Decha will retire in December when he hands the reins to Songkran Sethesompobe, who joins the agency as MD this month. Songkran will work with COO Andres Ruktasiri and is reunited with former Creative Juice/G1 colleague Suthisak Sucharittanonta, chief creative officer.
Chris Thomas, BBDO Asia CEO, said: "Songkran is the next generation for BBDO Bangkok. It's crucial that creative and account teams work well together, and Songkran and Suthisak's relationship will serve us well."
Decha's career began in 1978, as an account executive at Presko Public Relations. He spent four years there, rising to group account director, before moving to Ogilvy & Mather Thailand. A 13-year stint at Ogilvy, where he became director of account management, was followed by a move to the MD role at Ogilvy-offshoot Results Advertising. Within two years, Decha had turned the agency into a creative force made famous by a campaign for Black Cat Whisky. He joined BBDO in 1998.
BBDO ranks as Thailand's fifth-largest agency. It is one of the network's most heavily- awarded, ranking alongside London, Singapore, Chicago and New York in the awards stakes last year. The agency picked up a silver for Uni-President with 'Incredible match' at the 2005 Spikes.
