Experience agency Imagination has appointed Justin Baird as head of technology for the Asia Pacific region.

The appointment reflects Imagination’s investment and dedication to bolstering its technology and creative offering across the APAC region, and follows the recent announcement of Chris James as executive creative director for Australia.

On his appointment, Baird said: “In Australia and across APAC there are significant opportunities to merge experience design and technology in both the physical and digital worlds. This requires special consideration, but also a unique approach with highly specialised skills, which Imagination is uniquely positioned to deliver. I’m very excited to be joining this brilliant team to help drive technology throughout the business.”

Baird has twenty years of technology consulting and agency expertise. He was previously the MD of R&D technology and innovation at Accenture, leading the launch of their Liquid Labs program across Asia Pacific.

He also directed and produced the Accenture Interactive Orchestra for Adobe Symposium 2017, which saw an industrial collaborative robot programmed with AI play and feature as a soloist at the Sydney Opera House.

At Hanson Robotics, he was instrumental in the delivery of next-generation creative robotic performances, including the creation of an AI based text-to-singing system for Sophia the Robot, which made its debut in a duet with Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show.

Baird also led Innovation at Google, where he delivered the launch of Youtube portals across Asia Pacific, patented Google Underwater Street View and supported numerous consumer product releases. He was also a founding member of the Google Creative Council.

Internationally recognised for innovation and emerging technology thought leadership, Baird is actively involved in efforts to drive positive change through technology and served as executive producer of tech and innovation for the Madmen and Goodthing Productions climate change documentary 2040.

Imagination MD Antony Gowthorp said: “Our vision is to be the region’s leading technology-enabled experience agency. For over 50 years we’ve built an enviable reputation for delivering exceptional integrated experiences.

“With the pace and adoption of technology in marketing, we see a unique opportunity to further enhance experiences for our clients and their audiences. Justin’s diverse background anchored in solving the impossible through technology solutions is just what we need.”