141 recruits Tequila UK founder Cullen for Asia

UK-based Cullen will relocate to Singapore in January, returning to a region where he helped Tequila put down roots in Singapore and later Hong Kong. Cullen's appointment -- following a year-long courtship by the WPP networks -- caps a year when 141 relaunched itself to fill the "last mile" in the advertising niche by specialising in activation and through-the-line. "Glenn comes to 141 Worldwide with a strong pedigree in through-the-line marketing services," said Jeffery Yu, Bates-Asia/141 Group regional president. "He is an expert practitioner with focused leadership and a passion for building brands and businesses. We believe Glenn is ideally suited to take 141 Worldwide to even greater heights." Cullen brings more than 20 years of senior marketing expertise, both on the client and agency side, to the role, having worked with Lowe, Y&R, Coca-Cola GB, Philip Morris and until recently Shell and HP, which involved pan-Asia duties. "The key for me in taking the role is that the activation and expriential marketing space has grown exponentially in Europe. When you talk about 141 and the clients they have, particularly with Ogilvy, which is seen as a benchmark, then it's a very exciting opportunity," said Cullen, who joined Tequila/Worldwide's management in 1998 to expand the integrated marketing agency. Yu said 141 was gearing for a year of significant expansion in 2006. It will relaunch its Thai office, rebrand the existing Team Mate office in Taiwan, beef up in Malaysia and launch in Korea on the back of new BatesAsia clients such as AIG Direct and Audi. A major hiring drive is currently underway with 141 China, with the appointment of Draft Malaysia ECD and MD Sean Sim and Lowe/ Draft Asia's Bangkok-based regional activation director Bryce Whitwam as managing partners, starting January 3. CEO Soames Hines said the China shop won 15 new clients -- from independent wins such as Diageo, Manchester United and Financial Times, to business originating from Ogilvy and Bates this year. Planning for "aggressive" expansion in 2006, 141 China will be making three senior hires, including directors for procurement and training and development. "Although competition is hotting up, other agencies have yet to develop the right expertise and to engineer the right business model to deliver significant profits," Hines said.