Spalba Hires George P. Johnson Veteran as APAC Business Head

An India-origin events company just made a hire that signals something bigger than a single appointment. [Spalba](https://itbrief.co.nz/story/spalba-appoints-erica-seo-as-business-head-for-apac) has named Erica Seo as Business Head, APAC. She comes directly from [George P. Johnson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_P._Johnson), one of the world's largest experiential marketing agencies, where she led business strategy across Asia-Pacific and ran Korea as Managing Director. For a bootstrapped company founded in 2020, hiring a senior executive from a global agency giant is a statement of intent. ### The talent move that tells the real story Seo brings nearly 18 years of experience running events for international clients across Australia, Singapore, the UK, Norway and Hong Kong. Her background spans everything from corporate summits to developer conferences for global tech brands. This is Spalba's second major leadership appointment in four months. The company [named Deepanshu Gupta as CEO in January 2026](https://in.eventfaqs.com/2026/01/16/spalba-appoints-deepanshu-gupta-as-ceo-to-lead-experiential-tech-growth/). Two big hires in quick succession suggests the company is building out its management bench to handle a larger volume of enterprise mandates across the region. Singapore will serve as Seo's base and the hub for Southeast Asia operations. ### Why Singapore keeps winning Multiple global marketing agencies have chosen Singapore as their APAC command center recently. Stagwell announced a new Singapore hub for AI-driven regional growth. Publicis Groupe built an AI-focused APAC hub in the city-state. [UK-based experiential agency Verve opened a Singapore office](https://www.marketing-interactive.com/experiential-agency-verve-expands-into-asia-with-singapore-office) as its entry point into Southeast Asia. The pattern is consistent. Companies that want to run coordinated marketing programs across multiple Asian markets tend to anchor in Singapore first. The city offers legal predictability, talent density and easy access to markets like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. ### The consolidation happening behind the scenes Spalba's organic expansion mirrors a broader wave of consolidation sweeping through APAC's events sector. [Opus Agency acquired Sydney-based The Company We Keep](https://marketech-apac.com/opus-agency-acquires-the-company-we-keep-to-expand-global-experiential-marketing-capabilities/), which also had offices in Singapore and New Zealand, to strengthen its regional footprint. Publicis acquired 160over90 for sports and experiential capabilities in 2025. Western agencies and global networks are buying their way into APAC while India-origin players like Spalba are building their own path there. The prize worth chasing: [the APAC corporate events market was valued at US$180 billion in 2024](https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/corporate-event-market-A16261) and is projected to reach US$290 billion by 2035, growing at 8.5% annually. That makes it the fastest-growing events region in the world. Enterprises are responding by consolidating their event budgets with fewer, more capable vendors. Companies that can deliver consistent experiences across 10 countries without fragmenting their brand are winning larger contracts. Spalba Live has already demonstrated that capacity. Over the past year, it designed more than 2.3 million sq. ft. of event space and reached 80 million people across 10 countries. Its client list includes Google, MongoDB, YouTube, Meta, Grab and DBS. As Seo put it: "Enterprises are consolidating mandates and expecting partners to manage cross-market complexity with tighter timelines and clearer ROI." ### What this means for marketing leaders The era of hiring a local event vendor in each market is ending for enterprise teams. The companies gaining ground are those that combine strategic planning, spatial design, technology integration and on-ground production under one roof. Spalba's move to anchor in Singapore with a GPJ-caliber executive is a direct play for that integrated mandate. For marketing leaders evaluating event partners across Asia, the competitive set is no longer just the traditional agency networks. India-origin platforms are now competing at the same level, for the same clients, and winning the same talent.