Ipsos appoints new APAC CEO and Chief Client Officer

The current APAC CEO has been elevated to a global role.

Ipsos announced the appointment of long-time Ipsos global executive Hamish Munro as its new APAC CEO, and current South-East Asia CEO, Suresh Ramalingam, as its new chief client officer for the APAC region.

Munro moves into his new remit after three years as Ipsos’ Global Head of Interactive Services. Since joining the company in 2013, Munro has also had stints as CEO of Australia and New Zealand (2013 – 2015), CEO of South-East Asia (2016 – 2017) and CEO of APAC Operations (2017 – 2019).

Having worked and lived across Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Munro is set to bring broad international operational and research management experience to his new role, along with more than two decades of diverse market research and leadership.

Munro will replace current Ipsos APEC CEO, Christophe Cambournac, who will move into a global role with the business.

Ramalingam moves into his new role after four years as CEO for Ipsos’ South-East Asian markets.

Prior to joining Ipsos, Ramalingam spent more than 20 years at Nielsen, working across its emerging markets in various leadership roles and the most recent one as Managing Director of Consumer Insights across LATAM, EMEA and South-East Asia, based in Dubai.

In his new remit, Ramalingam will lead the client organization for Ipsos’ APAC region and will be based in Kuala Lumpur.

Ipsos CEO, Ben Page said Munro and Ramalingam were set to bring a wealth of industry experience and corporate knowledge to their new roles.

“Hamish has been an integral part of the global Ipsos team since 2013, sharing his 25-plus years’ experience in market research, marketing, communications and account management roles,” Page said.

“Hamish is an exceptional leader, with proven experience in managing large teams and complex businesses in competitive markets. He is well-known in the industry and across the business for his collaborative and decisive management style, with a focus on professional development. Hamish is also committed to building and maintaining strong relationships with clients and will be an asset to our broad client base across the APEC region.

“Suresh has already shown his ability to grow and manage client relationships across South-East Asia, delivering on our long-term growth plans for the region. In his new role, I’m confident that his client and people focused leadership style coupled with his extensive research and management experience will help in leading the client organization successfully in our APAC region.”

Commenting on his new role, Munro said: “I am excited to collaborate with my colleagues across Asia Pacific and continue to build on our strong client partnerships, building and strengthening our talent and deploying many of our new services to help our clients grow.”

Ramalingam said: “As the home of researchers, we have an amazing suite of research solutions and services led by experienced teams. Our strong client organization teams help drive engagement with our key clients in Asia Pacific collaborating across our services to provide the best possible research outcomes catering to their business needs. I am very excited to continue to focus on building client relationships across Asia Pacific.”

Both appointments are effective immediately.