People on the Move, including changes at Zoom, Chili’s and Kantar

If you’re looking to make your next move, remember to subscribe to our bi-monthly newsletter, Working it Out, which gathers up the best new marketing vacancies and helps you get interview-sharp.

Got a People on the Move story or tip-off for us? Send it to peopleonthemove@thedrum.com for consideration before next Tuesday.

Brands

Formerly from Microsoft, Ricky Kapur has been appointed head of APAC at Zoom, where he will be defining and leading Zoom’s go-to market strategy for key APAC markets. His appointment comes at a time when Zoom is experiencing accelerated growth in APAC and is positioned for continued growth in the region.

Brinker, the parent company of Chili’s Grill & Bar, It’s Just Wings and Maggiano’s Little Italy, has announced the promotion of Michael Breed to senior vice-president of marketing, Chili’s Grill & Bar. In his new role, Breed will be responsible for all US Chili’s brand marketing efforts, as well as the marketing strategy and initiatives to grow Brinker’s emerging virtual brand business.

Media

UKTV has announced Cherie Cunningham as the new channel director for its award-winning comedy entertainment channel Dave. Cunningham is tasked with growing the channel’s viewership and continuing to establish its reputation as the home of brand-new, award-winning comedy entertainment from the biggest and brightest stars.

Agencies

Publicis Groupe has appointed Sergio Lopez to the newly-created position of executive vice-president, global head of production. With over 25 years’ experience in advertising and entertainment across four different continents, Lopez brings a global perspective to the role, where he will work closely with Le Truc’s co-founders – Carla Serrano and Neil Heymann – to build a centre of excellence for creative production in the US.

Kantar has announced the appointment of Chris Jansen as group chief executive officer, effective November 1 2021. Jansen joins Kantar with more than 20 years of leadership experience in the services sector; from brand-building to service delivery transformation, alongside a background in classic FMCG marketing, and an established track record of managing private equity-owned businesses.

Merkle has promoted Niyi Duro-Emanuel to the newly-created role of practice lead of the UK Strategy team to drive client progress and transformation. In this new role, Duro-Emanuel is responsible for leading Merkle’s team of 40 strategists in the UK, providing strategic consultancy to clients across Merkle’s customer experience management and transformation offering.

Grey Group has announced the promotion of Masanori (Masa) Tagaya to chief creative officer of Grey Tokyo. Tagaya began his career in 1998 as a copywriter before gaining experience in graphic advertising and radio commercials at a local production company. In 2002, he joined Grey as a TVC producer and copywriter and rose through the ranks to be named creative director in 2012 and executive creative director in 2019.

Isobar, the digital agency from the house of Dentsu India, has roped in Aalap Desai as national creative director. In his new role, Desai will lead the agency’s creative team and will report to Gopa Kumar, chief operating officer, Isobar India.

Veteran writer, producer and copywriter Julia Price Baron is taking her storytelling talents to global brand design consultancy Elmwood, joining the agency as creative director of writing. She most recently worked at Food Network and Discovery+ as a freelance promotions writer and producer. At Elmwood Baron will join a growing team in its New York office where she will work closely with strategy, identifying tensions and pain points, to build storytelling into the solution offering.

Just Global has brought in renowned marketing leader Felippe Diaz to support client and agency growth. Diaz is stepping into the role previously held by James O’Flaherty, who is returning to Just Global’s UK office in the position of senior director, Strategic Solutions, where he will lead the company’s new strategic offering.

LA-based creative agency Omelet has announced the promotion of Chelsea O’Brien to group creative director, effective immediately. Previously in roles at David&Goliath, CP+B, and 72andSunny, O’Brien has served as creative director at Omelet since 2018. Under her guidance, O’Brien’s team leads creative for clients including Walmart, Princess Cruises and YouTube.

Award-winning digital content agency and media network Little Dot Studios announces the appointment of Ed Turner to the newly-created role of director of media. Turner’s responsibilities include working with Little Dot Studios’ brand partners to grow their online audiences through best-in-class digital media planning and buying, and working with media sales teams around the globe to package and support the growth of direct monetization of the channel network across social media and AVOD OTT platforms.