R/GA Singapore hands ECD role to former IBM iX lead

R/GA Singapore has named Gary Hoff (pictured) ECD, leading its multidisciplinary creative teams and working with management to further develop the agency's creative talent. Hoff's addition to the team will also bolster R/GA's creative transformation offering of designing creative solutions around innovation consulting, product design and creative tech for business problems at speed.

Hoff most recently led the creative work at the Middle East and Africa region for IBM iX as ECD of UX and design. Previously, he founded Grampy, a start-up digital product consultancy that partnered with clients including IBM,?L?Ore?al, and MasterCard?to create new digital products and brand experiences that strengthen relationships with customers. Within two years, his team grew from two to more than 70. Before that, he also held senior creative roles at?HSBC, SapientNitro, AMV BBDO, and was also head of creative EMEA at Apple. Hoff has more than 25 years of experience.

Hoff said he has?had a decade-long admiration for the work of R/GA and ambition to work with the geniuses behind it. "R/GA's history is one of creative innovation ? if the technology didn?t exist, the agency created it, and if R/GA saw change on the horizon, it reinvented itself," Hoff explained.

He added that above all, R/GA has consistently stood for work that people want to talk about, and that's refreshing in a world that often prefers to just talk. "I look forward to continuing the focus on creating the best work in the world, because that's a business model I believe in," he added.

MD Dorothy Peng said Hoff's understanding of innovation and experience of the start-up environment is a?rare combination in a creative leader, and one that makes him exactly the right one for R/GA.

"His appointment is reflective of our role as a creative transformation company, helping our clients change before change happens," she added.

Seamus Higgins, VP chief creative officer, R/GA Asia Pacific said that Hoff's addition to its creative?talent bench reinforces its strength and commitment to growing its clients? businesses

?He has a passion for problem-solving and a proven ability to connect people with brands, all while pushing the limits of creativity, which are the hallmarks of a great creative leader. We?re excited to have him aboard," Higgins added.

In September this year, R/GA's?head of growth APAC and acting executive creative director Calvin Soh left the agency on sabbatical. Soh told Marketing previously that?he has?started a consultancy called One Kind Ideas to collaborate with any agency or client during his sabbatical. Meanwhile, Higgins came on board in April this year, assuming?creative leadership of the agency?s Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney, and Melbourne offices.

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