MAM
APAC Effie Awards appoints Bhasin & Burge as heads of jury
MUMBAI: Asia Pacific Effie Awards, the region’s symbol of marketing effectiveness excellence, has named the first two heads of jury – Ashish Bhasin and Jean-Paul Burge.
Ashish Bhasin is the chairman & CEO Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia and chairman Posterscope and MKTG – Asia Pacific. He is also a member of the Dentsu Aegis Network Asia Pacific Executive Board. A well-known personality in the Advertising & Media industry in Asia Pacific for the past 29 years, Ashish has built the Dentsu Aegis Network in India from a 50 member team to a 3000 member powerhouse.
Prior to this, Ashish successfully led and set up several of Lintas India’s (IPG) businesses and also had the global role of Executive Vice President, Lowe Worldwide and Asia Regional Director for Integrated Marketing.
His leadership and contributions are apparent from the multiple awards he has received, such as the Campaign Asia – South Asia Agency Head of the Year award 2016 and 2015 and MXM’s Media Person of the Year- 2016. As a veteran in the industry, Ashish has also served on global juries and trade bodies in India.
Ashish shared “It gives me a great opportunity to see some of the best work around the region, across markets as well as to interact with some of the best minds in our business.”
Jean-Paul Burge is the Chairman and CEO of BBDO Asia. Jean-Paul began his career at JWT London in 1998 and joined BBDO in 2004. Over the past seventeen years he has worked in London, Bangkok, Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Singapore.
In 2007 he was appointed as the managing director of BBDO and Proximity Singapore, and was subsequently promoted to Chief Executive Officer in October 2008 and to President South East Asia in 2010. Jean-Paul has led BBDO to become the most awarded network for creativity and for effectiveness in the region, including the APAC Network of the Year in the Effie Global Index. Many of the BBDO Asia offices are also leaders in their respective markets, creating award-winning advertising and brand communications solutions for clients including HP, Exxon, FedEx, Guinness, Pepsi, Johnson & Johnson, DaimlerChrysler and Fonterra.
“There is no part of our business that is going unchanged, more touch points, more data, less money and more scrutiny on all that can be scrutinised. What does however continue to separate success from failure is effectiveness. Creative work that is not effective is not creative and as we say at BBDO in the absence of great work nothing else matters,” Jean-Paul commented.
Brands
KPMG names Gary Wingrove as global chairman and CEO from October
Record Gmada bids signal rising demand as Rs 1,000 crore bet reshapes Tricity skyline
MUMBAI: KPMG has chosen continuity with a forward tilt. The firm has announced that Gary Wingrove will take over as global chairman and CEO of KPMG International, beginning a four year term from 1 October 2026. Currently serving as global chief operating officer, Wingrove steps into the top role after being nominated by the global board and elected by the global council.
A KPMG veteran with over 25 years at the firm, Wingrove has been closely involved in shaping its recent trajectory. As global COO, he has helped drive the firm’s Collective Strategy, focusing on operational integration, global investments and the steady expansion of the KPMG Delivery Network. He has also been at the forefront of KPMG’s digital push, including the rollout of AI enabled solutions across its global operations.
Before his global role, Wingrove served as CEO of KPMG Australia for nearly a decade, where he led a period of strong growth, almost doubling revenue, profitability and headcount while steering a cultural reset.
He succeeds Bill Thomas, who has led KPMG since 2017 and will work alongside Wingrove over the next six months to ensure a smooth transition.
Thomas leaves behind a firm that looks markedly different from when he took charge. Under his leadership, KPMG’s global revenues have risen by 55 per cent, and its workforce has expanded to more than 276,000 people. He also unified the network of member firms under the Collective Strategy, aligning priorities and strengthening governance.
His tenure saw heavy investment in technology and partnerships, with alliances spanning Microsoft, Google Cloud, SAP, Oracle and ServiceNow. These collaborations, along with platforms like KPMG Clara, have helped the firm scale its AI-led offerings and sharpen its competitive edge.
Beyond growth, Thomas also pushed improvements in audit quality and sustainability. Initiatives such as a multiyear global sustainability strategy and the Our Impact Plan have aimed to embed long term thinking into the firm’s operations and client services.
For Wingrove, the brief is clear but evolving. He has signalled a focus on agility, deep expertise and technology driven solutions as clients navigate an increasingly complex business landscape. He also emphasised KPMG’s identity as a people first organisation, supported by technology and unified through its global network.
The timing of the leadership change comes as KPMG continues to grow, reporting a 5.1 per cent rise in global revenue in FY25, with gains across tax and legal, audit and advisory services. Growth was recorded across all regions, despite a challenging macro environment.
As Wingrove prepares to take charge, the firm appears set on a familiar path with a sharper digital edge. Same playbook, perhaps, but with a renewed focus on speed, scale and smarter solutions.
