Stuart Ramalingam made vice president and head of Dentsu Sports Asia’s Malaysia operation

Dentsu Sports Asia (DSA) has appointed Stuart Ramalingam as Vice President and Head of Dentsu Sports Asia’s Malaysia operation, to further strengthen and expand DSA’s portfolio of sports business in Malaysia and in the region working closely with the Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) group of companies.

Based in Kuala Lumpur, he aims to reinvent the sports marketing landscape by conceptualising and introducing international standard management, servicing methods and innovative marketing concepts that will challenge the grain within the current domestic sports industry.

Ramalingam (pictured left) said, “Dentsu Sports is a major player in the global sports industry and I’m proud to be appointed as DSA’s Vice President. Given Dentsu’s unique position and with the expertise within the current organisation, I’m sure that we will be able to build a stronger and more significant footprint in Malaysia and across the Asian region.”

DSA provides the full spectrum of services related to the sports business, including sponsorship procurement, management and activation, talent management, media rights distribution, TV production, client servicing, and event operations. Ramalingam is currently heading all DSA’s Malaysian projects consisting of clients, brands and federations. He will play DSA’s leading role for the seven-person strong and growing sports marketing team in Malaysia.

Commenting on the appointment, Nicky Lim, Chief Executive Officer of DAN Malaysia said, “Stuart brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in sports marketing acquired over a span of 10 years. His appointment sparks an important development for DAN’s operations in Malaysia as we lead the way in converging media, digital and creative communications services with sports marketing, creating a truly unique and innovative business proposition for clients. Dentsu Sports Asia’s Malaysia operation is primed to be a valuable asset of DAN Malaysia and we will scale new heights from this collaborative effort.”

In view of expanding DSA’s sports business in Malaysia, Ramalingam recently successfully introduced an Athlete Management department, where Malaysian and regional athletes are represented by an in-house team. This provides the bridge between athlete and brands of various industries to communicate the right message that will bring about added commercial value to both the brand and sustained long-term value of the athlete themselves. Other new business initiatives are already in the works as well.

“We are delighted to have Stuart come on board at an exciting time with the Rio Olympics, 2017 SEA Games that will be held in Malaysia and various other key sporting events taking place over the coming years. Stuart will be an asset for DSA with the years of experience he brings to the table, his excellent connections throughout the sports industry and his unique ability to challenge the norm,” said Kunihito Morimura, President and CEO of Dentsu Sports Asia.