Social Mixer 2024 Singapore
marketing interactive Content360 Singapore 2024 Content360 Singapore 2024
Prophet builds up SEA hub in Singapore with Jacqueline Thng at helm

Prophet builds up SEA hub in Singapore with Jacqueline Thng at helm

share on

Global consulting firm Prophet has expanded into Singapore, making it the third office in Asia in addition to Hong Kong and Shanghai. The Singapore office will be Prophet's Southeast Asia hub for business growth and client support.Previously based in Hong Kong, partner Jacqueline Thng (pictured) will be returning to Singapore to lead the local office, bringing more than 20 years of industry experience and a track record of success working with leading companies in the region. Prior to Prophet, Thng was CEO of Lexis Branding. She also worked at Brand Union as regional managing director, head of South Asia and senior consultant at Addison Group London, according to her LinkedIn.Prophet has collaborated with top regional and international companies such as SP Group, SAP, UEM Group, Resorts World Genting, Fox Networks and Friesland Campina to find growth in the Southeast Asia market.In a statement to Marketing, senior partner and Asia regional lead Jay Milliken said Singapore is a "logical base" from which to grow its business in Southeast Asia. According to him, the ASEAN markets offer an interesting mix of developed markets, developing markets and emerging markets."International companies searching for growth in Asia will continue to look for partners who know and understand how to unlock uncommon growth in Southeast Asia.  Also, we are seeing more homegrown Southeast Asia companies look to expand beyond the region," he explained.Milliken added that the strong talent market in Singapore also makes for another great reason for Prophet to expand into the country. "Not only are there great universities in Singapore but the city has a dynamic digital startup environment which is another great source of talent for our business," he said.Prophet expects to compete with a variety of players in Singapore for work across Southeast Asia. The competitive set will include traditional management consultancies such as Bain, Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey; digital consultancies such as Accenture, SapientNitro and Deloitte; and traditional brand agencies such as Landor and Superunion.According to him, one of Prophet's big points of differentiation is that it operates a global P&L which enables it to seamlessly pull team members into different markets to best serve client needs. "While the Singapore team will initially be smaller, Prophet has a team of over 60 in Asia which will support our Southeast Asian growth," Milliken explained.Milliken added Prophet understands first hand the unmet potential and complex challenges of this market. "We essentially want to use the same blueprint for growth that has made Prophet one of the fastest-growing consultancies in Asia over the past 5 years.  We hire great people who are enthusiastic about growing long-term client relationships where we drive impact for the client," he said.He added that while Prophet remains open to opportunistically growing its geographic footprint in Asia, it has nothing currently planned for the remainder of 2019.Meanwhile, Thng said Southeast Asia is the fourth largest region in terms of population and one of the fastest-growing economies in the world."We've seen a rapid evolution of the business landscape and climate across Southeast Asia powered by digital innovation and the ASEAN integration. We are excited about our new venture in Singapore, the central hub of Southeast Asia and a 'smart nation' who is home to a number of world's most exciting tech unicorns," she added.Michael Dunn, chairman and CEO, said the agency's strategic expansion in Singapore builds on its momentum in the Asia Pacific region. This reinforces its commitment to helping clients in the region unlock uncommon growth by helping them drive their brand, experience and digital transformation agendas.In February this year, Prophet's chief cultural insights officer Tom Doctoroff left the agency after two years to join electric vehicle startup Evelozcity as global head of marketing. Based in Los Angeles, Doctoroff remains an advisor for Prophet.Last August, it also named three new partners across its Asia offices – Yu Huang, FeiFei Xu and Dan Vasconcelos. In their new roles, they bring extensive experience helping clients build relevance and drive growth in the face of evolving consumer needs and digital disruption in Asia. It also welcomed Eric Hor as associate partner last year, who is based in Hong Kong and brings more than 10 years of experience in business and brand strategy to the agency.

share on

Follow us on our Telegram channel for the latest updates in the marketing and advertising scene.
Follow

Free newsletter

Get the daily lowdown on Asia's top marketing stories.

We break down the big and messy topics of the day so you're updated on the most important developments in Asia's marketing development – for free.

subscribe now open in new window