He will be based in Singapore for the role, which is new for the company, starting on November 1.
He rejoins Initiative after three years at PHD, where he launched PHD North in his hometown, Manchester. Before that, he worked in Initiative's Paris office as communications planning director on the Unilever account before being promoted to the top European strategy role.
In his new job, Blakeman will be in charge of regional planning with a brief to improve planning in key local offices and on a regional basis, particularly when it comes to integrated communication planning.
He is charged with building a team to work alongside regional clients, who can develop integrated ideas and role them out locally. He will report to King F Lai, chief operating officer for Asia Pacific.
Blakeman said: "Asia Pacific is the most dynamic region in the world right now. It's a tiger economy and with China alone accounting for 1bn consumers, it's a marketplace that is unparalleled at this moment in time. As a result of this growth, the developments in terms of emerging channels are off the scale and, frankly, I want to be part of the action."
He will also contribute to the Initiative blog and plans to contribute to Brand Republic's Asian edition of the Gordon's Republic blog when it launches later this year.
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