Singapore – Advertising company GREY has announced that Irene Wong, current CEO of GREY Malaysia, and Graham Drew, current chief creative officer at GREY Malaysia, will be taking on full commercial and creative responsibility across the Malaysia and Singapore studios.
GREY Singapore will join GREY Malaysia to become one unit under the new joint leadership structure. After eight years at GREY Singapore and thirty years in the industry, Konstantin Popovic, CEO at GREY Singapore will leave the agency at the end of the year to refocus his career on his deep passion for sustainability.
Wong and Popovic and their respective leadership teams will work closely over the next three months to ensure a seamless transition
As CEO of GREY Malaysia & Singapore and CCO of GREY Malaysia & Singapore, Wong and Drew will have equal responsibility across the two offices, taking full advantage of the greater pool of resources and talent.
A high-profile member of the Malaysian ad scene, Wong previously held posts at Leo Burnett and Naga DDB before coming to Grey. Rising to CEO in 2015, she honed her craft by working on a balance of both local and multinational brands such as Telekom Malaysia, Ministry of Finance, The National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme, SEA Games 2017, P&G, Lenovo, Volvo, HSBC, Hong Leong Bank and Coway. Under her stewardship, the business has continued to grow year-on-year, with a healthy and stable mix of local and international clients.
Originally from the UK, Drew arrived at Grey in 2014 and is widely recognised for shaping the creative reputation of the Malaysia studio. As CCO, he has led the team to unparalleled creative success and noteworthy pitch wins, including Carlsberg, Tesco, Telekom Malaysia and WWF. Over the past four years, he has successfully led borderless work across the network for clients such as SK-II, Enfagrow, Hong Kong Tourism Board and multiple projects as global ECD for Carlsberg. Drew is also the chairman of the APAC Creative Council and a member of the Grey Global Creative Board.
Wong said, “This is such an exciting opportunity for us and the teams and a chance for synergy. The truth is every studio has things that they are great and not so great at, being able to fill each other’s gaps and becoming a stronger unit across the board is what this is all about.”
Meanwhile, Drew commented, “One of the better things we learnt over the past few years is that utilising talent shouldn’t be dependent on geography. Exposing the Singapore team to the creative talent of Malaysia and vice versa will be inspirational on all fronts and will be reflected in the work.”
