iris strengthens planning across Asia Pacific with hire of Dan Pankraz from M&C Saatchi, Sydney

iris has lured Dan Pankraz from M&C Saatchi, Sydney to the newly created role of joint regional planning director for Asia Pacific, following a period of continued growth for the agency in the region.

Pankraz brings with him 12 years of experience at agencies including Saatchi and Saatchi Sydney, BBH New York, DDB Sydney and most recently M&C Saatchi Sydney, where he was deputy planning director leading the Google account. Based in Sydney, Pankraz will be strategic lead on key local and regional accounts such as Adidas, Sony and Shell.

Pankraz’s hire is a key development in the agency’s investment in its planning function globally, which has been underway since its announcement of its global strategic partnership with US media and marketing giant Meredith at the end of last year. It has since been working with the 100-year old content network to share strategic tools and assets in terms of content, platforms,data and insight, allowing it to deepen its specialisms in retail, CRM and social.

Luke Nathans, regional business development director for iris Asia Pacific said: “Our clients increasingly need to be behaving like publishers, community facilitators and technology pioneers in order to stay ahead of the pack and we aim to give them the tools and strategies to do this.

“Our recent new business wins Australia and increased regional footprint, has meant that we need the best talent working in every aspect of the business. Extraordinary Strategy is key to our success and I have no doubt that Dan, working alongside existing Strategy Director Paul Gage will give us the strategic firepower we need to take the agency into the future.”

Says Pankraz: “I’m really excited to be joining a highly ambitious and entrepreneurial agency that’s committed to innovating in today’s new media environment. My aim is to keep pushing the thinking across the region so we’re creating world-class cultural platforms in all of our APAC markets. With brands like Adidas, Sony United, Johnnie Walker, Shell and Heineken amongst others, I think we’re in a fantastic place to do that.

Pankraz has built up a reputation as a youth marketing and social media expert having worked on award winning global campaigns for Axe whilst at BBH New York as well as Google, Gatorade, McDonalds, Telstra and SEGA locally. He has won numerous Effies, APG and Cannes awards working with clients across the automotive, telecommunications, fashion, airline, retail, alcohol and tourism industries.

iris’ Sydney office has been responsible for such acclaimed campaigns as ‘The Great DVD Amnesty’ for Sony featuring Jean Claude Van Damme.

It forms a key hub in iris’ expanding network across Asia Pacific, which includes offices in Singapore, Melbourne, Beijing, Shanghai, New Delhi and Jakarta.