To head the operation, Louis Cacciuttolo (pictured), former CEO of OgilvyAction for Southern China, has been appointed CEO at DDB Guangzhou. Jean-Baptiste Comte-Liniere, who also joins from OgilvyAction, will assume the executive creative director role.
“Both Louis and JB bring extensive experience in advertising as well as BTL solutions; including shopper marketing and retail-driven CRM programs which will grow DDB Group Guangzhou’s capabilities and answer the needs of our clients and potential clients,” said Richard Thomas, president and CEO of DDB Group for Hong Kong and Guangzhou.
DDB has additionally promoted group business director Christina Leung internally to the post of general manager.
“What we are finding is that clients are coming to us looking for services such as strategic planning solutions. We are lucky to have the opportunity to have a strong position before the [economic] upturn as it’ll be too late if we start at that time instead,” Thomas comments.
Speaking on why Guangzhou was the chosen location for the expansion, Thomas said it is mainly about “picking the right people that clients can trust”.