly-Clark, he also held marketing leadership roles for Yum Brand’s Pizza Hut from 2011 to 2015. Before that, he held several positions at Marico Limited from 2004 to 2011.Meanwhile, Asthana held the role since 2013, taking on additional duties in 2014 for digital and e-commerce following restructure in marketing duties. The new structure saw Asthana, regional marketing director and sector leader ASEAN taking on the role of marketing director for the baby and child care business. According to his LinkedIn, during his time as regional marketing director, for Kimberly-Clark's baby and child care category, Asthana delivered strong results and turnaround of business for the brand. This was a direct result of the portfolio, product, packaging and positioning strategy changes he led.Before his time at Kimberly-Clark, Asthana was associate marketing director, skin and personal care Asia Pacific at Procter & Gamble (P&G). He also took up senior marketing roles for P&G's female beauty segment and hair care categories, handling brands such as Olay and Head & Shoulders. Before his move to Kimberly-Clark, he was with P&G for 13 years.Earlier this year, Kimberly-Clark launched a media pitch, a move confirmed by the brand. Marketing understands the markets involved in the pitch are Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. Currently, it works with Mindshare in all these markets and has over the years worked with the agency to launch several innovative capabilities.In 2013, through the Kimberly-Clark Digital Innovation Lab, it paired up with Mindshare and several venture capital firms to create an innovation competition. This ultimately culminated in a live pitch held at CES 2014.Mid last year the manufacturer of Kleenex, Kotex and Huggies also appointed a new CMO, reporting to Tony Palmer, president of global brands and innovation. Scott Usitalo joined Kimberly-Clark in 2008 and has held several global and regional leadership roles across the company.