Zeno Group nabs Allison+Partners APAC MD Paul Mottram

Zeno Group has appointed Paul Mottram (pictured) as the regional president of Zeno Asia Pacific. With more than 27 years of experience in the region, he will oversee a growing staff of 125 professionals in Singapore, Malaysia, China, India and Australia as well as the network of Zeno+ partners across Asia Pacific.

Mottram joins from Allison+Partners where he helmed the role of managing director, Asia Pacific. According to his LinkedIn, he led the All Told unit at Allison+Partners, which combines research, content, creative, digital and measurement expertise into one robust centralised offering. He was tasked to oversee the growth of the agency’s client and talent base in Hong Kong, reporting to Andy Hardie-Brown, global COO, and Cathy Planchard, partner and president of All Told.

The All Told unit was first established in the US in 2015, and was aimed at enabling global and local brands in the region to deliver more creative and compelling integrated campaigns, drawing on a skill set that combines the agency’s deep storytelling skills with strategic, creative and production capabilities.

Prior to his stint with Allison+Partners, Mottram last served as managing director, integrated strategy for Text100 Asia Pacific, now known as Archetype. He was previously with Bite as the executive VP, Asia Pacific between the years 2009 and 2014. His responsibilities included running and growing a new kind of global marketing services agency in Asia Pacific, focusing on strategy and insight, public relations, marketing communications, content and creative, and digital technology.

Mottram founded an independent regional agency called Upstream Asia in 2001, that offered marketing and media counsel to regional and multinational companies. The agency was then acquired by Bite in 2009, which saw Mottram take on a wider role. According to Mottram, Zeno’s reputation as a creative force and market disruptor has been on his radar, and he has been impressed by the agency’s depth of talent and highly collaborative approach, regionally and globally.

“A quick scan of their client roster shows the place Zeno has carved out as a global, midsize firm working at the highest levels. This is an exciting time to join as the firm continues to grow, working with clients to deploy the power of communications for tangible business impact,” he said.

In addition to Mottram's appointment, Zeno India has also appointed Rekha Rao as its new managing director. Rao brings about 24 years of experience working on global brands and companies including Vicks, Oral-B, Gillette, Nissan and Abbott Nutrition. Most recently, Rao held a senior role at 2020MSL, MSL Group India’s strategic engagement and consultancy arm. Rao joined in January, while Mottram will head up the Asia Pacific team in February 2020. Mottram will report to Zeno Group CEO Barby K. Siegel,  while Rao reports to Mottram.

“Mottram brings to the region the experience and perspective we need as our largest client relationships continue to expand into Asia, while we also focus on growing our business regionally and locally.  In addition, and as importantly, we all felt great alignment with both Mottram and Rao from a cultural point of view in terms of the values that drive our business and the fearless spirit that imbues all we do,” said Siegel.

Zeno witnessed a change in management in Malaysia last year when former MD David Lian was promoted to managing director, Asia, growth and innovation. At the same time, director Amanda Leong was elevated to the role of general manager of the Malaysia operations. Lian held the managing director role for close to six years, and was responsible for building the team and service offerings in Malaysia.