John Hong, a local Chinese with more than 10 years' marketing experience in the country, was recently named business development manager. He has worked in senior roles in both the agency and client side, including McCann-Erickson, Budweiser and most recently Schick.
Michael Ip, Landor Asia-Pacific managing director, said that Hong was best suited to the position because of his wide experience.
"Because John has worked for both multinational clients and agencies, he has a good sense of the power of branding. He knows it's not just packaging and design. It goes deeper.
"At the same time, being local, he has a good understanding of the rapidly-changing Chinese market from a demographic and cultural level," Ip said.
Given the potential of China, Ip said it was important to find the right person for the job, which is why the consultancy was willing to take the time to undertake an extensive executive search.
Ip also said that a recruitment drive was underway internally to look for an appropriate person to head up the Shanghai operation.
Landor currently shares office space with WPP sister agency J. Walter Thompson in Shanghai, an arrangement that has lasted for a year-and-half, in which "our executives operated part time as they flew in and out of the city", according to Ip.
The consultancy's list of mainland clients is growing rapidly and currently include Norinco, Procter & Gamble, Danone and China's consumer electronic company Midea.
Ip said that bolstering the Shanghai operation was aimed at giving full-time commitment to clients at a time when "local companies are increasingly realising the importance of branding".
"Our main area of interest has always been to help brands grow. In China, we are now adding local brands."