Jeffrey Seah named VivaKi country chair for Southeast Asia

CHICAGO – The VivaKi Board of Directors announced yesterday the appointment of Jeffrey Seah to the role of country chair for VivaKi Southeast Asia. Currently the CEO of Starcom MediaVest Group in Southeast Asia, Seah will dually report into VivaKi CEO Jack Klues and Laura Desmond, CEO of Starcom MediaVest Group.

Seah, who will retain his CEO role, will work collaboratively with the regional and local leadership of Digitas, Razorfish, Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia to strengthen the service offering and clout of all agencies in the region. Country chairs support the brand leaders to drive cross-brand growth initiatives for VivaKi in market, as well as deliver against operational and financial goals.

Jeffrey has spent more than a decade at SMG and under leadership has paved the way for Starcom to become an established entity in Southeast Asia. Initially he was responsible for launching the Starcom brand in Asia and setting up its first office in Singapore in 1999. He also helped launch the Starcom IP Digital Marketing Unit across Asia in 2002; at an age when digital was still a pariah in the advertising fraternity. Jeffrey then spent three years with Group M before re-joining Starcom MediaVest Group in 2009 as CEO to helm the operations across the Southeast Asia region.

“Jeffrey has a formidable track record of delivering growth and new thinking in this important region. With agencies and experts throughout Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines, we have a powerful opportunity to have a stronger and more unified voice in the marketplace by combining forces, restructuring around VivaKi and aligning behind Jeffrey’s leadership,” said Klues. 

On his new appointment, Jeffrey said:“The introduction of the VivaKi structure in Southeast Asia will help consolidate scale in the marketplace. It allows both ZenithOptimedia and Starcom MediaVest Group to align our focus and resources to future proof our operations.”

Today, the search for real-time accountability is a key requirement for success for many businesses, and ZO’s ‘Live ROI’ promise is well-positioned to fulfil that. Similarly, the respect and sensitivity for the human consumer has never been given greater prominence than now, and SMG’s ‘Human Experience’ vision will capture that space in the market.

“Together, with VivaKi’s shared domain and functional expertise in digital, branded content, trading, and talent management, we will organize our set-up in Southeast Asia to become a future proofed entity.”