SMG promotes Somanathan to regional role

Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) has promoted Ranganathan Somanathan to chief operating officer for Southeast Asia, as the company makes its growth plans for the region.In his newly created role, Somanathan will focus on SMG's agency brands, operations and divisions which include Starcom, MediaVest, Spark Communications and LiquidThread, across six key SEA markets including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.Somanathan will be based in Singapore and report to Jeffrey Seah, VivaKi's country chair for Southeast Asia.Prior to the appointment he led VivaKi Malaysia as CEO, a position he has held since July 2009 which included SMG and Optimedia Malaysia companies.During this time, he spearheaded the transformation of the Malaysian offices, growing a digital culture among the local teams. He also helped in the adapting of SMG's global vision and human experience strategy locally in Malaysia while upgrading staff's capabilities in driving media and screen-neutral planning for clients.Somanathan has worked with names such as P&G, DiGi, Microsoft and Mead Johnson among others. He has been serving as president of the Media Specialist Association in Malaysia since 2010."Ranga will partner me to drive new business growth, the development of our talent and capabilities, and the future proofing of our operations in this key and thriving region in our global network," Seah said.