Zeigler's remit is to bind DDB's regional offices closer together to stimulate growth and creativity. "Part of our focus is how we run the business much smarter than we have in the past," he said. "While we've been successful in Asia-Pacific, the company believes we can have significantly greater success than we've enjoyed to date."
Zeigler becomes the new boss of DDB's Asia chairman Aaron Lau, who adds CEO duties to his remit. Doug Faudet, chairman of DDB Japan and president of North Asia, becomes regional vice-chairman and Mark O'Brien, CFO for both DDB North America/North Asia, adds Asia-Pacific to his remit.
"This region requires on-the-ground attention," Lau said. "We haven't achieved the same high standards we have achieved globally."
Zeigler said his appointment would hasten integration of DDB's traditionally disparate regional operations. "Some offices have been better at networking their agencies than we have," Zeigler said. "That's made us weaker."