Data consultancy fifty-five expands into SEA, hires former Reprise APAC MD

Global data and analytics consultancy fifty-five has launched in Singapore, and appointed former IPG and GroupM executive Ben Poole as the market's head of office. Poole will be tasked with leading fifty-five’s operations and growth in the Southeast Asian region as the consultancy looks to expand its regional footprint once again. He will also be responsible for establishing fifty-five as the go-to partner as well as adapting fifty-five’s portfolio of services to local markets, in collaboration with the company’s global expertise and innovation team.

Fifty-five said in a statement that the expansion into the Southeast Asia market comes on the back of rapid shifts in technology, especially during the pandemic, which dramatically changed the way people interact and engage with brands. According to a report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, Southeast Asia currently has 440 million internet users, and is estimated to reach US$174 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) by the end of 2021. The region’s digital economy is further expected to reach approximately US$360 billion by 2025, outgrowing the earlier projection of US$300 billion. The region is also expected to become a US$1 trillion digital economy by 2030. 

Poole added that the pandemic has accelerated changes in customer behaviour, which has led to an explosion of data in terms of volume and velocity. "Marketers in Southeast Asia are still struggling to reconcile, analyse and use it as a competitive edge. fifty-five brings to the region an amazing track record of delivering world-class data strategy, architecture, media advisory and customer experience optimization – customized, actionable and scalable data use cases that drive better business results," he said. 

Poole brings with him two decades of digital marketing experience. He was formerly in IPG, where he successfully grew the agency's performance marketing agency in Asia as MD, APAC at Reprise. Prior to that, he worked at WPP for close to nine years. Poole first joined the network as head of interaction, APAC at MEC - now Wavemaker - and has worked with brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Singapore Airlines, SingTel, Telkomsel, Citibank, Sony and Chanel; according to his LinkedIn. He was also named chief digital officer, UK during his time there. Poole was also previously head of digital, international and head of digital, planning at Mediacom.

"I am looking forward to tapping into fifty-five’s global expertise and experience to help our global clients and new prospects in the region," Poole said. 

Fifty-five is headquartered in Paris, fifty-five helps advertisers and publishers to improve their marketing, advertising, and sales performance through advanced data and analytics initiatives. It was founded in 2010 by former Google executives, and has since established a global footprint with over 300 employees spread across its offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, Shenzhen, Shanghai, London, New York, Geneva and Milan. Some of the brands fifty-five works with include Adidas, L’Occitane, LVMH, South China Morning Post, Cigna and Trip.com.

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