Mutant taps comms veteran Tanya Tresnasari for Indonesia expansion

Mutant has appointed communications veteran Tanya Tresnasari to launch and scale the agency in Indonesia as country manager. Tresnasari (pictured) will lead, run and deliver strategic and results-driven campaigns across PR, content, social media and branding.

Tresnasari (pictured), who was previously double hatting as GM at Golin Jakarta and Weber Shandwick Indonesia, brings more than 20 years of experience in the communications industry, spanning advertising, activation and public relations. At Golin and Weber Shandwick, she was instrumental in driving cross-practice collaboration and helped to diversify the agency’s roster with key clients, including Sanofi, MSD, Clubhouse, Linktree, Carousell, Shell, Hyundai, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines, amongst others.

Prior to this, Tresnasari joined Fortune PR as associate director in 2011, where she led strategy and supervised the implementation of 360 campaigns for key clients, including Citilink Airlines, Piaggio and Lippo Group. “Just as the name suggests, Mutant is constantly evolving. I’m excited to bring the agency’s blended PR, content, social and branding approach and adapt it for clients locally. With the addition of new hires, Mutant Indonesia has already hit the ground running, and I look forward to welcoming and driving real business outcomes for clients,” said Tresnasari.

She also told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that her big focus is on building out a strategic communications offering by combining its specialist practices, specifically PR and content in the local context. "Beyond this, I’ll be working with our Singapore and Malaysia teams to establish stronger synergies and support clients with regional remits. As for priorities, we’re in the midst of hiring the right people to service and champion our clients," she added.

Meanwhile, Gabriela Gunawan (pictured below) has also joined Mutant Indonesia as a PR Manager. Previously from Golin Jakarta and Weber Shandwick, Gunawan has worked with a variety of clients, including Morgan Stanley, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi, SK-II and Mastercard.

Expanding to Indonesia was the next logical step for Mutant after a successful decade in Singapore and robust growth in Malaysia since its launch in 2019. Malaysia is currently led by Archana Menon. Joseph Barratt, founder and CEO of Mutant, said even as global markets show some uncertainties, the fundamentals in Asia remain strong - and this is especially true in Indonesia. "It’s an exciting time to enter the market, with a differentiated offering that combines PR, content, social media and branding to help businesses succeed. I can’t think of anyone better than Tresnasari to lead us through this, and pave the way for Mutant’s next chapter,” he added.

Mutant beefed up its regional leadership team earlier this year by promoting Lina Marican to regional MD while Matthew de Bakker is now country manager for Singapore. Byravee Iyer and Rebecca Lewis also stepped into the new roles of head of content and brand strategy director respectively as the agency attempts to expand its growing content and brand offerings.

When asked about its Indonesia expansion, Marican said the country is a natural choice as it sees strong cross-market synergies and client demand from both local brands looking for regional exposure, as well as global brands looking to break into the Indonesian market. "With Mutant's core PR and content offering, backed by a team of ex-editors and senior journalists, and proven success in driving business goals for our clients - we're poised to help clients looking for value and quality execution across the region," she added.

Separately, the agency is also walking the talk when it comes to ESG. As part of Mutant for Good, it is working with Singapore-based ocean conservation non-profit organisations, Coastal Natives, Our Singapore Reefs and Ocean Purpose Project, to drive conversations and educate Singaporeans about the need for marine conservation and the plight of Singapore's shores. It also recently rolled out Peering into Our Future, where the agency commissioned five writers - Joshua Ip, Amanda Lee Koe, Pooja Nansi, Xiaoyun Neo and Suffian Hakim - to tell haunting and mysterious stories that envision Singapore’s dystopian future if action is not taken to care for the waters.

Related articles:
Adland Diversity & Inclusion Index 2021: Mutant
Mutant Communications promotes Lina Marican to MD
PR firm Mutant hires former Ruder Finn MY country head to beef Malaysia ops
Subway SG seeks fresh perspectives with Mutant Communications as PR partner
Singapore Sports Hub taps Mutant Communications for PR duties