Chief commercial officer Melvin Lim exits Havas Media Group APAC

Melvin Lim, chief commercial officer (CCO) at Havas Media Group Asia Pacific, is leaving the organisation after seven years with the company.Lim (pictured) took on the role in 2016, and was responsible for regional business development across all brands of Havas Media Group. This includes Havas Media, Arena Media and the specialist brands: Socialyse, Ecselis, Mobext and Affiperf. He was also the regional lead for Havas Sports & Entertainment, a concurrent role he took over in 2014.Lim first joined Havas Media Singapore in 2011 to take on the CEO role and is credited with not only exponentially growing the Singapore operations but also transforming the agency into one of the most respected and competitive agencies in the country. Following his promotion to regional CCO, Jacqui Lim took over his remit as Singapore CEO.In a statement to Marketing, Vishnu Mohan, chairman and CEO of Havas Group, Southeast Asia said, "Melvin has contributed immensely to the Havas Media Group over the past seven years, both in his role as CEO of Singapore and as chief commercial officer APAC.  He was able to leverage his strong background as a client marketer to build a differentiated strategy on content and digital media creativity which resonated with many of the clients the agency won and retained during his tenure.""We are naturally disappointed that he has decided to leave us but we are also both encouraging of and excited about his desire to explore several new opportunities. We thank him for his contribution and wish him only the very best in his future endeavours," Mohan added.Prior to Havas Media, Lim was VP and head of marketing for DBS Consumer Bank in Singapore where he led and managed all of DBS’ and POSB’s marketing programmes. Prior to that, he spent four years as deputy director, consumer marketing at Singtel and 10 years with Asia Pacific Breweries, where he developed his foundation in marketing and brand management.Lim added, "The past seven years with Havas have been a priceless experience, allowing me to manage both local and regional businesses, be exposed to the dramatic maelstrom of change that is media today, work with extremely bright and talented colleagues, implement entrepreneurial initiatives while having fun along the way! Growing a debutante MPG-MediaContacts agency in 2011 to a multi-award winning Havas Media, that has grown several-fold in scale and profitability to be a top-tier agency today, has rewarded me with significant professional joy and I cannot thank Havas and Vishnu Mohan more for presenting this opportunity to me back then!"He added, looking ahead, he is at a point professionally where he is fortunate to have a great balance between marketing expertise, robust business acumen, strong digital knowledge and wide-reaching networks across the region, which he will bring to bear in his next role.Last year, Havas Group consolidated its creative and media divisions to come under one regional P&L. This saw Havas Creative Group and Havas Media Group ceasing to exist to ensure agility and a seamless experience for clients, while its creative, media, healthcare and wellness business being classified as business units.In Asia Pacific, Mike Amour, then-CEO APAC Havas Creative Group was appointed as CEO Havas APAC Group, while Vishnu Mohan then-CEO of Havas Media Group APAC became CEO of Havas Group India and Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, Levent Guenes, then-CEO of Havas Creative Group Southeast Asia, took on the role of chief growth officer, Havas Group APAC, with a primary focus on driving new ventures, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships.Read also:Cycle & Carriage switches media agency for 6 car brandsHavas Media Singapore promotes Russell Lai to GM roleHavas Media ropes in MGAG to promote new book on Malaysian MillennialsHavas Media looks at Malaysian Millennials through a new lensHavas Media appoints new head of digital performance and investment