VaynerMedia moves APAC creative chief VJ Anand to EMEA role

VJ Anand will be taking on a new role as VaynerMedia's EMEA executive creative director by the end of this year. Anand has been the creative push behind many of VaynerMedia's work across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia and Japan and has been instrumental to the growth of the agency in the APAC region. He will be relocating to London.

In mid last year, VaynerMedia APAC promoted Anand to managing partner of Asia Pacific, in addition to his current head of creative role. In the role, Anand oversaw the creative excellence, as well as play a key role in the agency’s growth strategy across the region. 

Anand joined VaynerMedia in 2019 from Gojek where he was SVP of creative. CEO and co-founder of VaynerMedia, Gary Vaynerchuk, said previously that its Singapore office is growing and Anand is "a key hire" as it continues to scale the business in the region. 

He has over 20 years of experience in the creative field from digital agencies to international network agencies, to setting up and running an international creative department in Gojek.

In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Anand confirmed the move, and said it was not a planned one, but rather, came when founder Gary Vaynerchuk asked him to replicate work he was doing in new markets beyond Asia.

Commenting on Vaynerchuk’s unorthodox style, Anand said, “Vaynerchuk is a person who rewards talent and sees something in people. I’ve never met anyone as sharp and someone who goes with his gut feel and he’s been an amazing boss to throw me this new challenge.”

When asked what some of his notable moments working in the APAC office were, Anand said, growing the team from five to 260 was a definite win. Since the agency’s launch, the team has worked with some of the biggest brands in Asia such as SKII and Google and others.

“Shooting a music video with John Legend is definitely a moment to remember, along with of course, promoting some of the best creative talent in APAC,” he said.

“APAC has some world class talent, and we are culturally rich and diverse. It would be great to see us lead the stage globally and see more talent from the region shine on global platforms,” he added.

At the same time, VaynerMedia has also promoted Daisy Domenghini to MD for EMEA having served as head of client partnership since October 2021. She will also be based in London. She has been at VaynerMedia since October 2021 and in that time has overseen client accounts including Heinz, NatWest, and UNICEF. In her previous role as head of client partnerships, she led the addition of Durex, Zalando, and Indeed as clients. Prior to VaynerMedia, she was global client MD at The Engine Group.

Domenghini said: “Since day one, I felt at home at Vayner and I’m immensely proud to have been given the opportunity to lead such talented individuals and ambitious clients. It’s an incredibly exciting place to be right now. We’re truly built for the modern age of marketing, created from the consumer up, and our clients see growth and traction with us. Vaynerchuk’s vision and ability are breeding a new tribe of marketers and creating a restless energy that means we’re constantly evolving to provide a better service. I’m incredibly proud of what the EMEA team has achieved, both in London and across Europe, and I look forward to working with them and Anand to take things even further.”

“At VaynerMedia, we take great pride in promoting and relocating talent,” said Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia. “Since joining last year, Domenghini has demonstrated exceptional qualities of being a great leader, truly understanding our integrated model of having creative and media working seamlessly together. Anand joined VaynerMedia APAC at its inception in 2019 and has helped grow the office to over 250 people strong. I am confident that their partnership will propel our rapidly expanding presence in EMEA," he added.

(Photo courtesy: https://www.instagram.com/therealvrp/)

Related articles:
Gojek Indonesia SVP of creative and ECD VJ Anand exits
VaynerMedia APAC names Tim Lindley managing director as Avery Akkineni moves to VaynerX
From Budweiser to Warner Bros, more brands jump on NFT hype train