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Puneet Arora is the new CEO of GroupM Singapore, as Jon Thurlow takes up new role

GroupM has announced that Jon Thurlow, the CEO for Singapore has stepped down from his role to take on the role of chief operating officer at GroupM Asia Pacific.

In his new role, he will be reporting to Mark Patterson, CEO of GroupM Asia Pacific and will join the GroupM AP Exco.

Puneet Arora, previously the CEO of GroupM Philippines, will take over from Thurlow to manage Singapore, alongside sub-regional responsibility as chairman of the Philippines and Thailand.

He will relocate to the city state this month. With Thailand under Arora's remit, Kevin Clarke, CEO of GroupM Thailand will report to him. Until Arora's successor in the Philippines is announced, he will retain his responsibilities as CEO there.

Mark Patterson, GroupM Asia Pacific CEO, spoke of Thurlow's new role: "It’s a big new role and a very important one encompassing several key areas of growth for our group in the region.

"Jon has done a terrific job in leadership and change management in Singapore, and I am very confident he will be able to drive further change and progress quickly and effectively in these areas too."

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He added on Arora's appointment: "Puneet has been an outstanding leader in the Philippines. It was our joint country of the year last year.

"He has a rich tapestry of experience across many markets in AP in local and regional roles and performed well in them all and it’s a real boost for our business to be able to expand his role as we have now."

Additionally, Kevin Clarke's remit has been expanded to become the CEO of both Thailand and Myanmar, taking responsibility for the company's development in the emerging markets.

Patterson commented on this change: "Kevin has spent considerable time in Myanmar in the last couple of years building relationships and getting under the skin of the market as it has opened up. It’s important to formalise that responsibility to accelerate our ventures there."

Image: Shutterstock

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