12 Marketing Professionals Who Shaped APAC in Q1 2026

Q1 2026 was not a quiet quarter for marketing and communications across Asia-Pacific. Two forces collided at once: independent creative agencies claimed a bigger slice of the region's major creative awards, and senior talent made bold moves between brands, agencies, and new ventures.

This list is for CMOs, agency founders, and brand leaders who want to stay ahead of where creative ambition and leadership talent are heading in 2026. Each profile below is drawn from confirmed appointments, award wins, and venture launches between January and March 2026.

These are the people and organizations worth knowing.

Sam Stuchbury — Motion Sickness Auckland

Sam Stuchbury leads Motion Sickness, a New Zealand independent creative agency that claimed a major award at Spikes Asia 2026: Independent Agency of the Year across the entire Asia-Pacific region. The win, announced March 12, 2026, placed a Southern Pacific independent shop above competitors from India, Southeast Asia, and Northeast Asia.

Key Details:

• Location: Auckland, New Zealand
• Role: Agency Leader, Motion Sickness
• Recognition: Spikes Asia 2026 Independent Agency of the Year
• Specialization: Independent creative agency

For any brand or network agency evaluating the independent agency landscape in APAC, Stuchbury and Motion Sickness are worth tracking closely.

Andreas and Felicia Hutabarat — TU7UH Creative Lab Jakarta

Co-founders of TU7UH Creative Lab, Andreas and Felicia Hutabarat built an independent Indonesian creative shop that earned Indonesia Agency of the Year at Spikes Asia 2026. The recognition signals that Southeast Asia's biggest market by population is producing creative work competitive enough to stand alongside India and Northeast Asia on the regional stage.

Key Details:

• Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
• Role: Co-Founders, TU7UH Creative Lab
• Recognition: Spikes Asia 2026 Indonesia Agency of the Year
• Specialization: Independent creative production

Their win is a useful data point for any brand considering whether Indonesian independent agencies can deliver regionally competitive creative work. The answer, as of Q1 2026, is yes.

Rudy Khaw — Lobby Hours Jakarta

Rudy Khaw spent years as Chief Creative Officer at AirAsia, one of Southeast Asia's well-known consumer brands. In January 2026, he stepped away from that role to launch Lobby Hours, an independent creative venture based in Jakarta. His move is part of a broader Q1 2026 pattern: senior creative leaders choosing independence over network or brand roles.

Key Details:

• Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
• Previous Role: Chief Creative Officer, AirAsia
• Current Venture: Lobby Hours (launched January 2026)
• Specialization: Independent creative direction

For brands and agencies wondering where senior creative talent is going in 2026, Khaw's move offers a clear answer: toward ownership and independence.

Laura Kantor — Canva Southeast Asia

Laura Kantor was appointed Head of Marketing for Southeast Asia at Canva, succeeding Ruoshan Tao, who moved to lead Latin America marketing. Kantor previously served as CMO at abillion and in senior roles at foodpanda, giving her both startup-scale instinct and enterprise experience. Her mandate covers six markets: Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Key Details:

• Location: Southeast Asia (six-market remit)
• Role: Head of Marketing SEA, Canva
• Reports to: Yani Hornilla Donato (SEA regional lead) and CMO Zach Kitschke
• Previous Roles: CMO at abillion, senior roles at foodpanda
• Specialization: Regional brand campaigns and market localization

Kantor's appointment reflects a wider trend of brands seeking marketing leaders who can operate at both founder speed and regional scale simultaneously.

Pete Thasorn Boonyanate — Ogilvy Thailand

Pete Thasorn Boonyanate was appointed Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy Thailand in March 2026. The appointment came in the same month that Ogilvy Singapore finished second overall at Spikes Asia 2026, with its 'Vaseline Verified' campaign winning Grand Prix across three categories: Creative Effectiveness, Creative Data, and Creative Use of Media. The network's investment in creative leadership across Southeast Asia is clearly deliberate.

Key Details:

• Location: Bangkok, Thailand
• Role: Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy Thailand (appointed March 2026)
• Network Context: Ogilvy Singapore ranked second at Spikes Asia 2026
• Specialization: Creative leadership and brand strategy

His appointment signals that Ogilvy is building creative depth across Southeast Asia, not just concentrating talent in Singapore.

Ogilvy Singapore

Ogilvy Singapore finished second in the Agency of the Year rankings at Spikes Asia 2026. Its 'Vaseline Verified' campaign for Vaseline won Grand Prix in three separate categories, making it the campaign with the most Grand Prix wins at the awards. The triple win across Creative Effectiveness, Creative Data, and Creative Use of Media demonstrates how data-informed creative strategy can perform at the highest competitive level.

Key Details:

• Location: Singapore
• Recognition: Second overall, Spikes Asia 2026 Agency of the Year
• Notable Campaign: 'Vaseline Verified' for Vaseline (three Grand Prix wins)
• Specialization: Data-driven creative, brand strategy, media

For CMOs evaluating network agencies in Southeast Asia, Ogilvy Singapore's Q1 2026 performance sets a high creative bar.

Leo — Asia-Pacific Agency of the Year

Leo secured Asia-Pacific Agency of the Year at Spikes Asia 2026, with offices spanning Mumbai, Taiwan, and Kuala Lumpur. The win positions Leo as a standout network agency creative force across the region heading into 2026. Its geographic spread across South Asia and Southeast Asia reflects the multi-market creative capability that top-tier brands now expect from agency partners.

Key Details:

• Offices: Mumbai, Taiwan, Kuala Lumpur
• Recognition: Spikes Asia 2026 Asia-Pacific Agency of the Year
• Specialization: Multi-market creative campaigns

Leo's win sets a high bar for other agencies in the region heading into 2026.

TBWA\HAKUHODO Tokyo

TBWA\HAKUHODO ranked third overall at Spikes Asia 2026, confirming Tokyo as a consistent creative force in the regional awards circuit. The agency combines TBWA's global creative culture with HAKUHODO's deep understanding of Japanese consumer behavior, making it a distinctive model for brands operating in Northeast Asia.

Key Details:

• Location: Tokyo, Japan
• Recognition: Third overall, Spikes Asia 2026 Agency of the Year
• Specialization: Brand disruption, Japanese market creative
• Structure: Joint venture between TBWA Worldwide and HAKUHODO

For brands entering or expanding in Japan, TBWA\HAKUHODO's regional standing in Q1 2026 makes it a credible creative partner to evaluate.

Fundamental Mumbai

Fundamental is a Mumbai-based independent agency that entered Spikes Asia 2026 for the first time and won Gold in Film. The result is a striking example of what the 44% increase in independent agency awards at Spikes Asia 2026 looks like in practice. A first-time entrant winning Gold in a competitive film category is not a small achievement.

Key Details:

• Location: Mumbai, India
• Recognition: Spikes Asia 2026 Gold, Film (first-time entrant)
• Specialization: Independent creative, film production

Fundamental's debut win is a signal that India's independent creative scene is developing fast, and that regional awards are increasingly accessible to agencies outside the established network hierarchy.

VML Bangkok

VML Bangkok's 'Soil Stay' campaign for TRA Mongkut Fertilizer won the Creative B2B Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2026. Winning a Grand Prix in the B2B category is notable because B2B creative work is often underrepresented in regional awards circuits. The win demonstrates that sophisticated, award-worthy creative is not limited to consumer brands.

Key Details:

• Location: Bangkok, Thailand
• Recognition: Spikes Asia 2026 Creative B2B Grand Prix
• Campaign: 'Soil Stay' for TRA Mongkut Fertilizer
• Specialization: B2B creative, integrated campaigns

For B2B marketers in Asia-Pacific who assume creative awards are only for consumer brands, VML Bangkok's Q1 2026 win challenges that assumption directly.

Jim Taylor — Shake Shack

Jim Taylor was appointed Chief Commercial Officer at Shake Shack effective January 20, 2026, reporting directly to CEO Rob Lynch. His role spans both marketing and culinary teams, a structure that reflects how global food and beverage brands are increasingly combining commercial and creative leadership under a single executive. Shake Shack has stated a marketing investment level of 2.5% to 3% of revenue for 2026.

Key Details:

• Role: Chief Commercial Officer, Shake Shack (effective January 20, 2026)
• Reports to: CEO Rob Lynch
• Mandate: Marketing and culinary teams
• Marketing Investment: 2.5% to 3% of revenue (2026)

Taylor's appointment is relevant context for any regional marketing leader watching how global QSR brands are structuring commercial accountability alongside brand stewardship.

Laura Kantor at Canva — The Six-Market Localization Mandate

While Laura Kantor appears above as an individual profile, her appointment also represents a structural decision worth examining on its own terms. Canva chose to give a single marketing leader responsibility for six distinct markets: Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Each market has different languages, consumer behaviors, and competitive dynamics.

Key Details:

• Scope: Six Southeast Asian markets under one regional marketing head
• 2026 Focus: Brand campaigns and market localization
• Organizational Structure: Reports to both SEA regional lead and global CMO

For any brand building a Southeast Asia marketing structure in 2026, Canva's model of a unified regional head with explicit localization responsibilities is a practical reference point.

Q1 2026 showed that creative ambition and leadership mobility are moving faster across Asia-Pacific than many industry watchers expected. Independent agencies are winning at major awards levels. Senior talent is choosing independence over established roles. And brands are restructuring marketing leadership to carry both commercial and creative weight.

If you work in marketing or communications across the region, these are the names and organizations shaping what comes next. Have you worked with any of them, or tracked their moves closely? This list will be updated as Q2 2026 unfolds.