Roberts' position has been filled by Seshadri Sampath, who previously served in senior roles in Prism, the digital and interactive arm of the Singapore Press Holdings' marketing division, J. Walter Thompson and MindShare.
In Hong Kong, managing director Sylvia Lee has resigned to take up a similar role at Leo Burnett in the city. BBDO's regional deputy chairman Tom Kao will handle Lee's duties until a replacement is found.
Lee's departure follows the defection of major telecoms account Sunday to the start-up agency set up by BBDO's former creative chiefs Paul Chan and K.C. Tsang, who spearheaded the brand's creative direction since 1998, about a year after the telecom operator launched in Hong Kong. The pair left the agency at the end of last year. OMD remains as Sunday's media agency.
The changes come just months after Raymond So took over as regional chairman of the agency. So said the restructuring was aimed at increasing BBDO's competitiveness to strengthen its creative offering as well as to enhance the network's synergy. "The perception in the marketplace is that each office operates in its own kingdom. We want to change that."
He stressed that the restructuring would continue: "We have to go through this change to remain competitive. It's quite a major change, especially of senior people. But the agency isn't going to fall apart. We have the people to hold things together."
- See analysis, p14.
