Unilever's Porter to lead WFA's China MEDIAFORUM

Unilever's David Porter has been named by the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) as the first-ever chair of its MEDIAFORUM in China.

In this new role, Unilever's North Asia Media Director will work with the WFA to help marketers better understand the country's unique, complex and varied media ecosystem.

He will seek to further strengthen the existing network by attracting new members to the group, which was launched in China three years ago and has been holding regular meetings in Shanghai, hosted by WFA members such as Mondelez and Coca-Cola.

Porter brings more than three decades worth of experience to the role, having worked in UK, Thailand and Singapore on the agency side. He joined Unilever in 2010 to manage its media investments in North Africa, the Middle East, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus before relocating to Shanghai in 2013.

Previous meetings of the WFA's MEDIAFORUM in China have attracted a wide range of client-side regional media directors, all keen to develop their understanding of the market as well as share expertise on increasing transparency and improving media agency management.

Other key topics for members include the transition from a TV-centric market to a video and mobile "first" market, with traditional media increasingly playing the role of support and amplification.

David will also work alongside EMEA and US MEDIAFORUM chair, Ben Jankowski from MasterCard, to help marketers from around the world share experiences and learnings on the increasingly challenging media ecosystem.

"China is a market full of surprises and challenges and the WFA MEDIAFORUM is designed to help marketers understand how to navigate its many unique features. Our goal is to help marketers help themselves via a combination of knowledge sharing and expert speakers to ensure that their efforts are more effective and more efficient," said David Porter.

"A central aspect of the WFA is the chance for marketers to network and learn from each other. With an experienced marketer such as David at the helm, the MEDIAFORUM can only become more effective at delivering this key benefit," said Stephan Loerke, Managing Director of the WFA.