Publicis Groupe hands Ian Loon mandate for SEA transformation

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Publicis Groupe has handed Ian Loon the new mandate of chief transformation officer of Southeast Asia, in addition to his current role as CEO of Publicis Groupe, Media and Digital for Singapore. He will continue to report to Amrita Randhawa, CEO of Publicis Groupe Singapore and Southeast Asia, and focus on the agency's transformation efforts in the region beyond the Singapore market.

Loon (pictured) will work closely with both the Publicis Groupe Southeast Asia market CEOs and the product and solutions leadership across Publicis Groupe to define the key pillars of transformation for the region and land transformational capability in every market.

Loon said that today, the partnership with Randhawa and fellow leaders in Singapore and Southeast Asia has been "charged to unprecedented levels", but the team remains restless in wanting to do even more.

"There are very few roles in the agency business with a canvas this broad, and even fewer global organisations without legacy agency or capability silos to bring this role to life in. The role is also perfectly aligned to a lifetime purpose to do good for both our clients’ business and people," he added.

Meanwhile, Randhawa said Loon has built "a stellar operation in Singapore" not just in terms of the sheer extent of capabilities but also the followership he has developed when it comes to talent.

"He is obsessed by what the future of our business looks like to better serve clients and give our talent a greater voice in shaping the future of the industry. It has been a joy to partner with him to imagine the future and with this appointment, I can only see our ambition accelerate," she said.

Loon has risen through the ranks during his time with the Groupe. He took on the role of head of digital for Starcom in Southeast Asia in 2015 before being promoted to head of business transformation in Publicis Media APAC in 2016. He then took on the role of MD of Starcom Singapore in 2017.

Before his current role as CEO of Publicis Groupe, Media and Digital for Singapore and overseeing the media function in Malaysia and Indonesia, Loon was CEO of Publicis Media in Singapore – a role he assumed in 2020.

Under his current leadership, Publicis Groupe has made several promotions on the talent front. In 2021, it made eight promotions across its media and digital capabilities – Oliver Spalding, Elaine Poh, Martin Davie, Vivian Yeo, Youli Hooi, Janice Liong, Patrico Blasco and Reevi Rajan.

When news of the eight promotions broke, Loon told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that he is thrilled and grateful for the rare opportunity to elevate several of its leaders "under strong conditions of growth, connectivity and chemistry across Singapore". Months later, the Singapore office elevated Stefanie Liew to GM for Digitas. She currently reports to Loon and Digitas APAC CEO Adrian Farouk.