R/GA names VP chief creative officer for Asia Pacific

R/GA has appointed Seamus Higgins (pictured) as its new VP chief creative officer, effective April 2019. He will assume creative leadership of the agency’s Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney, and Melbourne offices. His appointment comes as the agency aims to pave the way for changes to its regional creative structure. Most recently, he served as ECD of Host/Havas and brings with him more than 20 years of industry experience across three continents. According to Higgins, APAC is a dynamic region where anything is possible, and R/GA is poised to push the boundaries of creativity and innovation here. Meanwhile, it has also elevated R/GA Australia ECD, Robert Chalmers, to the role of ECD - head of experience design, APAC. Chalmers will be charged with deepening UI/UX design solution capability and growing teams across the five offices. Meanwhile, R/GA Tokyo ECD Niklas Lilja is now ECD - head of stories, APAC, leading the development and expansion of the region’s creative teams. “Higgins has built his career championing ideas that often don’t feel like advertising, and ensuring uncompromising craft when it comes to their delivery. We’re excited to welcome him to R/GA and to a role which speaks to his talent and passion for driving change, as well as our growth and the opportunities for transformation we’re seeing here," Tuomas Peltoniemi, EVP managing director, APAC said. Global CEO Sean Lyons said that the team is growing at speed in APAC, opening two new offices with a host of new business wins and organic growth from long-standing relationships. "The seamless and extraordinary collaboration between our people in the region is a differentiator sought out by clients, and something the teams in APAC already do so well. By bringing in a talent the caliber of Higgins, and combining his talents with Chalmers, Lilja, and other regional creative leads, APAC is poised to grow even further," he added.