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Tag: Jarek Ziebinski

  • WondrLab Network acquires Polish agency Webtalk, Launches European Hub

    WondrLab Network acquires Polish agency Webtalk, Launches European Hub

    Mumbai: Wondrlab digital network, announces the acquisition of WebTalk. This strategic milestone marks Wondrlab’s fifth acquisition and its first international venture since its inception in 2020. The company has also announced the appointment of Jarek Ziebinski as chairman of the Supervisory Board of its European Hub in Poland.

    Founded in 2010, WebTalk, led by Michal Dunin, is a results-driven B2C digital marketing agency known for delivering outstanding outcomes in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. With a decade of experience, WebTalk, comprising 100 specialists, serves 40 clients including Kia Motors, BNP Paribas, Heinz, Bosch, Volkswagen, Total, and Siemens among others, in Poland, CEE, and central Asia. It offers a comprehensive suite of services including digital strategy, social media management, content creation, paid media oversight, and innovative e-commerce support. Going forward Michal Dunin will be responsible for managing the newly created Wondrlab’s European Hub in Poland.

    Jarek Zielinski, a renowned figure in the global advertising market comes with over three decades of experience in marketing, media, and advertising. His illustrious career includes significant roles at Leo Burnett, where he managed the agency’s network in Central and Eastern Europe and served as CEO and chairman of Leo Burnett Asia-Pacific. Jarek’s role as Global CEO of Publicis One at Publicis Groupe further underscores his proficiency in change management and large-scale business transformation.

    With the launch of Wondrlab’s European hub, clients gain immediate access to services, products, and platforms across key pillars: Digital Video, Content & Community, Digital Media & Data, and Digital Business Transformation. This strategic move aligns with Wondrlab’s commitment to holistic solutions and global brand offshoring, integrating e-commerce, production, and content management, paving the way for expansion into hubs like Vietnam and the Middle East.

    On the acquisition and Jarek’s appointment, Wondrlab Network founder & CEO Saurabh Varma said, “Historically, we have witnessed global companies acquiring Indian companies. The moment has arrived for Indian companies to acquire global companies. This is our time. Today signifies a crucial milestone in our journey towards establishing a world-class network that sets global standards from India. This is our fifth acquisition and in 36-48 months we’ll be looking at 21 more acquisitions. Our journey in Europe is just beginning. This is one of the many acquisitions we’ll be making in Poland. The way we are thinking about our global network is a function of not just products and services but also building strategic hubs based out of India, Poland, the Middle East, and Vietnam. Warsaw is one of the critical pillars toward building our global organization, and we couldn’t have found a better partner in Jarek and Michal to drive our global ambition. The WebTalk team will be deploying a lot of the tech created in India to create magic for clients in Poland, CEE, and across the world. It is an absolute pleasure that Jarek has chosen to be a part of Wondrlab’s growth journey. Jarek has been my mentor, boss, and friend for more than 15

    years and I possibly could not find a better guru to supercharge our global ambition. He’s played a key role in helping us kick-start our European hub, based in Warsaw with the acquisition of WebTalk. And we will aggressively follow this with acquisitions across our key verticals – Digital Video Content & Community, Digital Media & Data and Digital Business Transformation.”

    Sharing his thoughts on joining Wondrlab, Jarek Ziebinski, said, “I am genuinely thrilled by the dynamic synergy between Poland and India, two innovation hubs that perfectly align with our vision. I am particularly eager to contribute to Saurabh’s ambitious plan of building full-funnel agencies across our pillars. What this synergy offers our clients in Europe is immediate access to an abundance of exceptional talent and readily available technology – a resource that can be utilized instantaneously. This partnership provides us with a strategic advantage, offering our clients ready-made tech solutions that would have otherwise taken us years to develop. With our new partner in India, we have access to scalable resources and expertise in crucial areas of marketing technology. We now possess ready-made products that can be swiftly deployed across our European clients, marking a significant leap forward. I look forward to being an integral part of Wondrlab’s growth story and contributing to its transformative journey in redefining the digital marketing landscape.”

    WebTalk founder & managing director Michal Dunin said, “Becoming part of Wondrlab is an exhilarating new chapter for WebTalk. Wondrlab’s focus on platforms, product innovation, and leveraging tech provided by Wondrlab will greatly benefit our clients in the broader CEE region. Our focus remains on delivering exceptional value to our clients ensuring that they have immediate access to the fantastic platforms built by Wondrlab such as Wisr, Hector (a performance marketing tool to win on Amazon), and the Salesforce talent in Cymetrix, from the get-go. My immediate priority is enabling our clients to leverage innovative solutions right from the start, propelling their success in the dynamic digital landscape. I look forward to working with Jarek to identify and acquire companies in Poland which can help us become a compelling hub out of Warsaw.”

  • Saurabh Varma gets promoted as Leo Burnett South Asia CEO

    Saurabh Varma gets promoted as Leo Burnett South Asia CEO

    MUMBAI: Leo Burnett Asia Pacific CEO and Chairman Jarek Ziebinski announced Saurabh Varma as CEO of South Asia operations for his agency. Varma currently heads Leo Burnett’s India operations as the CEO.

     

    The appointment, effective as of 17 November, will see Varma take responsibility of  Leo Burnett agencies across Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

     

    “South Asia is an important region for Leo Burnett from our global strategy perspective. With Saurabh’s appointment, we want to further enhance connectivity of our operations across these dynamic markets to drive business growth for our clients and the agency” said Ziebinski.

     

    Commenting on his new role, Varma added, “We have incredible operations across Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. I look forward to working with some talented leaders to build new age specialist functions across all markets and create larger futures for our clients.”

     

    Prior to his role current role as Leo Burnett India CEO, Varma was the Asia-Pacific Chief Strategy Officer, where he oversaw all heads of strategy and planning directors in the region.

  • APAC Effie Awards 2016 names Omnicom’s Cheuk Chiang as awards chairman

    APAC Effie Awards 2016 names Omnicom’s Cheuk Chiang as awards chairman

    MUMBAI: Asia Pacific Effie Awards has named Omnicom Media Group CEO, Asia Pacific Cheuk Chiang the 2016 Awards chairman.

     

    Chiang oversees the global media and communications network in Asia Pacific, with brands like OMD, PHD and M2M that have been built on strong cultures of creativity and innovation.

     

    Chiang’s career to date spans across account management, strategy planning and agency management roles in creative, direct marketing, digital and media agencies over the past 23 years.

     

    Prior to joining Omnicom Media Group, Chiang had a long spell as the managing director of CumminsNitro in Australia and was recognised as one of the top executives in the region. He joined PHD as CEO for Asia Pacific in 2008 and had led the agency in achieving numerous milestones and awards year-on-year. Chiang was subsequently appointed as CEO, Asia pacific for Omnicom Media Group in 2013. Under his leadership and vision, OMD and PHD continues to grow progressively.

     

    “It is an honour to be invited to chair the APAC Effie Awards this year. Having been involved in the APAC Effie, I am very impressed with the efforts Effie has in place to uphold and celebrate high standards in marketing effectiveness. APAC Effie is indeed the gold standard when it comes to recognising and rewarding marketing effectiveness in the region. Effectiveness is arguably the most important factor when it comes to judging the success of a campaign and something we always strive to achieve. I am excited to work with my peers in the industry to continue driving marketing effectiveness in the Asia Pacific region,” said Chiang.

     

    Speaking on the appointment, APAC Effie Committee chairman Jarek Ziebinski added, “We are pleased to have Cheuk Chiang on board as the chairman for the upcoming awards. Cheuk’s credentials and expertise in the field will be invaluable to APAC Effie in championing the most effective works in the region.”

     

    APAC Effie 2016, the third edition of the Awards, continues to celebrate the most effective marketing communications efforts in Asia Pacific. Call for Entry will begin in the coming weeks.

  • Leo Burnett appoints Karen Ellis as global creative director for SK-II

    Leo Burnett appoints Karen Ellis as global creative director for SK-II

    MUMBAI: Leo Burnett has roped in Karen Ellis as its global creative director for SK-II. She will be based out of Singapore.

     
    “Karen’s outstanding body of work across fashion, luxury and beauty is truly one of a kind and a great fit for SK-II. With Karen on board, we are looking forward to bring about a transformation to the team not just at the global hub in Singapore, but across the world to create work that will further enhance SK-II as one of the leading luxury skincare brands, not just in Asia, but globally,” said Leo Burnett Asia Pacific chairman and CEO Jarek Ziebinski.

     

    Ellis is an award-winning specialist with 20 years experience in design and advertising exclusively for the fashion, luxury and beauty industries. She spent 10 years in New York creating numerous worldwide celebrity campaigns for global beauty brands including Estee Lauder, L’Oreal, Avon and Revlon. She then took this expertise to London, where over the span of 10 years she lead creative on numerous beauty brands but most notably on Hugo Boss global franchise of fragrances.

     
    As global creative director she has worked across Boss Black, Boss Orange and Hugo. She has won Gold Euro EFFIE for her work on Boss Orange Woman, a FWA (Favourite Website Awards) in Digital for “Always Night” (Boss Bottled Night), fragrance FIFI’s and numerous others. Most recently she has been working in Asia, grounding herself with Asian insights and working across markets (India-ASEAN) to create regional campaigns on beauty care.

     

  • Leo Burnett consolidates Asia Pacific and Greater China regions

    Leo Burnett consolidates Asia Pacific and Greater China regions

    MUMBAI: Leo Burnett Worldwide chairman and CEO Tom Bernardin announced the  consolidation  of  the agency’s  operations  across  Greater  China  and  Asia Pacific.

     

    Leo  Burnett  Asia  Pacific president Jarek Ziebinski  will  take charge as the chairman and CEO for the consolidated operation including China as of 1 September 2014. The regional chairman and CEO of Greater China, Eddie Booth, will retire after 15 years with the agency. Booth will continue to be with the agency until 31 December to see through the smooth transition of leadership.

     

    Said Bernardin, “Eddie and I have been in talks regarding his plans to retire from the agency over the past year. After more than 20 years in the industry and 15 years of successful leadership at Leo Burnett in Greater China, Eddie has decided it’s time to retire from advertising. We want to thank him for his wonderful  work building  Leo Burnett Greater China to what it is today and wish him every success as he embarks on his new journey in life.”

     

    In his new role, Ziebinski will continue to report directly to Bernardin and will split his time between Shanghai and Singapore.  Leo Burnett China group CEO Donald Chan will be assuming additional duties to oversee Leo Burnett Hong Kong. Both Chan Leo Burnett Taiwan group CEO Margaret Huang will report to Ziebinski.

     

    “The  consolidation  of  Leo  Burnett’s  Asia  Pacific  and  Greater  China  operations  is  a  strategic decision to bring together the best of the network’s resources, talents and capabilities across these two important regions under one proven leader. The scale and efficiencies Leo Burnett will be able to achieve from the consolidation will enable the network to deliver greater value for our clients’ businesses in today’s environment of remarkable change and possibilities,” said Bernardin.

     

    Continued Bernardin, “Jarek’s track record of success across two very different regions – central eastern Europe and Asia Pacific – at Leo Burnett speaks for itself. The growth and momentum  he delivered for Leo Burnett in Asia Pacific over the past five years makes him the ideal candidate to take  over  the  consolidated  leadership  of  Leo  Burnett  in  this  region.  Asia  Pacific  is  a  critically important region for the Leo Burnett global network and I’m confident that with Jarek at the helm, he will be able to help us deliver the best in the world, bar none.”

  • Close Arvind Sharma steps down from Leo Burnett, Saurabh Varma to take chargea

    Close Arvind Sharma steps down from Leo Burnett, Saurabh Varma to take chargea

    MUMBAI: Tom Bernardin, Chairman and CEO, Leo Burnett Worldwide announced today the new leadership of the India operations. Chairman and CEO of Indian subcontinent Arvind Sharma will be leaving the agency to pursue other business interests outside the industry after a successful stint of 30 years.

    The currently regional chief strategy officer of Leo Burnett Asia Pacific Saurabh Varma has now been appointed as the CEO Leo Burnett Group India.

    The appointment will be effective from 1November, 2013. In his new role as CEO for the India operations across Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore, Varma will report directly to Leo Burnett Asia Pacific President Jarek Ziebinski.

    As chief strategy officer of Leo Burnett Asia Pacific, Varma oversees all heads of strategy and planning directors in the region. His role also sees him playing a key role in the management of regional and global accounts. A post graduate in Communications from Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA), Varma has 16 years of experience in the business. He has spent seven years with Leo Burnett based at Singapore. Some of the brands he has worked on include Indian Oil, Lakme (Unilever), Vicks (P&G), NIVEA, Fosters, Philips, HP, Blackberry, Samsung, Friesland Campina Asia Pacific (Dutch Lady/ Foremost/ Frisian Flag), MCYS and UOB Bank.

    Varma has spent the first nine years of his career in advertising in India. He began his career with DDB India and within four years of being in the business, he was made head of account management at TBWA India. In the last three years, Varma has won more than 50 awards including the Effie Gold, the Appies Gold, the Grand Prix for Direct Marketing, the most effective media campaign at Hall of Fame, 2 Gold Lions at Cannes, the Grand Prix at the ADFEST, the Viewers’ Choice Award (Mediacorp) and many more. In 2010, Varma was awarded the ‘Strategic Planner of the Year’ at the Hall of Fame Awards.

    His strength lies in being able to bring life into a strategic process, unearthing societal contexts and creating out of the box briefs.

    Commenting on his new role, Varma said, “India is home to me. This new role is coming full circle to where it all began. Over the years, I have always kept a keen eye on the developments in India and in some ways, I felt like I have never left. I look forward to coming back with a fresh perspective gained from my time away and bring the best learnings of Leo Burnett network to India. Being a part of the regional team for Asia Pacific has given me a unique perspective and experience of diverse markets across the region and I look forward to bringing this understanding to my new role. Together with the management team, most of whom I already know and have the privilege of working with, we will be focused on driving a positive change for the agency to take it to the next level.”

    Varma’s strength lies in being able to bring life into a strategic process, unearthing societal contexts and creating out of the box briefs

    Bernardin, who is in Mumbai today with the regional management team for the announcement said, “We would like to take this opportunity to express our deep gratitude and appreciation to Arvind Sharma. He has worked tirelessly over the past 30 years to build Leo Burnett into one of India’s leading creative agencies and laid down a solid foundation for the agency to progress to the next level. During his tenure, Arvind built a stellar client base that includes blue chip multinational and local clients and nurtured some of the brightest stars within the Indian advertising industry today. Though he remains available for his advice and counsel, we bid farewell to Arvind today, in his official capacity, with our very best wishes and as a dear friend.”

    Ziebinski added, “I’d like to thank Arvind for his contribution to our success and close collaboration over the past four years since I arrived in the region. I wish Arvind nothing but the best for his new future.”

    While bidding adieu, Sharma had some fond memories, as he said, “I had a very long and fruitful run as the leader of Leo Burnett in India Subcontinent. As I approached the company-defined age of 58, I would like to start something totally new. I look back at my 30 years at the agency and 21 years of leading it with a great deal of satisfaction.”

    The agency was awarded Global Agency of the Year by Leo Burnett Worldwide for 2003 and 2008. In partnerships with its clients, the agency has been recognised creatively across leading award shows globally including Cannes, Clios, D&AD, One Show and London International Awards. Work produced by Leo Burnett India has also run in multiple countries worldwide. Last year, the agency successfully completed the acquisition of digital agency, Indigo Consulting and integrated it into the Leo Burnett Group.

    Continued Bernardin, “We are fortunate to have a strong management team on ground in India and equally fortunate in having the bench strength in the region in naming Saurabh to this role. Saurabh’s talent and track record is well-recognised within the network. His combined experience and knowledge of having worked across creative, media and digital agencies is invaluable as we look to elevate the agency to its next stage of development in India, a key market for the network globally. He will have the full support of the global and regional management in his new role.”