IPG names Kasper Aakerlund as UM APAC president

UM, the media agency within IPG Mediabrands, has appointed  IPG Mediabrands Hong Kong CEO Kasper Aakerlund (pictured above) to the newly created role of UM president, APAC. Aakerlund will report to IPG Mediabrands APAC CEO Leigh Terry, and UM Global CEO Daryl Lee.Aakerlund will relocate from Hong Kong to the UM regional HQ in Singapore and his appointment is effective immediately. Meanwhile, IPG Mediabrands Hong Kong will be led by an executive leadership team consisting of the local market agency leads.Aakerlund first joined IPG Mediabrands as Hong Kong CEO in September 2016 to lead business strategy and operations. He has a background of leading digital transformation across media organisations in Europe and Southeast Asia, holding positions as a chief digital officer of Carat and Vizeum, and CEO and head of Isobar Nordics, before moving to Asia as chief operating officer and CDIO of GroupM Vietnam and Indonesia.As CEO of IPG Mediabrands Hong Kong, Aakerlund was responsible for driving the launch and growth of several specialised business units including the country’s largest social and content hub which just won gold for Best Newcomer in the Marketing Magazine Agency of The Year Awards 2018, as well as shortlisting for Most Winning Agency. His investment in data and programmatic specialisation has seen programmatic spend triple in the last two years, and 35 new clients have been introduced to the network.In his new role as president of UM APAC, Aakerlund will champion better science, art, and outcomes across 13 markets in the Asia-Pacific region, with a strategic lead on growth and precision marketing anchored in business analytics and real-time data intelligence.“I am excited to take a regional steer on UM at this transformative junction in the industry where we need to be a core and integrated part of the customer journey. We set the bar high at UM, to create a future agency that’s better, faster and more agile. An agency that is built for today and tomorrow,” Aakerlund said.“Aakerlund’s track record in Hong Kong speaks for itself, having made a significant impact over the last two years, resulting in becoming agency of the year. We are delighted to welcome him to this pivotal role steering the growth and development of UM across the Asia-Pacific region,” Lee said.