Tag: Chief Creative Officer

Auckland, New Zealand – Creative agency Colenso BBDO has announced new changes in their creative leadership lineup. First off, Simon Vicars has been appointed as the agency’s new chief creative officer, while executive creative director Maria Devereux adds up the role of chief innovation officer to her lineup.

Vicars has worked in New Zealand, Berlin and most recently London where he was creative director at adam & eve DDB. Prior to joining adam & eve, he spent six years at Colenso BBDO, where he worked with campaigns for brands such as Samsung, The Pedigree Child, and Instant Kiwi.

Meanwhile, Devereux’s career has also spanned two countries, allowing her to build a body of work steeped in innovation across both Canada and New Zealand. Her stint at Colenso BBDO include work with State Insurance and NZ Breast Cancer organization, and PEDIGREE.

Angela Watson, managing director at Colenso BBDO, remarked that the two appointees are homegrown talents who have spent formative years at Colenso, headed off overseas to gain international experience and recognition, before returning home to them.

“From DB Export Brewtroleum to Pedigree SelfieSTIX, their track-records for creative and effective work are seriously impressive. They both embody the unique creative spirit of Colenso and have that brilliant and rare mix of extreme talent and wonderful humanity. We’re excited about what’s coming and the epic things we’re going to do together,” Watson said.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Creative network Ogilvy in Malaysia has appointed former chief creative of Ogilvy Indonesia Adrian Miller as the new chief creative in Malaysia, effective 1 January, 2022.

In his previous role at Ogilvy Indonesia, Miller has been instrumental in client growth for the office in addition to mandates from key clients such as Nestlé, Unilever, Mondelēz, BP, and new business wins including Pizza Hut and World Food Programme.

Miller will work closely with Nicolas Courant, chief creative officer at Ogilvy Singapore to ensure both markets work together to capture the many creative opportunities presented by their network clients who operate in both markets. This is part of the overall integrated strategy of Ogilvy, and the importance of their creative leadership positions to scale their services across The Straits.

Nizwani Shahar, chief executive at Ogilvy Malaysia, said, “I’m just thrilled to see Adrian’s return to Malaysia. This is a game-changer for us. It’s not often you see local talent with unrivalled international experience at the helm, and the creative reputation to really set the standard for the market moving forward.”

Speaking about his appointment, Miller commented, “The last three years at Ogilvy Indonesia have been an incredible experience. The growth and transformation we’ve been able to achieve as a team is testament to putting work first. When it comes to my new position in Malaysia, my game plan is the same: win with work. I’m extremely bullish about the creative possibilities. Partnering with Niz to help take Ogilvy Malaysia to the moon is the one and only aim.”

Meanwhile, Ogilvy Indonesia’s creative leadership will be announced in due course. In the interim, Peter Hibberd, executive creative director, together with senior creative directors will lead the charge, as a newly formed creative council mentored by Reed Collins.

B Ramanathan, group chief executive at Ogilvy Indonesia said: “Adrian has been one of the key architects of Ogilvy Indonesia’s transformative growth over the last three years. Big ideas and modern output has fuelled our top client partnerships like Nestlé, Unilever, Mondelēz. He has also been instrumental in many of our new business wins. Of course, we are sad to see him leave. But we are enormously proud to have been part of his Ogilvy journey, and even more grateful for the creative leadership he has put in place with our new creative council.”

Furthermore, Reed Collins, chief creative officer for Asia at Ogilvy, commented, “Adrian is a big reason why our Jakarta office has improved greatly during his tenure. I have no doubt he will bring the same energy and commitment in driving even greater outcomes for our clients in Kuala Lumpur as he returns ‘home’ to Malaysia.”

Australia – Advertising agency Howatson+Company has just announced the appointment of Levi Slavin, former chief creative officer of creative firm Colenso BBDO, to be its new chief creative officer.

Slavin’s creative reputation has been built over a 21-year career, working in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. His work has been featured at TED, ranked #1 on both the iTunes music and podcast charts, and become part of popular culture through song, product innovation, and branded series, as well as film.

The appointment of Slavin will commence officially in January 2022.

Commenting on his new role, Slavin said that he is beyond thrilled to finally have the opportunity to work with Howatson. 

“It’s the only model I’ve come across that will keep up with culture, the needs of brands, and return some humanity to our industry. I can’t wait to return home to Australia and get started,” noted Slavin.

Meanwhile, Chris Howatson, the CEO and founder of Howatson+Company, commented that Slavin is renowned for his empathy, his commitment to developing his teams, and his building deep relationships with his clients. 

“I’ve known Levi for many years – both of us having long tenures at Clemenger Group – and the opportunity to partner with him in building H+Co is a career highlight,” said Howatson.

Just recently, Howatson has announced the rebranding of the company, from Howatson+White to Howatson+Company, following his partner Ant White’s sudden exit.

Shanghai, China – Creative agency and consulting company Wunderman Thompson in China has recently bolstered its leadership team with the appointment of Raymond Chin as chief creative officer and Joyce Ling as chief strategy officer.

With 20 years of experience, Chin has used creative innovation to propel many brands’ digital transformation. Having previously served as digital creative director at advertising company J Walter Thompson in Shanghai from 2008 to 2013, Chin returns to the Wunderman Thompson network after serving as Accenture Interactive’s chief experience officer, leading subsidiary ad agency Droga5 in creating a more meaningful and targeted customer experience for brands.

“Brand creativity should not be just about communication but should also cover all dimensions of brand experience from product, service to CX innovations. It’s why I am excited to return to Wunderman Thompson, an agency that believes in this experience-driven approach,” Chin said regarding his appointment.

Meanwhile, Ling was previously the chief strategy officer for J. Walter Thompson for Greater China and was also previously chief strategy officer at ad agency network McCann Worldgroup in China, and vice president of strategy at digital consulting company Publicis.Sapient.

Having 20 years of experience in both traditional and digital advertising in China under her belt, Ling’s experience spans industries, including technology, luxury goods, FMCG, health, tourism, and lifestyle. She has worked on more than 100 brands, including Nestle, Michael Kors, LVMH, Heineken, Unilever and more.

“It’s very exciting to be back at the Wunderman Thompson network. I look forward to enhancing our strategic offerings to set up for client success, together with a team of driven and passionate talents.” Ling said pertaining to her appointment.

Both will serve under the leadership of Carter Chow, chief executive officer at Wunderman Thompson China.

“Their experiences since their previous tenure at J Walter Thompson have mirrored our growth as an agency network, and we are glad for the opportunity to work together again. I am certain that both Raymond and Joyce will further our growth as a future-focused agency and look forward to the collision of inspiration and ideas,” Chow concluded.

London, United Kingdom – Dentsu International has announced the appointment of Fred Levron, former worldwide creative partner at advertising agency FCB, to be its new global chief creative officer.

Levron brings with him over two decades of experience in the creative industry. Aside from previously working at FCB, Levron also worked as the global executive creative director at entertainment agency CAA Marketing, and the executive director and creative director at creative firm Ogilvy Paris.

According to dentsu, Levron’s appointment would be helping accelerate the company’s creative ambitions across its agencies and for its clients, who make up 95 of the top 100 advertisers globally. 

As part of his new role, Levron will be leading the network’s holistic creative agenda and its portfolio of creative agencies worldwide. He will also be building on dentsu international’s current capabilities and storied Japanese creative roots. In addition, Levron will be responsible for the network’s creative product and for accelerating creativity across the entirety of dentsu international’s creative, media, and CXM agency brands.

“I’m so excited to start this new transformation journey. We have the opportunity to build a unique creative company that brings creativity, tech, data, media, entertainment, and commerce together to become the most attractive place for talents out there and the most relevant partner for the biggest brands,” said Levron, regarding his appointment.

Meanwhile, Wendy Clark, the global CEO of dentsu international, commented, “Fred has one of the most lauded portfolios and creative reputations in the business. His appointment accelerates and emphasizes the importance of creativity as the hallmark of everything we do. I’m counting down the days until he joins.”

This new leadership appointment will take effect in November 2021.

New York, USA – Global health communications network Havas Health & You has announced that Eric Weisberg will now take helm as the network’s new global chief creative officer, effective August 2021.

In his new role, Weisberg will guide the creative output globally for the company through his deep experience in storytelling, innovation, media and content. He will report to Donna Murphy, global CEO of HH&Y.

Prior to his new position, he served as global chief creative officer at agency network Doner Partners Network, where he led a creative and new business rebirth at the 750-person micro-network. His tenure marked the most awarded era in the agency’s history, including wins from Johnson & Johnson, McDonald’s, Nature’s Bounty, Travelocity, to name a few.

In addition, he was also formerly the global executive creative director at advertising company J. Walter Thompson which is now Wunderman Thompson, where he was responsible for creating the agency’s first integrated creative group blending expertise in traditional, digital, and customer relationship management (CRM).

“The zeitgeist of the world is driven by health and will be for the foreseeable future. The COVID and post-COVID era has deeply impacted our global consciousness, with every brand now needing a point of view on how they protect and advance consumer quality of life. There is no better place to revolutionize the global health dialog, in every category, than at the world’s largest and most capable network. I am delighted to join the over 5000 people of HH&Y and be a part of their next era of growth, innovation and creativity,” Weisberg said, regarding his appointment.

Meanwhile, Murphy commented that from the moment she met Eric for this opportunity, she knew that he was the right person to help unlock the next chapter for HH&Y — driven by the creativity, digital transformation and innovation that today’s brands want and need. She added that the opportunities and challenges that exist for businesses today require creative problem solving more than any time in recent history.

“Eric’s proven track record as a creative force and his understanding of connecting consumers through digital platforms, data-driven storytelling and content partnerships will be a vital complement to our investments in customer experience, content, technology and analytics. His reputation as an award-winning digital expert and hybrid creative leader adds a new dimension to our seasoned global leadership team. Eric also brings cultural compatibility with our agency with his people-first leadership style and shared passion for purpose-driven work,” she added.

Havas Health & You unites Havas Life, Health4Brands (H4B), Lynx, Red Havas and Havas Health Plus, all wholly owned health and communications networks, with the consumer health businesses and practices of Havas Creative Group.

Singapore – After a year of building up its creative and strategic firepower in Asia-Pacific, Edelman is dialing up its focus on the future of communications with the newest hires to boost its creative work and position in the region.

The new hires are Tim Green as the new chief creative officer for APAC, Huw Gildon as the new chief strategy officer for APAC, and Wendy Chan as chief creative officer for China.

Green comes from creative agency Leo Burnett as creative lead, and is now responsible for injecting creative thinking into every practice and sector, across every communications brief. 

“There has never been a more relevant time for businesses to embrace creativity as a more effective way of solving business challenges. By integrating creative thinking into Edelman’s offerings, and letting PR and digital practices bring the creative idea to life, we’re enabling our clients to stand out as distinct and truly relevant to their audiences,” Green said, regarding his appointment.

Meanwhile, Gildon, who previously worked with Leo Burnett and Ogilvy, will partner with Green and the firm’s digital and data capabilities to drive the ideation and execution of integrated work for the firm’s earned communications solutions, alongside Phyllis Yip who joined the agency as head of strategy for Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand from Walmart China in March. Nisha Sivanandan, head of strategy at Edelman Singapore, will also be part of the said team to bolster the agency’s work. 

Regarding his appointment, Gildon said, “The brand is one of the most important and powerful ideas in the history of business. The strongest are both trusted and talked about. Given Edelman’s strong heritage in studying trust, I’m really looking forward to working with their incredible portfolio of clients to help them grow and strengthen their brands with the power of creativity and innovation.”

Lastly, Chan comes from McCann Health in China, and accompanies Pully Chau, who was recently appointed as the new president for Greater China at Edelman.

For Michelle Hutton, vice chair for APAC at Edelman part of the new stride of hires in the region responds to the growing need of integration of creative and strategy skill sets into its product mix of corporate, public and brand solutions. This, in turn, will enable the firm to make pioneering moves in tackling the unique challenges faced by today’s marketers.

She added that as brands are increasingly expected to take a stand on societal issues and serve as agents of change in their consumers’ lives, earned media has become the new battleground for building trust.

“By bringing creativity and strategy to the table in addressing our clients’ challenges, independent of structures and siloes, our teams are able to unlock even more powerful ideas and experiences for positioning our clients at the heart of culture and what’s taking place in the world at the moment. This ultimately enhances the effectiveness of earned elements in our traditional solutions,” Hutton concluded.

New Delhi, India – Creative agency BBDO India has announced the appointment of Krishna Mani as the new chief creative officer for BBDO Delhi.

He brings more than 18 years of experience and solid heritage of brand work. He previously worked with Ogilvy India, as he created distinctive work across many brands, from home appliance company Voltas Ac to year-on-year creating refreshingly clever work for Sprite India, as well as KFC and Pizza Hut. In addition, he also had a brief stint at dentsu, working with brands such as motor company TVS and automobile brand Toyota.

Krishna has nurtured and guided young teams to find their distinctive voice and grow. He believes learning and unlearning is crucial to remain forever young and relevant in advertising.

Talking about Mani’s appointment, Josy Paul, chairman and CCO at BBDO India, said “Krishna’s work is legendary, his craft is brilliant, and his focus on where advertising is going is exciting. Together we’ll hit the sweet spot where the media meets the idea. Along with our youthful and diverse talent, we believe Krishna Mani will create greater value for our clients as he pushes the industry forward.”

Meanwhile, Suraja Kishore, CEO at BBDO India, commented , “For us at BBDO we seek leaders who are not so much like-minded as like-hearted, in Mani we discovered an Empath Creative. He understands the power of human confessions in unlocking the creative charge that a brand needs.”

He added, “We are certain that Mani will add immense value to BBDO’s equity, and in partnership with Nikhil Mahajan- who heads our Delhi operations, he will make the BBDO offering to our clients stronger and will create work that will drive growth for our clients.”

Speaking about his appointment and new role, he shared, “I’ve always admired the work BBDO has created. It’s real, rooted in brands and culturally so relevant. A chance to work and learn from mentors like Josy and Suraja was not to be missed.”

Singapore – Global media company dentsu international has appointed former global co-president at dentsumcgarrybowen, Merlee Jayme, to now assume the role of chief creative officer for the APAC region.

Jayme will have the new appointment as an additional role, continuing as part of the core team in the global creative experience council at dentsu and sponsor of the region’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity (DEI) program.

Jayme first joined the group through dentsu’s acquisition of her creative agency, bringing with her extensive experience in the creative sector. She is also known as a passionate advocate for the power of ideas in changing the world and DEI.

As part of her new role, Jayme will be responsible for creative excellence across dentsu’s creative and experience agencies in the region. These agencies include Isobar, dentsumcgarrybowen, and creative agencies under the house of dentsu, such as dentsu One, dentsu Webchutney, and Taproot dentsu.

Commenting on her new role, Jayme said that she is excited to be back in her home region, working hand-in-hand with their amazing colleagues in APAC to create great work that matters for the clients.

“My global role at dentsumcgarrybowen has opened my eyes to the integrated opportunities we can create to push creativity and innovation, solving our client’s problems with all creative capabilities across dentsu,” said Jayme.

Meanwhile, Jean Lin, the global CEO of creative at dentsu international, commented, “Merlee’s inclusive creative leadership, Asian roots, and global experience work brilliantly to deliver idea-led transformation in APAC, one of the most vibrant playgrounds for business creativity. We have an ambitious plan for APAC and are thrilled to have Merlee focus on the region she calls home.”

Dentsu APAC’s CEO Ashish Bhasin shared that Jayme’s creative ability speaks for itself and her entrepreneurial spirit, creativity, and innate ability to get the best out of the people she works with make her truly unique. 

“I am excited to see her instill further excellence across our agencies and unleash the potential of our creative business, driving deeper connections with our clients and the consumers they’re talking with,” said Bhasin.

Tokyo, Japan – Advertising network Grey Group in Tokyo, Japan has announced the promotion of Masanori Tagaya, former executive creative director, to now assume the role of chief creative officer.

Tagaya first joined Grey Japan in 2002 as a TVC producer and copywriter and rose through the ranks to be named creative director in 2012 and executive creative director in 2019. He worked on multiple brand campaigns for P&G, Febreze, and Pantene, as well as Lenor, and Pringles, among others. 

Commenting on his promotion, Tagaya said that he finds it to be an extraordinary opportunity to dive in, creating work that represents different styles, and enjoying the ride along with the team,

“Consumer insights have changed. Our work styles have changed. We have arrived at an age where companies and brands must be meaningful in the market and be meaningful in society,” said Tagaya.

Meanwhile, Yukiko Ochiai, the CEO and president of Grey Tokyo, shared that Tagaya has proven himself to be an excellent creative leader who delivers creatively celebrated work that helps the clients’ business grow. 

“Our world has changed, and with that, our consumers’ habits have changed. I am confident Masa will accelerate Grey Tokyo’s ability to develop ground-breaking work that is truly ‘famously effective’ in our new world, which will continue to drive growth for our clients,” said Ochiai.

In March this year, Grey Group in China has also announced the appointment of Sharlene Wu as the new CEO, with the aim to build better connections with Chinese Grey clients. Wu was tasked to drive the agency’s overall strategic vision and growth plan.