OMG names CEO for China

Omnicom Media Group is promoting Claudine Kwek to become the new CEO of its China operations.

Kwek has been serving as OMG's chief operating officer in China for the past year, after she was brought over from WPP in March 2019. That role was a newly created one to "drive operational excellence" at media agencies OMD and PHD and data and analytics division Annalect. 

At the time of her appointment, OMG cited Kwek's track record in "reorganising agencies and generating operational efficiencies" along with her knowlege of the industry in China as factors in her selection.

OMG China has been undergoing significant change following the departure of then-CEO Doug Pearce in 2018. Since that time Kwek has worked at finding efficiencies and reworking platforms, products and processes at the media group. In a release, OMG says Kwek has been able "to deliver growth in mainland China despite global headwinds". She now takes up the role left vacant when Pearce left. 

Following the exit of OMD CEO Aaron Wild in May 2019, Kwek has also worked closely with OMD APAC CEO Stephen Li to help drive the China OMD operations, since no successor to Wild has been named.

“Claudine has done a remarkable job of reconfiguring our organisational processes for future success as well as strengthening our capabilities and operational effectiveness," Tony Harradine, OMG's Asia-Pacific CEO, said in a release. "I am confident that under her leadership as CEO, our agencies will continue to scale new heights and achieve even greater success for our people, our company and our clients in China."

Prior to OMG, Kwek spent 18 years in APAC at WPP as president of trading and investment for Tenthavenue and as COO for GroupM in Shanghai.