IPG Mediabrands’ Initiative names Jeff Franco Singapore head

IPG Mediabrands’ media agency Initiative has promoted Jeff Franco as the head of Initiative Singapore and regional managing partner Initiative APAC. He last helmed the role of regional growth director of Initiative APAC.

In his new role, Franco (pictured) will be responsible for driving the growth agenda for the Initiative Singapore office, as well as driving account management across the region for the agencies blue chip client base which includes LEGO, Carlsberg and Amazon.

Based in the Initiative regional headquarters in Singapore, his new role is effective April 2020. Franco will report to Will Anstee, president Initiative APAC and David Haddad, CEO IPG Mediabrands Singapore.

Franco first joined the IPG Mediabrands network in the Philippines in 2004. He then moved to the regional headquarters in Singapore to manage key regional clients including the MasterCard and Sony Pictures business spanning 10 countries. He later transitioned to a growth role, protracting business development success for IPG Mediabrands across the Asia Pacific region, before joining Initiative as regional growth director.

According to Anstee, Franco is one of the best in the business, and possesses a rare blend of business acumen, ingenuity, and natural leadership ability that give him the credentials to step into this dual leadership role.

Meanwhile, Haddad said the creation of this role signals the agency’s desire to grow Initiative Singapore from both a business and capabilities perspective. “In Franco we have the perfect leader, his contagiously can-do attitude is coupled with a proven track record of delivering growth solutions for our Initiative network across APAC. I’m incredibly excited to welcome Franco to the Singapore leadership team and work with him to take Initiative Singapore to the next level,” he added.

Franco said that after more than three years driving new business projects across APAC, he is thrilled to partner with local and regional clients to deliver Initiative’s unique proposition of cultural velocity.

Recently, IPG Mediabrands Malaysia witnessed a slew of promotions. Following Kristine Ong’s departure from her role as group MD of Initiative Malaysia, group MD of Reprise and BPN Darren Yuen was named CEO of Initiative and BPN. Meanwhile, IPG Mediabrands Malaysia also promoted Amit Sutha to the newly-created position of CEO of Universal McCann, UM Studios and Ensemble Worldwide. With the changes in place, Sujith Rao , VP of Inventure, was appointed to the role of MD of Reprise Performance and Tech.