- Kim Walker
- |
- Angela Koch
- |
- P.V. Narayanamoorthy
- |
- Wendy Tso
- |
- Brian Harrison
- |
- David Lewnes
- |
- Patrick Loh
Kim Walker – Founder & CEO
SILVER is Kim’s dream.
Kim spent his entire advertising career targeting similar consumers from teens to housewives in their late 30’s – but never older
Then, in May 2005, something dramatic happened that shook him to the core. He turned 50. And around the same time, so too did many of his peers, clients and friends. Yet advertising continued to focus on younger groups. He studied the demographic charts and realized the industry had become blinkered by habit.
Baby Boomer consumers like him had grown older and out of the scope of marketers, yet they continued to consume brands as they’d done all their lives.
Then the 2007 United Nations, World Population Ageing Report caught his eye: “Population ageing is unprecedented, a process without parallel in the history of humanity...”
The marketing world was obsessed with younger markets, but they were missing a phenomenon unique in the history of the world. He decided to help companies capture this overlooked opportunity. In May 2008, SILVER was born.
Kim is a respected ‘Silver’ of the Asia Pacific marketing communications industry:
- 30 years of advertising agency management experience in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York and Tokyo
- At 27 years old, the youngest agency CEO in Hong Kong with a staff of 180
- Worked across most categories in most Asian countries as Asia Pacific COO/CEO for two companies (Aegis Media, M&C Saatchi)
- Launched green operations or lead acquisitions in most Asian markets
- Managed most aspects of marketing and communications needs for creative, media, strategy, consulting and digital businesses
- Founded three successful start-up businesses of his own
- Ad Age Global Media Innovator of the Year 2000 for creating transparency in the Japan media marketplace.
- Australian, musician, adventurer, photographer, philanthropist, speaker and Dad
Kim has delivered key note speeches at scores of marketing industry functions from New York to Tokyo, Delhi to Manila, Singapore to Seoul.
Angela Koch - Partner, Singapore
Angela started her career as a marketing educator, after completing a Bachelor of Commerce Honours degree; Angela lectured Marketing at several tertiary institutions in Durban, South Africa. After 5 years she felt it was time to get off her soapbox and get some practitioner experience.
In 1996 Angela joined the Advertising Agency world, joining Creative Hot shop TBWA Hunt Lascaris as a Strategic Planner. She then spent over 12 years as Strategic Planner with Global Advertising Agencies, TBWA, M&C Saatchi and Leo Burnett. Key highlights included launching The Distillery brand consultancy for M&C Saatchi in Asia and taking on the role as Leo Burnett's leading expert on the Asian female consumer. Her various roles have taken her from Johannesburg to Singapore, Hong Kong and back to Singapore again. It was in these roles that Angela honed her brand strategy and consumer insight skills and where she learnt to harness the power of creativity to solve business challenges.
Most recently, Angela has focussed on branding and innovations. She facilitates new brand and product ideas for brands across Asia. Angela describes her work as 'serious play' and is most proud of her innovation work on homegrown Asian brands.
Angela plays a key role within Silver to ideate and innovate brand, product and communication opportunities for the 50+ consumer in Asia. Her Consumer and Brand Strategy fundamentals coupled with her Innovation outlook make her a natural choice as Silver's Singapore Partner.
P.V. Narayanamoorthy - Head of Insights
Moorthy is a planner at heart.
He did his early education in Singapore. He then moved to Madras Christian College, India, where he finished his post-graduation in Statistics in 1978. Thereafter, he has worked in a number of advertising agencies including Clarion, Ogilvy & Mather, McCann-Erickson and Carat.
He was Strategic Resources Director and board member of Carat Asia Pacific and served on the Aegis Media Global Products & Services Management Board and the Global IT-Media Forum. In this capacity, he has had extensive experience across and within most of key markets of the Asia Pacific region.
He headed the media function at McCann-Erickson and succeeded in raising standards and the professional profile of the function. As National Media Director, he was involved in management, strategy & planning, buying and complete administration of the function and its operations. He also doubled-up as the Account Planner.
Thereafter, he preferred to concentrate on areas of specific interest like strategic planning. In his own words, “unless the knowledge base of the industry improves, everyone will continue to do what they were doing years ago while technology and information marches ahead”.
Most recently, Moorthy was Managing Director of Carat India. He has a number of research articles and papers to his credit. He also teaches extensively at various institutions across India.
Wendy Tso – Partner, China
With over 20 years experience in marketing, marketing communications and management in USA, Singapore, PRC: HKSAR, Taiwan, Shanghai, there are few marketing professionals who can claim such extensive exposure to Greater China.
Wendy’s recent years have been focused in Shanghai where she has had first-hand experience in successfully launching new businesses, brands and products while working with both local and international companies from diversified backgrounds across multiple industries.
Her broad background includes experience in most facets of marketing and communications including: market analysis, strategic planning, brand and image building, sales promotions, trade support and development, customer acquisition, retention and management, sales management, product marketing and development, business development, media relationship, consumer research, logistic management, and event management.
“The ‘One Child’ policy in China has magnified the demographic bubble bringing profound opportunities and challenges over the coming few years and more. With the largest population of 50 + consumers in the world, I’m excited to be part of the first company to focus on this sector and to help companies leverage this opportunity whle, at the same time, helping society cope with the changes.”
Brian Harrison – Advisor - Northern Europe
brian.harrison@silvergroup.asia
Brian is a 40 year veteran of the ad industry, including 19 years with Ogilvy & Mather in London, Toronto, Stockholm, New York, and Copenhagen. In 1987 Brian moved to Y&R where he has spent the last 21 years in Sweden, Ireland, Singapore (as MD and as CEO SEA) and the last 5 years in Tokyo, where he was until recently, Chairman of Dentsu Y&R Japan.
Brian, considering strategic thinking to be his professional centre of gravity, was the planner on what is accepted as Sweden’s most famous and long-running campaign – for Gevalia coffee. He was also the past President of the International Advertising Association (IAA), Singapore Chapter, and during his time in Singapore, he was a popular speaker at regional marketing conferences and workshops. In 2006, he won a WPP Atticus Award for original published thinking in marketing services.
Brian shares the passion for marketing to the overlooked older generations. “A herd instinct operates in marketing departments. Young brand managers look over their shoulders at the competition, copy each other and seem incapable of challenging self perpetuating ‘truths’ that persist in our industry - like the almost exclusive attention paid to younger consumers over older. As an ‘older’ consumer I find this highly misguided. At 65 I am at the front of a tidal wave of older consumers that will pass this way only once. Miss this opportunity at your peril”.
David Lewnes – Partner, Healthcare & Wellness
David has spent his entire career promoting products and services that improve or maintain people’s health. As such, dealing with ailments that affect the over 50’s was always an integral part of his work, but now that he is in his fifties he finds it much easier to relate to those ailments!
In total, he’s spent 27 years in the healthcare business, the past 21 years of which have been in Asia.
David was part of a global management team that built a Medical Communications Agency business and eventually sold the business to Publicis.
Until the end of 2003, he was Regional President for the Publicis Healthcare Communications Group, based in Tokyo, with responsibility for Medicus, Saatchi & Saatchi Healthcare and Discovery Medical Education.
He has had healthcare-related marketing experience in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan.
David’s experience covers both ethical and OTC marketing and, as the healthcare partner at an investment banking boutique, has been an advisor on several acquisitions in the health care industry across the region in recent years.
Patrick Loh – Business Manager
Patrick has over 25 years experience in direct sales, advertising, marketing and the interactive industry. He began by selling the Britannica and Time-Life encyclopedias. His creative selling methods consistently won him the Best Salesman award and he became the youngest field sales manager at age 21.
After 4 years of direct selling, Patrick decided that advertising was his real calling and joined ad agency, Leo Burnett. Since then, he has worked in Grey, Chiat Day Mojo, Standard-CDM and Bates in senior client management positions. He has experience across multiple industries, including banking, publishing, beauty, fashion, health, FMCG, car, pharmaceutical, IT, fast food, etc.
In 1999, when internet advertising was still in its infancy, Patrick joined Modem Media in Hong Kong – then the leading US interactive agency. On returning to Singapore he became VP Marketing of public-listed Horizon Technologies Ltd where he led in an ambitious S$4ml broadband joint-venture with IDA.
Since 2004, Patrick was Head of Strategy and Business Development for Solomon~Worth SMT, a consulting company he helped build with partners from Shanghai. Patrick feels that the current marketing environment is a replay of the late 90’s when companies were asking about the Internet. He believes that marketers should quickly take advantage of the 50+ opportunity just as companies benefitted by early recognition of the power of the internet.
Patrick holds a Professional Diploma in Marketing (UK) and a Chartered Professional Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and is an accredited Chartered Marketer.
