Starcom MediaVest Group appoints Chief Operating Officer for South East Asia

Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG), has promoted Ranganathan Somanathan to Chief Operating Officer (COO) for South East Asia, to spearhead the next phase of growth and development for the region.

As part of the newly-created role, Somanathan will focus on SMG’s agency brands, operations and divisions which include Starcom, MediaVest, Spark Communications and LiquidThread, across six key SEA markets including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Previously Somanathan has led VivaKi Malaysia, which includes SMG and Optimedia Malaysia, as CEO,  a position he has held since July 2009. During that time, he spearheaded the transformation of the Malaysian offices, fostering a digital culture among the local teams, adapting SMG’s global vision and human experience strategy locally while boosting staff’s capabilities in driving media and screen-neutral planning for clients, leading to a period of sustained advancement for SMG in Malaysia.

On his new role, Somanathan said “I am delighted to be given the opportunity to be co-leader of our offices and staff at a key juncture of SMG’s progress in this region. Looking ahead, I hope to help our people to scale greater heights as we focus and look toward bolstering our market-leading positions and capabilities while continuing to build on our network’s Human Experience vision and promise to our clients.”