MAM
ZenithOptimedia names Gareth Mulryan CEO for Southeast Asia
MUMBAI: ZenithOptimedia has promoted Gareth Mulryan as the CEO of Southeast Asia.
Mulryan was until recently ZenithOptimedia head of digital for Asia Pacific.
In this newly-created role, Mulryan will work closely with ZenithOptimedia APAC chairman Gerry Boyle, and the local market leaders to further develop ZenithOptimedia’s communications offering across the Southeast Asia region.
Mulryan will use his digital experience to transform and grow these markets over the coming years. He will be responsible of integrating digital specialists within market and will work closely with local and regional publishers and technology partners to create innovative solutions for clients.
He will also work with ZenithOptimedia corporate development director Felix Cartoux to build the agency’s business in Southeast Asia through external growth opportunities on a local market basis.
Mulryan has been part of the ZenithOptimedia family for more than 10 years and has spent the last seven years in Asia. As well as leading ZenithOptimedia’s digital offering, he has been instrumental in the set-up of ZenithOptimedia’s performance arm, Performics across Asia Pacific.
Over the last four years the Performics brand has grown significantly and now has 12 offices in the region with more than 300 members of staff. Mulryanwill continue to support in the growth of Performics in the role of managing partner, Asia Pacific.
Boyle said, “Gareth has done a simply brilliant job in building Performics across Asia. All our markets in SEA are in transformational mode, and Gareth’s digital nous and unswerving client focus will help our market leaders to deliver new solutions and success for our clients.”
Mulryan added, “We have done a great job in transforming our product and talent in China, India and Singapore. Now is the time for us to build on these best practices, and I look forward to working with the local Southeast Asia leaders to shift to a smarter and more contemporary communications agency in the region, to provide the best possible value to our clients.”
Brands
Trump announces $300bn Texas oil refinery with Reliance, calls it the biggest in US history
First new US refinery in 50 years planned at Brownsville port with Reliance
WASHINGTON: The United States may soon see the first brand-new oil refinery built on its soil in half a century.
Donald Trump announced a proposed $300 billion refinery project in Texas, calling it a landmark moment for American energy production and jobs.
Posting on Truth Social on 10 March, Trump said the facility would be built at the Port of Brownsville and developed by a company called America First Refining, with major investment from India’s Reliance Industries.
The announcement frames the project as a centrepiece of the administration’s push for “energy dominance”, with Trump claiming it would deliver thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity to South Texas.
If realised, the plant would mark the first all-new major refinery constructed in the United States since the 1970s. In recent decades, oil companies have largely chosen to expand existing facilities rather than build new ones, citing high costs, regulatory hurdles and environmental scrutiny.
Trump described the proposed investment as the “biggest in US history”, positioning it as proof that policy changes such as streamlined permits and lower taxes are drawing large-scale energy investments back into the country.
The refinery is planned for the Port of Brownsville, a strategic Gulf Coast location that provides easy access to shipping routes and export markets.
A key partner in the project is Reliance Industries, controlled by billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani. The company already runs the world’s largest refining complex in Jamnagar, India, making it one of the most experienced operators in large-scale petroleum processing.
The Texas venture would mark a significant step for the group into America’s domestic refining sector, potentially strengthening industrial ties between the US and India.
The proposed refinery is being promoted as a next-generation facility capable of processing American shale oil while maintaining high environmental standards. Trump said it would be “the cleanest refinery in the world”, although the specific technologies behind that claim have not yet been detailed.
Industry observers also note that the $300 billion figure is unusually large for a refinery project, and analysts are waiting for more clarity on whether the number reflects total construction costs, long-term infrastructure investment, or broader economic impact estimates.
As of 11 March, Reliance Industries had not publicly confirmed the investment size or the structure of its involvement.
For now, the announcement has sparked equal parts excitement and curiosity in energy markets. If the plan moves from promise to pouring concrete, the refinery could reshape the Gulf Coast energy landscape, and reopen a chapter in American refining that has been quiet for nearly fifty years.
