Ogilvy Asia beefs up creative team for HK and SG markets

Ogilvy Asia has strengthened its creative team with four new hires, including Nikhil Panjwani (pictured first left) as regional executive director, Dan Parmenter (pictured second left) as creative director, Hugo Suíssas (pictured second right) as senior art director and Tiago Silva (pictured first right) as senior copywriter.

The new recruits will primarily work within OpenX – WPP’s team dedicated to The Coca-Cola Company and its portfolio of brands across Asia Pacific - whilst also supporting Ogilvy’s growing client demand in Asia for cross-capability ideas that generate impact across geographies and cultures. The four will join an existing team of creators including Sarah-Leith Izzard, regional executive creative director for Ogilvy Asia and Stratos Efstathiou and Soenar Santoso, associate creative directors at Ogilvy Hong Kong, who helped develop the first ever global platform 'Heat Happens' for Sprite under the OpenX model.

Based in Singapore, Nikhil Panjwani joins Ogilvy Asia as regional executive director, bringing close to 20 years of creative experience, the last seven as creative director for BBH Singapore. Nikhil has led teams across India and Southeast Asia to produce work for leading global brands.

Appointed as creative director for Ogilvy Asia in Hong Kong, Dan Parmenter most recently served as creative director for M&C Saatchi Abel in South Africa, steering the creative output of key accounts including Nando’s, Standard Bank and Lexus. A copywriter by trade, Dan brings strong strategic expertise in ideating and bringing big creative ideas to life, having previously worked as copywriter and creative group head at Ogilvy Johannesburg between 2008 and 2015.

Based in Singapore, Hugo Suíssas and Tiago Silva join Ogilvy Asia as senior art director and senior copywriter respectively. Since meeting at Lisbon-based agency Brandia Central in 2013, the creative duo has worked together at agencies across Portugal, including excentricGrey, Young & Rubicam Group and O Escritório, serving clients in the auto, retail and banking sectors. They most recently worked at BBDO Germany, with clients including Amazon, Porsche, Rexona and Bayer.

Reed Collins, chief creative officer for Ogilvy in APAC said: “We are blessed with such extraordinary creative talent across the region, with this team being specifically built as a microcosm of that around being the best creative partner for our clients’ growth ambitions globally. Our creative bench has never been stronger and ambition greater. Watch this space.”

Previously, Ogilvy has appointed John Davenport and Woon Hoh as chief creative officers for Hong Kong and Indonesia respectively. The appointment aims to assist the company continues to bolster its creative offering in response to growing and diversified client demand in the region. Davenport and Hoh are responsible for driving Ogilvy’s creative agenda, delivering innovative solutions at the intersection of Ogilvy’s core capabilities, as well as developing new talent.

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