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RGA Singapore Launches Brand AIR/GA Singapore has launched Brand AI, a bespoke capability dedicated to creating artificial intelligence solutions embodying the voice and tone of brands.

The Brand AI offering includes the design and build of AI-driven products and marketing communications, chat/voice assisted products, and traditional customer support. It follows a model launched and led by R/GA Chicago’s SVP Executive Creative Director Matt Marcus, and Executive Technology Director, Michael Morowitz, which has led to transformative client solutions across the network, including award-winning work for The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

The R/GA Singapore Brand AI team will be led by Senior Technology Director Laurent Thevenet, Creative Director of Experience Design Mark Law, and Executive Director for Consulting APAC Jehan Leanage. The unit will also leverage cross-disciplinary talent from the agency’s global network including designers, developers, and data scientists.

R/GA first rolled out an eponymous bot in 2015 for internal use, automating the everyday operational needs of its people via Slack. In the time since, R/GA has developed frictionless intelligent systems and experiences to drive business results and grow customer support capabilities for clients including Nike EMEA, Samsung Global and Uber APAC.


Eric PhotoEventBank, a venture backed membership and event management cloud-based software company, has expanded its presence in Asia by opening offices in the regional hubs of Singapore and Hong Kong.

The Company provides all-in-one software as a service solutions to event management professionals, Chambers of Commerce and Trade Associations in over 28 countries, opening the new offices to provide greater support and sales capabilities in a market projected to be worth US$1.245 billion globally by 2023.

Founded in 2013 by Eric L. Schmidt, CEO, and Olivia Jingshu Ji, COO, EventBank has grown via sales success and private venture funding. The Company has a deep bench of talent drawn from Google, IBM, Walt Disney, Oracle, Tableau, NBC. The software solutions have been recognized worldwide by iChina Tech 2016 Award (2016), Top 20 Alibaba Cloud Innovation Award (2017), MICE Best Event Solution of the Year Award (2017), Greater Washington Innovation Awards (2018), and was the winner of the CV Magazine Technology Innovator Awards (2018).

EventBank provides a suite of software as solution (SaaS) delivered applications to event management professionals both in-house and in agencies, Chambers of Commerce, Trade Associations and community organizations. The packages offered are: Event Management, Event Automation, and Chamber and Association Management solutions. Running on desktop and mobile platforms across all operating systems the modules provide comprehensive toolsets, also available as standalone applications, which enable organizations to streamline processes, collect funds, promote activities, and to manage their communities. The services are available in 6 languages including: English, Mandarin (simplified & traditional), Russian, Korean, and Spanish. GDPR Compliance has been incorporated into all the applications, and all data is safely stored and backed up on servers complying with the local regulations. Rolling out the regional expansion will enable the EventBank team to be closer to their customers and to engage new ones. Those that will be able to benefit from the new offices include existing Corporates e.g. Daimler, Deloitte, Facebook, Orange, as well as Chambers of Commerce and Associations such as the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong or DIA, and community organizations like Lean In or Startup Weekend.


Instagram founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger are leaving the Facebook-owned firm.

Yuval Ben-Itzhak, CEO, Socialbakers commented: “The departure of the Instagram founders is just a continuation of a trend that we see all across tech, when founders move on to new projects and leave their baby to thrive in the hands of the acquirer. This in itself doesn't yield any great need for concern. Since Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012, the platform has gone from strength to strength. Socialbakers' ad spend data shows that businesses are leveraging Instagram for advertising more than ever before. The share of Instagram ads placements is clearly on the rise, reaching 43% in March 2018. We certainly don't see the platform's growth slowing any time soon. With over a billion users, Instagram's future is certainly bright. We can't speculate about who will lead Instagram, but one thing we can be sure of is that the goal will remain the same - to continue to grow Instagram into the most engaging platform for brand marketers. No matter who takes the reins, marketers will continue to spend on the platform because there is no comparable alternative offer the same engagement and reach.”

Socialbakers has been a Facebook Marketing Partner since 2011.


Waze announced its integration with Apple CarPlay to further its mission of decreasing traffic on the road and making driving safer and more convenient for everyone. As one of the first navigation apps on the CarPlay platform, the Waze integration will bring millions of CarPlay users the opportunity to seamlessly use Waze features directly from their in-car display.

The platform empowers communities to contribute road data, edit Waze maps, and carpool to improve the way we move about the world. Thanks to Wazers everywhere, Waze is able to partner with municipalities and transit authorities to reduce traffic and congestion—leveraging current infrastructure while impacting city planning. Waze also works closely with tech and automotive brands to reimagine what transportation looks like today.

Malaysia is home to 5.9 million monthly active users, most of whom have been using the Waze app on their smartphones. By offering the option to use Waze on Apple CarPlay, Apple fans and CarPlay users in Malaysia can now more conveniently use their favorite navigation companion.


AT&T announced the launch of Xandr, its new advertising company, led by CEO Brian Lesser.

Xandr encompasses all aspects of the existing AT&T advertising & analytics businesses, including AT&T’s advanced TV business, AT&T AdWorks; AT&T’s data and analytics business; ATT.net and AppNexus, which will continue to support its US and global customers under the Xandr umbrella.

This new kind of advertising company has according to AT&T four key advantages, which include data, premium content, advanced advertising technology and AT&T’s distribution to more than 170 million direct-to-consumer relationships across wireless, video and broadband.

By combining data with advertising technology, addressable TV allows advertisers to more effectively reach their audiences without the wasted spend associated with traditional, non- targeted TV.

Xandr’s unique differentiator is said to be its commitment to personalization, while considering the human element of advertising and people – not just placements.


Rochelle ChhayaIn line with its efforts to build digital centres of excellence within its agencies across the region, Omnicom Media Group has appointed Rochelle Chhaya as Chief Digital Officer for Asia Pacific.

Previously the Managing Partner, Investment at Omnicom Media Group Singapore, Chhaya will now leverage her extensive experience with the Group across both the digital and investment domains to create stronger outcome-based marketing capabilities for OMD and PHD agencies in APAC.

In this new capacity, Chhaya will report into the Group’s Chief Investment Officer, Paul Shepherd, ensuring that the Group’s digital capabilities are matched with strong investment strategies and relationships at scale. She will also oversee the development of specialist skillsets across each digital capability within markets, ensuring that the Group’s agencies remain at the forefront of developments in the digital space.

While the appointment is effective immediately, Chhaya will be fully transitioned into her new role by December 2018, ensuring the smooth succession of the Singapore Investment function.


alexHorangi Cyber Security announced that Alex Tran has been appointed Vice President of Marketing.


In his new role, Alex will help Horangi expand its reach into new markets and product pipeline with new offerings that will allow clients to strengthen their security capabilities as well as their environment.

Prior to Horangi, Alex led the Marketing Technology and Operations team at Grab, where he was responsible for launching business functions and products on both the transportation and payments side, driving usage and building revenue for the company. This included spearheading GrabRewards, the largest loyalty and payments rewards program in Southeast Asia. He led the revamp of Grab’s messaging, promo and data collection technology to better personalize user experience. Prior to Grab, Alex worked with e-commerce company Luxola, which was acquired by LVMH (Sephora).

Horangi will be scaling up their products with support from Tran with a vision of monthly product releases to enable clients to close the widening gap of resources and manpower required to better secure their products, as well as their environment.


Zendesk, Inc. announced that qualifying startups can now get The Zendesk Suite free for one year, giving growing companies the ability to build the best customer experiences into their businesses from the beginning.

With today’s rapidly changing customer expectations, startups need access to flexible, easy to implement technology that can scale with their business. Since first introducing a free year of Zendesk for startups in 2013, the company has helped thousands of companies to put the customer experience at the center of their business.

Learn more about Zendesk for Startups and apply for the program here: www.zendesk.com/startups.


charlesEquinix, Inc., the global interconnection and data center company, announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Charles Meyers to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Meyers will also join Equinix’s Board of Directors.

Meyers has a distinguished 25-year career in the technology industry, including a number of executive leadership positions at leading telecommunications and information technology companies. He joined Equinix in 2010 as President, Americas, leading the company’s largest operating region through a time of significant growth and strong operating performance. In 2013, he was appointed Chief Operating Officer at Equinix, where he spearheaded the company’s drive for global consistency, leading the Global Sales, Marketing, Operations and Customer Success teams. For the past year, he has served as President of Strategy, Services and Innovation (SSI), where he oversaw product organization and led the technology, strategy and business development teams, driving the company’s next phase of growth, and focusing on the future needs of customers and partners.


He succeeds Peter Van Camp, who has served as interim CEO since January 2018. Van Camp will resume his role as Executive Chairman of the Equinix Board of Directors.


SolarWinds—a leading provider of powerful and affordable IT management software—introduced Sascha Giese as the newest member of the company’s Head Geek™ team.

Giese is currently based in the SolarWinds’ Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) headquarters in Cork, Ireland and brings a plethora of industry experience to the team, including:

• Technical certifications, including being a Cisco® Certified Network Associate (CCNA®), Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA), Microsoft® Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA), VMware

  • Technical Sales Professional (VTSP), AWS® Certified Cloud Practitioner, and a SolarWinds Certified Professional® (SCP). • More than 10 years of technical IT experience, four of which have been as a senior pre-sales engineer at SolarWinds.
  • A close working relationship with business account management and partner enablement teams. Giese has been responsible for product training SolarWinds channel partners and customers in EMEA, with a focus on the DACH (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) region.
  • Regular participation in the annual SolarWinds Partner Summit EMEA, and contribution to the company’s professional certification program, SCP.


SolarWinds Head Geeks™ bring over 120 collective years of real-world expertise and renowned industry credentials to provide the tech pro community with perspectives, advice, and discussion on the latest trends and challenges in technology. They are experts in all areas of IT, including cloud, DevOps, enterprise, hybrid IT, security, networking, database, virtualization, and more.

Head Geeks engage with technology pros on THWACK®, the SolarWinds community forum; on the Orange Matter™ and Geek Speak™ blogs; in-person at events, including conferences, trade shows, and SolarWinds User Groups™; and in monthly SolarWinds Lab™ sessions, where they provide advanced technical training. They also participate regularly on various IT forums, including myITforum®, windows-noob.com, Stack Overflow™, and Spiceworks®. The Head Geeks are

  • Leon Adato, a CCNA, Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE), and SolarWinds Certified Professional. His 25 years of network and systems management and monitoring experience spans the financial, healthcare, food and beverage, and other industries.
  • Destiny Bertucci, who holds a broad array of certifications and degrees, such as CCNA, (ISC)² Methodologies, CompTIA® IT Operations Specialist (CIOS), CompTIA Secure Infrastructure Specialist (CSIS), INFOSEC, database development degree, BS IT Security, and SolarWinds Certified Professional. In her 16 years as a network manager, she has worked in healthcare, federal, and application engineering, which allowed her to be a successful SolarWinds senior application engineer for over nine years.
  • Patrick Hubbard boasts over 20 years of hands-on experience, spanning software development, operations, applications, networks, virtualization, cloud, and more. Today, he’s helping enterprise and cloud-native teams move past DevOps hype and rationally integrate real development and operations techniques to keep businesses going forward.
  • Thomas LaRock has more than 20 years of IT experience, holding roles such as programmer, developer, analyst, and database administrator. He is a Microsoft Certified Master, VMware® vExpert™, Microsoft Certified Trainer, and 10-time Microsoft Data Platform MVP.

PhuongAnyMind Group announced its expansion into the Philippines, with an office in Manila, and appointment of Country Manager for the Philippines.

This will be the 29-month-old startup’s 13th office in 11 markets across Asia, including a product development center in Vietnam. The move looks to provide existing and future clients with greater support, and AnyMind Group will further localize its solutions for the market.


AdAsia Holdings is currently providing revenue opportunities to over 30 publishers in the Philippines through the AdAsia Digital Platform for Publishers and AdAsia Premium Marketplace, whilst CastingAsia already has robust influencer marketing campaigns running on the platform. The AdAsia Digital Platform for Advertisers, a platform for advertisers to manage their activities through a single dashboard, will be rolled out, and the TalentMind platform will be further localized to meet the needs of human resource professionals in the Philippines.

Phuong Nguyen, Country Manager for Vietnam, AnyMind Group, has been appointed to lead the company’s operations in the Philippines, and is now Country Manager for Vietnam and the Philippines. He has a convincing proven track record with AnyMind,since he grew the company’s operations in Vietnam to almost 100 staff and increased business success across all three businesses.