BBDO GM Ben Israel joins TBWA\Group SG as global brand director for SIA account

Former BBDO general manager Ben Israel (pictured) has joined TBWA\\Group Singapore as global brand director to handle the Singapore Airlines account. TBWA\\ bagged the account  which the agency won at the beginning of this year together with PHD, following a six-month pitch process handled by R3. Israel's role will be to lead the airline's expanded mandate of delivering a holistic integrated marketing strategy - with TBWA\\ and PHD jointly responsible for brand stewardship, marketing communications, data, media, performance marketing, and web experience design.In an exclusive statement to Marketing, Israel said TBWA\\’s passion for challenging the status quo is something he has always admired and respected. "To be part of an agency collective constantly innovating and evolving, is exciting. To work on one of the world’s most loved brands within this agency, is an even greater honour. It’s great to be here,” he added.“Israel’s appointment marks an exciting time for TBWA\\ as we grow our business and transform the way we operate as a creative agency. Israel's talent and experience makes him a fantastic candidate to fulfil our ambition for the Singapore Airlines business," Ara Hampartsoumian, CEO, TBWA\\Group Singapore said.Israel was with BBDO for three years. Currently, Nick Morell is leading BBDO Singapore as managing director, a role he was appointed to last December. Prior to BBDO, Israel was in-charge of global customer success at Adobe for a span of 10 months. In 2014, he joined McCann Erickson and stayed for a year. Before this, Israel had a seven-year stint with Edelman.As the lead and director of Edelman Digital, he was responsible for harnessing the firm’s intellectual capital, resources and expertise on social media to help clients engage in multi-stakeholder, multi-channel, real-time and transparent dialogues to achieve specific business outcomes. He has managed a range of brands that includes Mastercard, Microsoft, DHL, Motorola, Unilever, Petronas and Shell. According to his LinkedIn, he built and led the Edelman Digital arm in Kuala Lumpur. Israel also worked with CIMB's BHLB Trustee and Citibank as an assistant manager and marketing officer respectively.Shortly after the lucrative win with Singapore Airlines, managing director of TBWA\\Singapore, Ara Hampartsoumian was elevated to CEO. He has been with the agency close to five years, first taking on the role of managing director from BBH. Following his promotion, Mandy Wong was named managing partner, in addition to her current role as a key business lead.Last month, TBWA promoted South Africa’s group CEO Sean Donovan to take on the additional role of president, TBWA\\Asia. Donovan succeeds Ian Pearman who left the agency in February to join a consumer services start-up headquartered out of Singapore.