Fitch Asia, the retail and brand consultancy, has appointed a new regional CEO to cover north and southeast Asia.

UK-born and Australian-raised Andrew Crombie will lead the company’s growth across the region from its Singapore hub, reporting to worldwide CEO Simon Bolton. Crombie will work closely with China GM Nikki Lin to expand opportunities in that market. He takes over from Ian Bellhouse, who is moving on to a new venture.

Crombie has spent 25 years working in Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia in regional and global roles for agencies including Batey Ads, FCB, Havas and Ogilvy. He began his career in Australia working for such brands as American Express, Banyan Tree Resorts, BMW, Carlsberg, Dell, Dunhill, Guinness, Hennessy, IBM, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Qantas, TagHeuer and Visa Gold.

Most recently, he has been MD and partner at healthcare agency H&T Asia.

“Andrew’s brief is to make Fitch famous in this region, and he’s the person to do that,” says Bolton. “No-one thinks about the customer journey more, and he will bring this expertise to Fitch along with his extensive understanding of the diversity and rich potential for retail and experience design within the region.”

“It’s great to be joining Fitch at this time of profound change in how consumers are engaging with brands,” says Crombie, who takes up his new position on May 3.

“Asia is poised to be at the forefront of innovation in retail and brand experience.”