Veteran marketing comms exec Onat Roldan appointed President and CEO of AdSpark

AdSpark Inc, Globe Telecom’s digital advertising subsidiary, has appointed seasoned marketing communications executive Onat Roldan as the company’s new President and Chief Executive Officer effective August 6, 2018.

Onat, as he is fondly called in the digital media world, brings with him 25 years of experience as he takes the helm of AdSpark.

“Digital advertising in the Philippines has gone really huge, and my role now at AdSpark is how to harness the creativity of the talent we have, maximize our potential to be able to open up more opportunities, and make us understand more what the market and the consumers really want. I certainly look forward to working with the AdSpark team and together, we will face the challenge of making AdSpark a true powerhouse in the digital advertising sphere in the Philippines,” he said.

After graduating with an AB Interdisciplinary Studies degree at the Ateneo de Manila University, Onat plunged immediately to work, starting as a Copywriter for Great Wall Advertising, handling a diverse range of brands. He remained in the creatives field, climbing the ranks and gaining experience with respected companies such as DDB, McCann, and Well. He then set up his own Design and Activation firm where he learned other aspects of the business like Account Management and Financials as an entrepreneur.

BBDO then called him up at the time they were setting up Proximity, a digital agency, so his career pivoted from Creatives to Management. From there he helped set up Proximity then moved to J. Walter Thompson to set up their non-traditional business unit like Activation, Digital and PR. After JWT he was able to bring the same achievements to Ace Saatchi and Saatchi. His next move was to Cheil Philippines whom he helped build their presence, then finally to Y&R Philippines, where he was tasked to lead Y&R’s digital transformation.

AdSpark has been Globe Telecom’s Digital Media Agency since 2016 even as it continues to serve external clients such as Vivo and Hyundai. It has received industry acclaim by winning the Philippine Association of National Advertisers and Philippine Quill awards.

Mostly known for bringing Globe products for marketing solutions such as SMS Advertising, AdSpark has grown its capabilities to include content, creatives and digital media buying to its growing portfolio.

“From our company origins as an AdTech vendor, AdSpark has grown into a full-service digital agency. Onat’s extensive expertise in the advertising field will further grow our agency services as well as solidify AdSpark’s position as a major player in the marketing communications industry,” said Glenn Estrella, outgoing President and CEO of AdSpark.  Estrella remains as a member of the AdSpark board and is currently serving as the Vice President of Globe Digital Ventures.