Kantar appoints new general managers to lead insights division for SG and MY

Marketing data and analytics company Kantar have promoted Jane Ng and Paromeeta Mathur Banerjee (pictured) to the positions of general manager of the insights division for Singapore and Malaysia respectively. Both are heavyweights in the insights industry, having amassed around two decades of experience each.

Ng, with 18 years of experience across Kantar in Singapore and the Philippines has worked on developing brand and communication plans with clients such as the Coca-Cola company, where she worked from 2009 to 2010. With a passion for purposeful brand building, Ng has expertise in areas such as programme design, analytical and advisory experience which helps meaningfully differentiate the brands she works on.

She started her career with Kantar in 2004 as a research associate and stayed with the company till 2008 before moving on to the Coca-Cola company. Ng said that she is looking forward to working in the region to develop data-driven marketing strategies and find growth opportunities. “Due to the current unstable environment and the fact that clients must manage significant learning curves, we see many opportunities for collaboration. The principles of brands, which are to be meaningful, different, and salient, are more important than ever,” she added.

Banerjee on the other hand has over two decades of experience in the insights industry, spanning India and Malaysia. She most recently held the position of chief client officer for Kantar’s insights division in Malaysia. She commenced her career at TNS Market Research in 2000 to 2004, before returning in 2015 as its director of client service. She then left TNS in 2019 and moved on to Kantar where she joined as the head of the client impact department.

Banerjee said that the changing consumer behaviours in the region poses a very exciting time for her and her team that she will be leading. “Whether it’s through current workflows or mining the wealth of data they already have through a different lens, this is a significant turning point for our region. I am so pleased to be able to shape the next stage of our journey,” she added.

The managing director of Kantar SEA, Katie McClintock, said that Ng and Banerjee’s leadership and experience is crucial in fulfilling their ambitions for Kantar in the region. “Jane (Ng) is an exceptional leader who has successfully led our Brand growth in Singapore over the past few years and is highly respected by all our clients. I’m excited that we’re able to build on her significant achievements in insights and brand consulting across Asian markets over the past years,” she added. Additionally, she said that Paro has thorough understanding of the industry and is well-versed in the challenges and opportunities facing our clients. She has the creativity and experience to bring our commercial strategy to the next level.

Kantar named Katie McClintock as its new SEA managing director last February. McClintock had also worked at Mastercard and PepsiCo, and was CEO of Added Value, a marketing consultancy in Asia. At the point of her promotion, she explained that as the region starts to adjust to treating COVID-19 as an endemic, Kantar sees lots of opportunities to partner with clients to understand fundamental shifts in consumer behaviour - in particular how to leverage digital and maximise marketing ROI.

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