OMD Malaysia MD Anisha Iyer takes on group-level role in Thailand

OMD Malaysia MD Anisha Iyer has moved to Thailand to take on the role of chief product officer at Omnicom Media Group reporting to Thailand CEO Rochelle Chhaya. In her new role, Iyer is responsible for providing future-facing, industry-leading capabilities, and technologies by bringing in a culture of creativity, innovation, thought leadership and ground-breaking ideas. Iyer will also develop the group's overall product and partner roadmap across the areas of Omni, trading and investment, digital operations, eCommerce and programmatic products for Thailand. Iyer joined OMD Malaysia in 2019, taking over Margaret Lim who was promoted to a group-level role in investment in mid-2018. OMD Malaysia is currently on the hunt for Iyer's replacement. 

Iyer told A+M that after spending four years in Malaysia, it was time for her to take on a new market challenge. "Thailand is such an exciting market especially for digital natives like myself and taking on this role feels naturally right. My time in Malaysia was exceptional and I am proud that we have transformed OMD Malaysia into a force to be reckoned with," she explained.

According to Iyer, the need for agility, innovation and digital proficiency has gained incredible momentum especially in this pandemic, and in her new role, she will be focusing on innovating and re-imagining the Omnicom Media Group product offering in Thailand, particularly in the areas of digital, data, eCommerce, content, KOLs and analytics. "The breadth and scale of what Thailand offers, coupled with its willingness to experiment and innovate, makes it the perfect market to demonstrate thought leadership and cutting-edge ideas. I look forward to continue driving OMG’s momentum and advantage in Thailand," Iyer added.

Meanwhile, Chhaya said as the Thailand operations builds a future-forward organisation with digital, data, eCommerce and performance at its core, honing the group's product development capabilities is going to be key. Hence, she is thrilled that Iyer has onboard as chief product officer in Thailand.

"Iyer is a leader with a stellar track record and in the last few years leading OMD Malaysia, she has bolstered our operations and developed products that have increased client confidence across the board. We couldn't have found a stronger and more suitable candidate in Iyer – she understand us and our clients and I'm very excited that she has already hit the ground running!" Chhaya added.

Before OMD, Iyer worked at Mindshare for close to five years, last helming the role of partner, digital, Southeast Asia. She first started in the agency as digital strategy lead in 2014, handling clients including PepsiCo, GSK, Ford, Star, Godrej, and ICICI, according to her LinkedIn. She has also worked at Madhouse India as head - solutions, GroupM as business director, and Indigo Consulting as programme manager.

Before moving to Thailand, Iyer worked closely with Eileen Ooi, CCO of Omnicom Media Group Malaysia. Ooi was promoted in February and was previously with PHD Malaysia for four years. Along with Ooi and GM of PHD Malaysia Kiron Kesav, Iyer was also responsible for driving continued growth and stability for the network in Malaysia.

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