Unilever Malaysia's Javed Jafri heads to Pakistan in new role

Unilever is shifting Javed Jafri to a South Asia based remit of media, data and digital lead for the Pakistan market, A+M understands. He will be part of South Asia Media and digital team under the leadership of Tejas Apte GM Media South Asia in Unilever. Jafri was last based in Malaysia and took on the role of Unilever’s lead for Southeast Asia and Indonesia ice cream digital, data and commerce hub. He was also the Malaysia and Singapore media lead concurrently.

During this time, he led a team of over 20 members based in different countries, managed Unilever's media, and ensured its data safety management as Unilever's data governance lead for Malaysia. He also initiated digital first initiatives with OTT and emerging tech partners.

Prior to his stint in Malaysia, he was based in Pakistan, helming the role of head of media for four years. He drove brand strategies for over 40 brands, and developed media marketing strategies through user mapping, measuring the performance of digital marketing campaigns, and assessed ROIs and KPIs. According to Jafri's LinkedIn, he has over 21 years of experience driving customer centric projects in the marketing and media industry, rolling out brand campaigns and reinforcing brand images.

Jafri is also currently the VP of the Malaysian Advertisers Association (MAA), a single body representing the interest of advertisers in all areas of commercial communications.

Meanwhile, Jafri has experience working with companies such as Telenor, Tapal Tea, and Mediacom, while based in Pakistan. He spent six years with Telenor, with his most recent role with Telenor being its strategic media manager.

He oversaw its media strategy, market research and media analysis and forecasting. Before joining Telenor, he was with tea company Tapal Tea, where he led the launch of Tedzum, a blend of high grown Kenyan primary leaf grades.

Last year, Unilever Malaysia also saw a slew of new initiatives and moves in celebration of its 75th anniversary. It launched a new commemorative logo incorporating 25 colourful icons woven together on the figure 75, a representation of the unique aspect of the business, and Unilever’s purpose to make sustainable living commonplace.

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