Wong, who took the helm at Grey last August, is set to leave later this month. His Hong Kong and China responsibilities will be assumed for the immediate future by Grey's Asia-Pacific CEO and chairman Mike Amour. Hong Kong-based Chan meanwhile, managing director of M&C's four Greater China offices, will leave the agency after a five-year stint in May.
M&C's Asia president and CEO Kim Walker, who is interviewing replacement candidates, said his priority was to find the "most appropriate fit culturally" to drive Hong Kong forward. Whether the role would remain a three-market Greater China remit will depend on the candidate, Walker added.
"If the person has the ability to drive Hong Kong, which is one of our flagship offices, forward, then I won't give him the China mantle, because we have a management structure in Taiwan and China. I can oversee these markets until an appropriate solution is found," he said.
Walker also credited Chan for helping "quadruple in size and profit" the Greater China operation, taking it from one office with 18 staff to 85 people in four offices. Chan, who joined M&C as Hong Kong general manager in 2001 and was promoted to Greater China MD in 2003, said she was leaving to spend more time with her family.
"It has been an invigorating, challenging and exciting time, but now I must look for a different direction," Chan said, noting that she was continuing to talk to other networks for post-break oppor- tunities. "The six-month break is a test period for me because I am unsure if it's in my DNA to not work."
Grey's Amour, meanwhile, said that taking direct charge of the network's Hong Kong and mainland China operations would give him a better understanding of what the agency needed going forward.
"Ultimately, it will be the best thing for the organisation for someone like me to be closer, to really determine the profile and structure there to ensure that Grey in China and Hong Kong has a world class operation," he said.
Amour added that he would not be making any changes, but was looking at ways to evolve the agency in China. "It has been a successful operation, but it can always improve," he said.
Additional reporting by Mike Savage