JAKARTA – October 2, 2013 – Anne Ridwan, group managing director of Leo Burnett Indonesia has announced the appointment of David Chalklen to technical advisor (digital) to the agency.
“The appointment of David reinforces our ongoing strategic focus on digital, a key growth pillar for Leo Burnett in Indonesia and regionally," Ridwan said, adding that Chalklen has close to a decade of specializing in the areas of digital, social and mobile.
"David also has a solid track record of working with a variety of clients across categories. Having lived in Indonesia for 13 years, David also brings with him an invaluable understanding of the local market,” said Ridwan.
Brian Capel, group executive creative director, Leo Burnett Indonesia said, “Anne and I have been committed to transforming the agency to better deliver solutions within the changing business and consumer landscape our clients are having to compete in. David’s rare combination of experience, local understanding and a global outlook complements the shift we have been undertaking. His appointment will see us bringing the digital and technical innovations closer to the core of creativity and our work.”
Chalklen has 14 years of sales and marketing experience with nine years specifically focused around digital, social and mobile.
He graduated from Lincoln University with a Bachelor’s degree in Recreation and Tourism Management before going on to set up his first company at age 25. In 2005, he moved into the digital world as an advertising and marketing director of a group of web publishers for over 5 years. He was selected by Yahoo! SEA to assist with the opening of its office in Indonesia in 2010. Most recently he was a part of the founding team and country head of Vocanic, a word of mouth and social media consulting firm in Jakarta.
Chalklen’s experience is spread across different industries including digital, FMCG, luxury & direct marketing, in both B2B and B2C roles. He also had the experience of managing several consulting and advisory roles for emerging digital clients and agencies looking to use social and digital media, from creative do’s and don’ts to best ROI and KPI tools.
He has worked with brands such as Hyundai, P&G, Unilever, Hewlett Packard, Oakley, Auckland Airport, Starwood Hotels, CIMB bank, Microsoft Indonesia, Axis Telecommunications, NZTE, Danone Aqua and Fitness First.
Chalklen is also a regular speaker on digital, social, mobile landscape for a variety of agencies and organizations, including Starcom MediaVest, University of Indonesia, NZ Trade and Enterprise, Auckland Airport, JP Morgan, Pacific Conferences and PR Society of Indonesia.
Neil Hudspeth, Chief Digital Officer, Leo Burnett Asia Pacific remarked, "With Omnichannel integration at the heart of our regional strategy, adding David’s considerable talents to Anne’s fast growing team in Indonesia will be invaluable in supporting our ambition to be the leading force in integrated marketing with full specialist digital capabilities.”
