ADK splits SEA chief growth officer duties as Joshua Okada joins HYPEBEAST

ADK has split its South and Southeast Asia chief growth officer responsibilities among its business directors and group account directors following the departure of Joshua Okada (pictured above left), who returned to Japan to become HYPEBEAST's MD. Kelvin Koo, MD, Singapore at ADK, told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that Okada's responsibilities will now be shared among Adeline Lee (PR and comms), Edvarcl Heng (social and content), Liz Leow (regional and global accounts), and Amy Chew (government and local accounts). 

"As Okada returns to Japan to be with family and to start on his new adventure, we are happy for him and appreciate everything he has done for ADK," Koo added.

Meanwhile, in his new role at HYPEBEAST, Okada will manage the Japan office to bring in new businesses and strategic growth in the company. He will report to Tiff Shum, VP of brand partnerships, APAC. Okada was previously based in Singapore for six years and has experience in advertising and marketing, working with more than 50 brands spanning across 15 categories in Asia Pacific. 

He has also led and managed the largest regional business of Toyota. During his tenure, he has worked on many showcases, including the Olympics and Paralympics Asia branding and CSR initiative “Start Your Impossible: The Dual Heroes”. According to HYPEBEAST, Okada is passionate about bringing positive change to society, and with this goal he has co-founded ADK’s pro bono CSR platform “Braintal”. The platform has raised community and business demands to the creative and planning minds in ADK, and through that created projects that contribute to society.

“We’re all living in this day and age of transformation where everyone is looking for ways to continuously be relevant, and I believe HYPEBEAST can play a crucial role as an X factor to create the change that many brands and businesses need,” said Okada.

He added that the brand's creative and editorial capability and fanbase are the two most important intangible values that it can bring to the table for brands that need some stimulus in their brands, products and services, projects, events and much more. "I’m looking forward to doing exciting things with brands and partners to make a real impact, which I believe the sky's the limit when it comes to collaboration and partnerships," he said.

Shum said HYPEBEAST has been looking for a leader to drive the business in Japan on ground, someone from an agency background who has a deep understanding of the creative business. According to her, Okada's rich experience and collaborative management style will be a perfect fit for the brand.

"I believe his valuable experience living and working in many different countries will aid him in driving growth not only within Japan but in the overseas market as well. We have initiated many exciting projects in Japan in the previous year, including Asia’s first HYPEGOLF Invitational, and saw growth in HYPEBEANS, our coffee brand, within the APAC region. We look forward to launching more activations presented hand in hand with Okada to continue to inspire and connect with the community," he added.

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