Leo Burnett announced yesterday that Nigel Tribe had been appointed as head of strategy for Leo Burnett Singapore and global planning director for SKII. This appointment comes hot on the heels of not only some major recent wins for the agency (including assignments from MBT, Skyscanner and Diageo Smirnoff), but two other smart senior moves for the strategy team in the shape of the appointments of Ramesh Kumar and Tulika Sahai. Kumar was appointed as regional planning director for Samsung and Sahai was given the role of regional planning director for agency clients including MSIG and Skyscanner. The recent addition of Tribe brings the strategy team up to a total of nine members, amongst them specialists in shopper, eCommerce, social and UX.
The brief for the role eventually filled by Tribe was simple; they wanted “An incredibly smart business leader who was also nice to work with”
Josh Grace, managing director of Leo Burnett Singapore says the brief for the role eventually filled by Tribe was simple; they wanted “An incredibly smart business leader who was also nice to work with,” and grace feels that with Tribe they have found precisely that man. “Tribe is the full package,” he says, “And now he has a great team to lead across all key disciplines.” He also feels that Tribe is perfectly placed to work alongside the other big recent hires, and says that “Tulika and Ramesh met the same brief as Tribe.” He is proud of the team they have assembled and believes the future of the agency will have this team at its heart. Grace also goes on to say on Tribe's behalf, that “He has a key role leading our strategy offering and with his background you'll be hard pressed to find better strategy credentials.”
Nigel Tribe and his team
These credentials include a grooming period in the London planning scene 16 years ago working for (besides Leo Burnett) McCann Erickson, MindShare and Roose & Partners. During his time at McCann in London he created work for brands including Kleenex, Kellogg's, Heinz and the BBC, before moving on to the European planning for Xbox. Tribe launched campaigns for the Xbox exclusive blockbuster titles 'Gears of War' and 'Halo 3', before moving to San Francisco to lead global planning for Xbox, helping them transform Xbox into a broader entertainment focused brand. He later moved to BBH in Shanghai, where he focused on campaigns for Sprite and Ice Dew, as well as new business for the agency.
Chaitan Rao, the global business director for SKII believes that Tribe's background “Made him a perfect choice to lead the SKII business globally”
One of Tribe's first appointments at Leo Burnett Singapore will be as global planning director for Asian skincare brand SKII. Chaitan Rao, the global business director for SKII believes that Tribe's background “Made him a perfect choice to lead the SKII business globally,” as he “Understands Asia and he gets luxury.” Rao says that SKII “Is a brand with wonderful purpose and Tribe is the perfect strategy leader for it.”
Official Leo Burnett Singapore Website
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer from Kidderminster in the UK who spent an odd night in a Family Guy themed bar in Singapore once. He remembers very little of the specifics.
