Heckler

Creative production company Heckler appointed Jonathan Gerard as managing director of its Singapore studio. Gerard previously held senior VP role at VaynerMedia overseeing APAC production and delivery operations.

Leadership read: A change at the top rarely stays at the top. Heckler's move reshapes the layer beneath it in the sector as a new leader sets priorities and the team re-forms. Watch the first two or three appointments that follow; they signal direction more reliably than any statement.

curated · 2026-08-25 · context →

Heckler is expanding into the Middle East with John Hassan appointed as managing director

Leadership read: Heckler's MENA entry commits the production company to a permanent operational footprint in a market that runs on relationship-intensive commissioning cycles, co-production partnerships, and client procurement processes that differ materially from ANZ and Western markets. Appointing a managing director rather than a regional sales representative signals an intent to originate work locally, not just service outbound client relationships, which means carrying fixed overhead against a revenue base that will take time to mature. The business has moved from addressable to accountable in that geography. This is one of twelve geographic expansion signals we have tracked in the last 90 days, with notable concentration into MENA and the Gulf specifically. NeosLegal is targeting UAE regulatory infrastructure with a crypto-licence product; Gnani.ai has named the Middle East as a priority corridor post its Prisma launch. The pattern reflects a broader market read that Gulf clients, across media, fintech, and enterprise, are now commissioning locally rather than routing spend through London or Singapore intermediaries. Companies reaching this stage of market entry in MENA consistently face rising demand for commercial leadership with platform and broadcaster relationships in the Gulf, alongside operations profiles capable of navigating local content regulations, production licensing, and multi-currency project finance. The talent pool combining creative-industry credibility with Gulf-market operational fluency is narrow; search timelines on profiles of this kind tend to extend relative to equivalent hires in more liquid markets.

curated · 2026-06-15 · context →