MSQ and its design consultancy, Elmwood, have announced the appointment of Susie Hunt as chair in Asia.
In her new role, she will support the expansion of the group’s team to deliver region brand strategy, design, and brand communications.
Hunt’s appointment follows MSQ’s recent acquisition of New York-based agency SPCSHP, doubling their presence in the US.
“Susie’s appointment is a reinforcement of our commitment to the international growth of MSQ and the importance of Asia for our clients and agencies. There is massive potential for the expansion of MSQ’s joined up creative, data, and tech proposition in the region and, given her breadth of experience and her reputation, Susie will be the perfect champion to help us achieve this,” said Bart Michels, executive board director at MSQ Partners.
“Susie has worked with many of the largest brands in the region and at the most senior level and understands the culture of the region incredibly well. She therefore has exactly the right skills and experience to help drive the growth of our business and support the continued expansion of our services as we transition from pure design to experience design and from a largely consumer business to a more balanced consumer and corporate brand consultancy. We’re so excited to welcome her to our team,” said Elmwood Global CEO Daniel Binns.
Susie has been living and working in Asia Pacific for over 25 years, including most recently in Beijing where she focused on growth strategies for China-based companies.
She was previously Asia Pacific Chair for Futurebrand at IPG, where she advised Asian companies and governments, including UOB, The Singapore Government, CITIC PE, Alibaba, and the Kingdom of Bhutan.
“What really drives and inspires me is the quality and agility of the creative product we can offer to our clients fueled by the very latest global expertise in data and tech. MSQ and Elmwood continue to creatively disrupt our industry positively in Asia with technology and data-driven solutions to anticipate client needs. I’m proud to be part of such a talented team and I look forward to increasing our presence in this key growth region,” said Hunt.
Her career in Asia began at WPP with JWT, where she was the Asia Pacific regional director, working for clients including Diageo, Pfizer, The Wall Street Journal, and Kellogg’s. As Pacific regional lead for Brand Union, Hunt developed new revenue streams in consumer and retail brand experience for clients including Levi’s, Coca-Cola, and Motorola.
Hunt later co-founded a brand experience consultancy HuntHaggarty, specialising in mainland China, South East Asia, and India, including working with leading tech companies such as Google. Hunt is now an industry mentor at the Schwarzman Institute at Beijing’s Tsinghua University and advises the Museum for the United Nations – UN LIVE.
