Intrepid Asia names ex-Publicis lead as new regional head of performance marketing

Intrepid Asia has appointed Qaid Johar Gheewala (pictured) as its regional head of performance marketing, strengthening its digital commerce and performance capabilities across Southeast Asia. 

In his new role, Gheewala will oversee the strategic direction of Intrepid Asia’s digital performance, commerce partnerships and martech capabilities across the region. The SEA markets under his oversight include Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand. His remit includes working closely with the company’s regional office in Singapore as well as local market teams to align data-driven marketing strategies and technology stacks.

Gheewala will report to Laure Urbin de Vienne, vice president of digital marketing Southeast Asia at Intrepid Asia. According to Gheewala, his role will focus on ensuring sustainable digital growth across multiple channels, including marketplaces and direct-to-consumer (D2C) platforms.

“My scope covers the strategic oversight of our digital performance, commerce, partnerships and martech capabilities across SEA,” he told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. “This involves close collaboration with our regional and market teams to harmonise our data-driven marketing strategies and ensure our teams achieve sustainable growth across all digital touchpoints.”

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Prior to joining Intrepid Asia, Gheewala spent three and a half years at Publicis Groupe in Malaysia, where he served as head of performance media. Reflecting on his time there, he described the experience as an important chapter in his career. “My time at Publicis Groupe Malaysia was an incredible journey of professional and personal growth,” he said. “As head of performance media, I had the opportunity to work with some of the finest talents in the country, both internally and among our clients.”

Before Publicis, Gheewala held performance marketing roles at Entropia, where he rose from manager to director. His career also includes stints at Dentsu Aegis Network in Kuala Lumpur and WPP Media in India.

Although he has officially been in the role since November last year, Gheewala said the past few months have been a period of rapid immersion into Intrepid Asia’s ecommerce ecosystem. “The past few months have been incredibly rewarding as I dive into a full-fledged ecommerce operating system with a regional overview,” he said.

A key focus area has been leveraging artificial intelligence and automation across digital media, marketplaces and creative optimisation. According to Gheewala, the aim is to reduce reliance on manual campaign adjustments and move towards predictive models powered by technology. “We are focusing heavily on AI, tech and automation across digital media, marketplaces and creative optimisation,” he said. “The goal is to move away from manual adjustments and toward predictive modelling.”

One innovation currently being developed involves deeper closed-loop attribution models, enabling brands to better understand how upper-funnel awareness campaigns translate into marketplace sales. “These models allow brands to see exactly how their awareness spend impacts bottom-line marketplace conversions in real time,” he added.

Having spent years in the performance marketing space, Gheewala believes the discipline has undergone a fundamental shift. “The scene has moved from buying eyeballs to buying outcomes,” he said. He noted that the growing convergence between digital marketing and retail media is reshaping how brands connect with audiences across Southeast Asia.

“We are finally seeing the marketplace effect take hold in the region,” he explained. “Marketplaces are becoming powerful advertising engines that are challenging traditional ways of reaching audiences.”

As the industry evolves, Gheewala believes marketers will need to rethink their data infrastructure. In particular, he pointed to clean room technologies as a critical component of the next-generation marketing stack. “Building a tech stack that can unify fragmented data from search, social, marketplaces and audience intelligence into a single source of truth will be key for maintaining a competitive edge in 2026,” he said.

In other recent agency movements, Kantar has appointed Rika Sharma as executive managing director for its Southeast Asia cluster and Singapore business. Sharma will lead Kantar’s growth and strategic alignment across the region, with a focus on strengthening client partnerships and accelerating the company’s regional momentum.

Meanwhile, McCann Singapore has appointed Rajiv Jayaraj as general manager, reinforcing the agency’s push towards a social-first, always-on model for regional brands. In a dual role, he will also lead McCann Content Studios, the agency’s integrated offering for social, content, production, and influencer initiatives.

And Havas Moonfolks has appointed Erwin Airlangga as chief strategy and growth officer, as the agency strengthens its leadership structure to support its next phase of growth in Indonesia. He will focus on deepening strategic leadership across the agency’s media services while accelerating business growth as the agency continues to scale its capabilities in the market.

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