announcement2

AppointmentsSCMPThe South China Morning Post today the appointment of David Wightman to the newly created role of Global Head of Advertising.

The senior-level appointment signals the continued growth of SCMP as a globally recognized and trusted partner to brand advertisers, powered by adtech innovation and data-driven advertising effectiveness.

Wightman will spearhead the on-going growth and international expansion of SCMP’s global advertising business. He will lead a department spanning Hong Kong, mainland China, Asia, USA and Europe, and oversee global media sales, marketing and creative solutions, branded content, events, custom publishing, advertising technology, and sales operations.

David has more than two decades of industry experience, gained at the intersection of media, data and technology. He has previously built and led local and international sales and operations teams within digital and traditional media companies. Before joining SCMP, Wightman was based in London as the Group Director of Business Operations for Ebiquity, the world leader in media investment analysis. Prior to this, he was the Managing Director of [M]Platform, where he launched and scaled the regional programmatic, data and technology division of GroupM Asia Pacific. As the Chief Operating Officer of GiveMeSport, he overhauled the editorial and content marketing approach, increasing readership, revenues, and investment. Earlier in his career, Wightman held senior commercial leadership roles at media organisations, including Geeknet, CBS Interactive, Yahoo!, and Mirror Group Newspapers.


AppointmentsHGCGlobal1HGC Global Communications Limited announced the appointment of Cliff Tam as Senior Vice President of Global Data Strategy & Operations, International Business.

Working within the HGC International Business team, he will be responsible for expanding the Group's global presence and fully-fledged services to deepen its partnerships with digital content, service and infrastructure providers around the world and help them reach new frontiers.

In his new role, Cliff will develop and implement strategies to maintain HGC's position as a leading partner of over-the-top (OTT) service providers, internet and content companies, digital media providers, and cloud and software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies worldwide. He will also manage both the Network Operations and Business Analysis & Operations teams, ensuring that the International Business unit can continue to provide customers with seamless access to the extensive network coverage and one-stop OTT edge solutions with minimal latency and increased agility.

Specific focus areas for Cliff include the ongoing development of a game-changing OTT partner ecosystem across emerging niche markets in Asia, as well as the further expansion of edge infrastructure in Southeast Asia with the rollout of HGC's flagship Eyeball-as-a-Service™ platform and the growth of Singapore as a major regional hub. Cliff will also continue his mission to fortify Hong Kong as a major Internet Exchange hub as the use of data grows in Asia Pacific.

Cliff is a HGC veteran, holding several senior positions in the International Business team over the past 16 years. Before becoming Senior Vice President of Global Data Strategy & Operations, International Business, he was instrumental in developing markets and data services to establish HGC as a premiere partner for OTT, cloud and Internet Exchange providers and content and media companies as the digital economy booms. He also has extensive experience managing global HGC teams with responsibility for digitalisation, wholesale carrier solutions, partnership engagement, market and product development, sales and more.


AppointmentsAcronisAcronis, a leader in cyber security and data protection, announced the appointment as the Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Maritz will be responsible for the governance and leadership of Acronis as it strengthens its position in the service provider market preparing for significant growth in the future.

Earlier this year, Acronis raised $250M at a $2.5B valuation, and announced former GoDaddy's partners business president, Patrick Pulvermüller, as the new chief executive officer. The strengthened management team will use the momentum to provide Acronis' partners with the tools that they need to deal with a rapidly changing digital world.

Maritz first joined the Acronis Board of Directors in May 2021, bringing 40 years of experience in computer science and software to the cyber protection company.

In his previous executive roles, Paul served on the Executive Staff of Microsoft, was the CEO of VMware, and was CEO and Founder of Pivotal Software. Paul currently is an active investor and serves on the Boards of several start-up technology companies. He graduated with a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the Universities of Natal and Cape Town and is active in the non-profit world. He served for 10 years on the Board of the Grameen Foundation, which supports financial inclusion and technology in the developing world and supports conservation efforts in Africa.

Paul Maritz replaces René Bonvanie, whose leadership helped Acronis develop an effective strategy to expand global presence and deliver easy, efficient, and secure cyber protection to customers of any size.


AppointmentsElevandiElevandi, a new Company Limited by Guarantee (GLC) created by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to bring together the global financial and FinTech communities, has appointed an international board of directors to oversee its mission and work.

Sopnendu Mohanty, MAS Chief FinTech Officer, will serve as the Chairman of the Elevandi Board. The directors will bring diverse perspectives and insights on innovations driving the financial sector.

The board of directors include:

  • Jo Ann Barefoot, CEO and Co-founder of Alliance for Innovative Regulation and Co-founder of Hummingbird Regtech. Jo Ann is a globally well-regarded policymaker with over 35 years of experience and was the first woman Deputy Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Jo Ann is based in the U.S.

  • Neil Parekh, Partner and Head of Asia, Australia, and New Zealand at Tikehau Capital. Neil is an accomplished Singaporean banker with over 30 years of global experience in financial services including the APAC region, Europe, and the U.S.

  • Pieter Franken, Global FinTech Pioneer and Passionate Innovator, is based in Japan. Pieter has a career spanning 30 years in Financial Services, specializing in management, FinTech, innovation and large-scale digital transformations.

  • Matthias Kröner, Founder & Managing Director of Tradelite Solutions, is based in Germany. Formerly, Matthias served as Founder and CEO of Fidor Bank and DAB Bank; has over 25 years in financial services, with unparalleled insight into corporate strategy, innovation-leadership and M&A through the most transformative period in the history of the banking industry.

  • Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore. Sopnendu is a well-known Singaporean FinTech Professional with over 25 years of global experience in the Financial Sector covering financial services, technology, and innovation.


The appointment of the board is key to fulfilling Elevandi's mission of fostering a dialogue between the public and private sectors to catalyze for the growth and positive impact of FinTech in the new digital economy.


AnnouncementsClarotyThe industrial cybersecurity company, Claroty, announced the opening of a regional headquarters office in Singapore to establish its presence in the Asia-Pacific region further.

The company managed to triple its headcount in the region over the past year, with hiring occurring across seven countries.

The office opening comes shortly after Claroty’s USD 140 million in its Series D financial round, which included participation from Temasek. The company raised the round to meet rapidly accelerating global demand for The Claroty Platform’s visibility, threat detection, risk and vulnerability management, and secure remote access capabilities by expanding into new regions and verticals.

Spending on OT cybersecurity in the region is increasing as large-scale cyber incidents impacting critical industrial operations have become more pronounced. Such incidents have also made regulators aware that they need to prioritize the security of critical national infrastructure, whether publicly or privately held.

Backed and adopted by leading industrial automation vendors, Claroty grew its partner base in the region by 70% over the past year, with partners including KPMG, Yokogawa Engineering Asia, Tesserent, SiS International Limited and Inflow Technologies.


AppointmentsHGCGlobalHGC Global Communications Limited (HGC) announced the appointment of Eli Ngai as Chief Information Officer, with immediate effect. He will be responsible for the dynamic development of the Group's digital capabilities and infrastructure, helping to ensure it can continue to expand and enhance its fully-fledged ICT and telecom services for operators and enterprises in Hong Kong and around the world.

In this new role, Eli will lead the creation and implementation of digital strategies that improve HGC's ability to respond rapidly and with innovation to market changes. He will also focus on leveraging digital technologies to enhance the HGC customer journey. In addition, Eli will continue to oversee the Software & Systems team to help HGC attract customers and support them with customized solutions.

An ICT industry veteran with more than three decades of experience, Eli has expertise in software development, enterprise networking, information security and data center virtualization and orchestration. He joined HGC in 2019 when the Group acquired Macroview Telecom, a leading Hong Kong-based provider of digital technology solutions. Eli had served at Macroview for 27 years, most recently as Chief Information Officer, where he focused on driving digital transformation for the company and for corporate clients across the financial services, retail, telecommunications and government sectors.


AppointmentsEmplifiEmplifi announced the appointment of Varun Sharma as Vice President, Asia Pacific & Japan.

The appointment follows the company’s rebranding earlier this year. With the goal of unifying marketing, commerce, and customer care through AI-powered CX solutions, Emplifi was born from the combined technology of the customer experience platform Astute Inc. and the social media marketing platform Socialbakers.

In this role, Varun will lead Emplifi’s Japan and Asia Pacific business, with teams across Singapore, Emplifi’s JAPAC headquarters, and Sydney. He will be key in driving growth and developing customer and partner relationships across the region, reporting to Nikola Pantovic, Chief Revenue Officer, Emplifi.

Varun has over 18 years of experience in customer experience (CX), digital and hi-tech industries. Prior to joining Emplifi, he worked with Oracle, serving as Sales Director, Communications Global Business Unit for Asia Pacific, and later Head of Sales, Customer Experience (CX) Applications & Solutions for Southeast Asia. He also worked with Adobe where he led Strategic Industries for their Digital Experience business in Southeast Asia.


AppointmentsArmisArmis announced the appointment of Andrew Draper as Regional Vice President for Asia Pacific and Japan.

Draper, who is based in Melbourne, will drive the company's strategy to increase market share, increasing its sales operations and boosting its channel presence as it looks to cement its leadership in operational technology/industry control systems (OT/ICS), medical devices (IoMT), IoT & IT cybersecurity across the region.

Draper is a 25-year industry veteran with a proven sales track record in enterprise technology and SaaS. He will be responsible for Armis' sales and channel development in key sectors including energy and utilities, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, public sector, and retail across the region.

Prior to joining Armis, Draper was the senior regional manager at Nutanix. He also spent four years as an area vice president at the Singapore branch of Imperva, where he was instrumental in advancing the American enterprise data and application software in the Asian region.

Armis is a strategic partner and technology integrator with and advised by IBM, Accenture, Capgemini Deloitte, KPMG, Crowdstrike, Checkpoint, ServiceNow, Splunk, Cisco and over 200 organizations around the globe and is expanding its footprint across Asia Pacific and Japan with teams currently in Australia, China and Singapore.


AppointmentsIntegralAdScienceIntegral Ad Science, a global leader in digital media quality, announced two new appointments in Southeast Asia (SEA):  Lindsay Williams as Country Manager and Peter Angelis as Director, Agency Partnerships.

In their new roles, Lindsay and Peter will actively work with brands, agencies, publishers, and technology partners to increase digital media quality and programmatic growth across SEA. Based in Singapore, both Lindsay and Peter report to Laura Quigley, SVP APAC.

As Country Manager, SEA, Lindsay will focus on developing sales strategies to best support clients, while building new partnerships with brands, agencies, publishers, and platforms to help them go beyond verification and make every ad impression count. With over a decade of publisher sales experience across Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore, Lindsay brings strong expertise in business development, sales strategy, and scaling local market programs. She was previously Sales Director at Forbes Media where she worked with leading brands and agencies on digital advertising and content strategies across the region, and most recently Regional Commercial Director at Time Out Asia. Lindsay has also held sales roles within leading publishers in Australia.

In his new role, Peter will lead the agency partnerships team in the region, developing localized programs, measurement projects, and training. He will work closely with the key agency stakeholders on programmatic best practices, technology partnerships, and additional projects. Peter’s experience leading programmatic planning and optimization, managing digital operations, and working with agencies across Australia, New York, and Singapore, will be vital in his new role. Previously, he was Head of Platforms and Capabilities at OMG Singapore. Before that, he was Director, Programmatic Planning and Optimization at OMD, New York. Peter started his career as a Screen Trader in Australia.


AppointmentsAimazingAimazing, a Singapore-based retail data platform for mall management, announced the appointment of Imran Mohamad as Head of Marketing.

In his new role, he will be responsible for overseeing the overall brand and marketing objectives of the group, including shaping the brand’s positioning and market strategy  

Imran brings more than nine years of marketing experience in marketing strategy and general management. He last served as the Head of Marketing for Shopback Singapore where he was responsible for customer acquisition and revenue maximization for the platform. He was also Director at Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SMCCI), representing more than 900 business members and overseeing an Enterprise Singapore-supported incubation program, Protege Kita.

Prior to this, he provided marketing consultation and end-to-end services to listed and growth companies under The Leverage Group with performance, social media and influencer, launch and global PR campaigns.

The official appointment came in before Aimazing launched its retail analytics to enable mall operators to leverage technology that captures, structures and sorts real-time retail transactions. To drive the conversation forward, Imran also hosts a category-defining podcast interview show on "The Future of Retail Asia", alongside CEO Jun Ting. The show aims to bring to light what retailers can expect in the foreseeable future by engaging experts and stakeholders in the market, such as Mr Lim Ming Yan, Chairman of Singapore Business Federation and former Group CEO of CapitaLand Limited.

The retail-tech company also recently appointed GROW public relations, a boutique PR agency in Singapore that works with venture-backed start-ups and SMEs, as their agency on record. The PR agency has a proven track record of helping aspiring high-growth companies grab a great share of the market by providing them with the attention that they need.


AnnouncementsGBGThe global expert in digital identity, GBG, announced its award win for Best AI or Machine Learning Innovation of the Year from Asia Risk Awards 2021.

The biggest challenge faced by financial institutions today is not the increasing volume of financial crime, but in the creativity and sophistication in which fraud attacks are executed. In managing uncharted financial crimes, financial institutions (FIs) are seeing higher false positive rates, higher fraud alerts, and more missed frauds, which are detrimental to achieving target business growth when customers are unable to onboard and transact with success.

Southeast Asia's first fraud bureau, CTOS IDguard, which is powered by GBG's fraud and financial crime platform, is currently deploying GBG Machine Learning and is seeing an uplift in fraud detection of up to 30% for credit card applications.

GBG developed its machine learning capabilities in response to the increasing innovativeness and complexity in which fraud attacks are executed. With Financial Crime 4.0 escalating, a rule-based system is insufficient to detect and keep up with digital and emerging fraud typologies. GBG's machine learning utilizes both supervised and unsupervised algorithms; these algorithms are built into their core financial crime platform and can be easily and quickly configured, trained, and deployed via a low code/no code user interface. In addition, it also seamlessly accepts the import of custom models created in different algorithms via a Python notebook-like interface.

The Asia Risk Technology Awards were announced online throughout 27-30 September 2021 and are the longest-running and most prestigious awards for firms and individuals involved in the Asia's derivatives markets and in risk management. The awards recognize vendors that are serving financial services firms in meaningful and innovative ways and is the latest in a string of industry-recognized achievements for GBG: inaugural naming on the prestigious 2021 IDC FinTech top 100 Rankings by IDC Financial Insights, with the company coming in at 66th, and recognition as enterprise fraud category leader in Chartis RiskTech Quadrant 2021.


AnnouncementADVANCEAIADVANCE.AI, a leading Singapore-based artificial intelligence (AI) and big data company in Asia, announced the launch of its One Stop Platform, a holistic enterprise-grade solution for faster and more accurate customer onboarding, risk management and fraud prevention for enterprise clients.

Founded in 2016, ADVANCE.AI currently serves over 800 enterprise clients in the banking, financial services, fintech, payments, retail, and e-commerce sectors across South and Southeast Asia, Latin America and mainland China. Key clients include Standard Chartered, Bank BTPN, KEB Hana Bank, Bank Jago, Shopee and Indonesia's GoTo group.

ADVANCE.AI's parent company, Advance Intelligence Group, recently completed a USD400M+ Series D round, which values the Group at USD2 billion, making it one of the largest independent technology start-ups based in Singapore.

Among the key business challenges the One-Stop Platform tackles are better risk information systems and technology infrastructure; lack of quality data vendors; complying with greater regulatory complexity; and resource and time requirements to integrate data from multiple vendors. The platform's key capabilities include digital identity verification, credit scoring, social media data and decision analytics, fraud detection, AML screening, and transaction monitoring, delivered through an easy-to-use, unified and customizable dashboard.


AnnouncementsCUEGroupCUE Group has invested into the Bonsey Jaden Group, further enhancing their expansion across Asia and the United States.

As a digital technology group, CUE Group is committed to boosting the digital development of enterprises, industries and governments by using innovative technologies such as Big Data and AI.

The full-service digital brand agency Bonsey Jaden is specialized in partnering with clients to develop world-class digital brand experiences. Combining the strategic, creative and media expertise of the agency with CUE Group’s wealth of technological know-how enables stronger support and increased innovation for brands under the agency’s care.

CUE Group takes its place as Bonsey Jaden’s majority shareholder while keeping the leadership and management structure of the agency unchanged, making it easier for both groups to become industry leaders in the rapidly progressing world of digital branding.