m/six names new managing director

m/six, one of the media agencies in the WPP-owned GroupM network, has promoted its general manager, Sheila Shanmugam to the position of managing director.Shanmugam (pictured) has been leading m/six as GM since its launch in Malaysia in August 2013. She is an industry veteran who was previously heading a business unit in GroupM Malaysia as business director. In recent months, m/six has had two major account wins – F&N and P1 – both moving from larger incumbent agencies.Kevin Rooney, who heads m/six for the APAC region said, “Shanmugam continues to drive m/six forward in Malaysia and deliver on our proposition of high level marketing strategy, grounded in media, with an unwavering commitment to accountability. It is easy to lay out a lofty vision for an agency, but to deliver it so consistently takes someone truly exceptional and Shanmugamdoes exactly that for our clients in Malaysia”.Under Shanmugam’s leadership, m/six has grown not just in terms of clients and billings, but also in terms of the end-to-end marketing services provided. While its initial focus was on partnering with fast-growing Malaysian challenger brands, the agency has now started receiving invitations from blue-chip corporates who have heard about their highly dynamic and responsive working structure."This is exactly what clients are looking for from their agencies in the current market conditions. It is in recognition of the role Sheila has played in the growth of m/six that she is being promoted to Managing Director,” said Girish Menon, CEO of GroupM Malaysia.Shanmugam said, “Although we belong to the largest media group – GroupM – our mind-set and behaviour has always been that of a challenger brand. At m/six we believe that ‘Business-as-usual means No Business’ so we are constantly driving towards the next new thing we can do to address our Clients’ marketing/business challenges. I have to thank all our Clients for believing in us, giving us the opportunity to push boundaries and take those calculated risks.”