Havas Media Group Singapore names new CEO as Melvin Lim takes regional role

Havas Media Group has promoted Melvin Lim, the current CEO of Singapore, to the newly created role of chief commercial officer (CCO) for Havas Media Group, Asia Pacific. Concurrently, Jacqui Lim(pictured), the current MD of Singapore operations, will take over as the CEO of Havas Media Group, Singapore.In the new role, Melvin Lim will be responsible for regional business development across all brands of Havas Media Group, including Havas Media, Arena Media and the specialist brands: Socialyse, Ecselis, Mobext and Affiperf. In addition to the CCO role, he will continue to be the regional lead for Havas Sports & Entertainment, a concurrent role he took over in 2014.Melvin Lim joined Havas Media in 2011 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.Prior to joining Havas Media, Melvin Lim was head of marketing for DBS Consumer Bank in Singapore where he led and managed all of DBS’ and POSB’s marketing programmes. Before this, 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."Over the past five years, Havas has given me the privilege and empowerment to be extremely entrepreneurial in developing Havas Media Singapore into the highly competitive agency that you see today, that has capabilities beyond your typical media agency, I now look forward to also do simililar things for Havas Media across 18 countries in APAC, to broaden and deepen our products, capabilities and seek out new business to meet or exceed our growth ambitions in the region," said Lim.Jacqui Lim’s promotion comes on the back of two years of solid performance, which has seen the agency grow by 45%. She has been directly credited with leading the new business achievements that saw the agency procure 13 large clients in 2015.  Under her leadership, Havas Media Singapore won over clients such as Singtel, Changi Airport, CapitaLand, Warner Bros, Aspial Lee Hwa Group and Gardens By The Bay.  The agency also retained longstanding client NTUC Fairprice after a competitive pitch last year.Jacqui Lim joined Havas Media as managing director in October 2014 after having spent six years in ZenithOptimedia. In her previous role, she was executive director, general manager, followed by managing director of the Singapore office.  She was pivotal in leading and winning the Changi Airport Group pitch in 2013 as well as the Asia Pacific Breweries pitch in 2010.(Read also: Meet Havas Media's Jacqui Lim)In a prior conversation with Marketing, Lim said her plan for the SG office is to continue to invest in bringing the best in class talent on board across different disciplines and to build a culture rooted in innovation to create great work for clients. She has also grown the team to a headcount of 110 and billings grew by 35%. She said:Ultimately, we want to be the agency brand that people want to work in, and work with, in years to come.Vishnu Mohan, CEO of Havas Media Group, Asia Pacific, said: “Our Singapore operations has grown from strength to strength under Melvin Lim’s leadership and we were keen to utilise his strong business acumen at a regional level. The role of chief commercial officer is ideal for him, given his background as a marketer. Also he has been with the network for five years and has a great relationship with the wider global and local teams, which is quite critical for this role. Jacqui is a natural leader and has more than proven her credentials for taking on a bigger role. She is a new business star, a talent magnet and a strategic thinker. I have no doubt that she will lead our Singapore operations to new heights of success.