WUNDERMAN THOMPSON APPOINTS AUDREY KUAH AS NEW APAC CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Wunderman Thompson has hired Audrey Kuah as chief executive officer of Asia Pacific. Kuah will start her role at Wunderman Thompson at the beginning of September, and takes over from global president and EMEA CEO Ewen Sturgeon who was acting as interim APAC CEO.

Based in Singapore, Kuah will report to Wunderman Thompson global CEO, Mel Edwards, and will oversee the creative and strategic growth of the business across the APAC region.

Kuah’s expertise in marketing and advertising has been deployed across industries and geographies for more than two decades. She joins Wunderman Thompson from OCBC Bank where she was head, group marketing, global consumer and financial services, responsible for driving business and growth-focused marketing initiatives. At OCBC, Kuah delivered creatively driven, integrated campaigns that were inspired by consumer insights with personalisation at the core. She also partnered with OCBC’s group brand and communications team to design the consumer arm’s experience in Decentraland, OCBCx65Chulia. Prior to that, Kuah spent eight years at Dentsu.

Says Edwards: “Having worked both client and agency side, Audrey understands and appreciates the dynamics of working with leading global brands. We’ll have the best of both worlds for our people and our clients in APAC with Audrey at the helm, and I have no doubt she will bring her joy for creative problem solving to combine our creative offering and capabilities to drive growth in the region.”

Says Kuah: “My journey in marketing and advertising jumpstarted at J. Walter Thompson Singapore, I’m delighted to come full circle and lead the network’s operations across Asia Pacific. It’s not often this kind of opportunity presents itself, let alone for a network as progressive as Wunderman Thompson. The depth and breadth of the capabilities Wunderman Thompson has to offer is unmatched, and I look forward to working with both teams and clients to deliver their vision in one of the most dynamic and fast growing regions in the world.”

Kuah is currently on the board of the Singapore Tourism Board and was most recently on the board of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore International.