Global brand and customer experience agency VMLY&R has appointed Rhys Taylor as its new managing director for Singapore tasked with overseeing sales, account management and revenue generation for VMLY&R’s Singapore operation. He will report to Hari Ramanathan, CEO of VMLY&R South and Southeast Asia and Japan.
Taylor brings with him more than 14 years of industry experience working in senior leadership roles, most recently as managing director, Asia-Pacific for Dentsu International, where he was responsible for CXM, B2B strategy and creative. Taylor takes on the role from Preethi Sanjeevi, who stepped down in June last year after 16 years with the network.
His appointment is part of VMLY&R’s strategy to strengthen its regional flagship operation with strong capability leads, ensuring that the office has the region’s best to deliver for clients, and underlining its focus on commerce as the intersection point between business experience and customer experience, the agency said.
Commenting on his appointment, Hari Ramanathan, CEO of VMLY&R South and Southeast Asia and Japan, said, “VMLY&R Singapore is our flagship for the region, and I can think of no one better to take the helm.
“Rhys’ background in strategy and CX makes him the ideal leader to take Singapore to the next level, complementing our full suite of capability leaders, and helping us to build connected brands for our growing portfolio of clients via our cutting-edge Commerce, Experience, Technology and Creative offering.”
Taylor added: “VMLY&R is a leader in brand experience, customer experience and commerce; and is uniquely positioned to support clients beyond traditional marketing and communications — solving business problems and creating new commercial opportunities. VMLY&R stood out because its culture is built around an attitude of innovation and connectedness; and I’m incredibly excited to get to know and work closely with everyone who has been a part of its success so far and look forward to building more with our clients in 2023.”
VMLY&R Singapore has seen a steady stream of business momentum over the years, landing the global account with Zespri and expanding its travel portfolio with Scoot. In recent months, Singapore’s investment into capability growth saw the appointment of Saurabh Mathur as regional head of customer experience, Asia, and Alex Tan as regional commerce director. Both Mathur and Tan are based in Singapore and lead growth in solutions for Singapore and regional clients.